How to Join a Minecraft Server on Nintendo Switch

The Switch is the awkward one. Minecraft on Nintendo Switch does not show LAN games, so the method that works on Xbox and PlayStation cannot work here. Instead, BedrockTogether has a second method: it broadcasts your server over Xbox Live so that it shows up in Minecraft’s in-game Friends tab, which the Switch does read.

This is the Switch · Friends tab in the app, and it is still marked BETA.

Read this before you start

Use a separate Microsoft account. Not your main one.

Broadcasting to Xbox Live works by emulating a game client. This may break Xbox Live’s terms of service, and the account you sign in with could be banned. Sign in with a different Microsoft / Xbox account than the one you play Minecraft on.

This is the same warning the app shows you before sign-in. We would rather you read it twice than lose an account you care about.

If that trade-off is not acceptable to you, do not use this method. On Xbox and PlayStation the LAN method carries no such caveat, and you should prefer it there.

What you need

A Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite or Switch OLED with Minecraft Bedrock Edition
An iPhone, iPad or Android phone with BedrockTogether installed
A throwaway Microsoft account with an Xbox profile (gamertag) on it
The server’s IP address and port

Step by step

Open BedrockTogether and switch to the Switch · Friends tab.
Enter the server IP and port you want to play on.
Tap “Sign in and Broadcast”. Read the warning, then continue.
Sign in with your separate Microsoft account. The app shows a code and opens the Microsoft sign-in page with the code already filled in. Sign in there, then come back to the app.
If you are told the account has no gamertag: open xbox.com, sign in with that same account, pick a gamertag, then return to the app and broadcast again.
Tap “Broadcast to Friends”.
On your Switch, open Minecraft → Play → the Friends tab. The broadcast account’s game appears there. Join it and you will be transferred to the server.

Tap Stop Broadcast in the app when you are finished.

Notes and limits

The account must be a friend of the account you play on. Add the broadcast gamertag as a friend from your Switch first, otherwise its game will not be listed.
This method is not Switch-only. Because it goes through Xbox Live rather than the local network, it also works when the LAN method fails on Xbox or PlayStation — for example on a network you do not control, like a dorm or hotel Wi-Fi.
It is beta. Broadcasting is occasionally unavailable; the app will tell you when that happens.
If the account does get banned, do not reuse it. Sign out and use another separate account.

Frequently asked

Is there a way to do this without an extra account? Not on Switch. The console gives no LAN listing and no server address field, so Xbox Live is the only route in.

Will my main account get banned for joining? The warning is about the account doing the broadcasting, which is the one running inside the app. That is why it should never be your main account.

Does the Switch need to be on the same Wi-Fi? No. This method does not use the local network at all.

See also: Xbox guide · PlayStation guide · Troubleshooting · FAQ

BedrockTogether is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Microsoft, Mojang or Xbox.