Hello Mojang Support Team,
I am writing to report an issue with local multiplayer (LAN) in Minecraft Bedrock on mobile devices after recent updates.
Previously, my friends and I could easily play together at school using mobile hotspot only, without any Wi-Fi router or real internet connection. The setup was:
1 One phone enabled a mobile hotspot
2 All other phones connected to that hotspot
3 The host created a world with multiplayer enabled and LAN visibility on
4 Everyone else saw the world under the “Friends” / LAN section and could join without problems
This worked correctly on older versions of Minecraft Bedrock.
However, starting around version 1.21.120, local multiplayer over a mobile hotspot stopped working, and the issue is still present in version 1.21.124.
Details of the problem:
1 Platform: official Minecraft Bedrock on mobile (installed from Google Play / App Store, no mods, no pirated clients)
2 Environment: we play at school with very weak or almost no internet, so we rely only on a local connection via mobile hotspot. One device creates a hotspot, and all other devices join that hotspot network
What happens now:
1 The host creates a world with multiplayer enabled and LAN visibility enabled
2 Other players see the world in the multiplayer / LAN section and try to connect
3 The game shows the message “Connecting to multiplayer game…” for a long time
4 After some time, it fails with a timeout message such as “Connection timed out”
Important:
1 If we connect the same devices to a Wi-Fi router, local multiplayer works correctly
2 The problem appears only when we use a mobile hotspot
3 The issue started after the updates around version 1.21.120
4 Different phones were tested as hotspot providers and as hosts, but the result is the same
5 All players are always on the same official version of Minecraft, with no texture packs, no add-ons, and with multiplayer settings enabled
Because this used to work on older versions, still works through a normal Wi-Fi router, and now fails consistently through mobile hotspot on the latest official versions, it seems to be a regression or bug in the way the game handles LAN / multiplayer over mobile hotspots in current Bedrock versions.
Request:
1 Could you please confirm whether this is a known issue with Minecraft Bedrock local or LAN multiplayer over mobile hotspots on versions 1.21.120 and higher
2 Pass this report to the development team as a bug or regression affecting local multiplayer on mobile
3 Inform us if there is any recommended workaround on official clients, other than downgrading to an older version, which is not possible through official stores
Local multiplayer over hotspot is very important for us because we often play in places without usable internet access, and this bug has removed that option for us.
Thank you for your time and for looking into this. If you need any additional technical details, such as device models, operating system versions, or logs, I will be ready to provide them.
Yes, my friend ran into this and I can't stay away. Even though I'm playing on the java edition of the game, I can't leave bedrock aside. I hope it will be fixed soon.