Minecraft multiplayer disabled: how to turn it back on

The message appears when you click Multiplayer on Java, or try to join a server on Bedrock: Multiplayer is disabled. Please check your Microsoft account settings. The game works, but the Microsoft account isn't allowed to play online. This setting can't be changed in Minecraft: it's changed on Microsoft's side.

Why multiplayer is blocked

In the vast majority of cases, the Microsoft account is a child account in a family group: by default, Microsoft forbids it from playing online with strangers. Only the parent, the family group's organizer, can allow it.

More rarely:

• the account was created with a date of birth that makes it a minor's;
• a privacy setting was changed on an adult account;
• the account is under a sanction for its online behaviour: the message is then different, and gives the length of the suspension.

Turn it back on from the parent's account

1. On a computer or a phone, sign in with the parent's account on Microsoft Family Safety (family.microsoft.com) or in the Xbox Family Settings app.
2. Choose the child's account.
3. Open its Xbox privacy and online safety settings, in the part about Xbox and Windows devices.
4. Allow joining multiplayer games and playing with people outside of Xbox Live. The labels vary a little between versions of the site, but these are the two settings that matter.
5. To chat on servers, also allow communication with other players; for Realms, creating and joining clubs.
6. Save.

Wait a few minutes, then log out of the Minecraft Launcher and log back in: the session keeps the old setting until it's renewed. On Bedrock, close the game completely and start it again.

On Java: chat blocked

A related setting only blocks chat: you can join servers, but the game says chat is disabled by your account settings, and you neither see nor send messages. Same place, same fix: allow communication with other players in the account's privacy settings.

On console

Consoles add their own parental controls on top of the Microsoft account's, and both must allow online play:

Console	Where to look
Nintendo Switch	the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, setting for communicating with other users
PlayStation	Settings › Family and Parental Controls, communication and user-generated content settings
Xbox	the Microsoft account's privacy settings, as above

The account isn't a child account?

If you're an adult, organizer of your own family group, and the options stay greyed out, the account may have been classified as a minor's by mistake. Check the date of birth in your Microsoft account details; if it's right and the block remains, contact Microsoft support, who can review the account's classification.

Beware of "tricks" that tell you to leave the family group or create a new account: you risk losing access to the game bought on the original account.

Once multiplayer is unblocked

All that's left is choosing where to play: the guide How to join a Minecraft server explains where to type the address, and the CubeVote ranking lists servers by player votes. For a child, a server with clear rules, an active moderation team and filtered chat is a good place to start: see How to choose a good Minecraft server.