Re: How To Get Minecraft Java Edition For Free On Mobile
Cre Wallace
Minecraft is one of the most popular games on Android, though it's not as fully featured as the Java edition of the game that you'll find on desktop. You're incredibly limited on the servers you can play on, and of course, Java players have an easier time modding their game, too. However, it's actually possible to play Java Minecraft on your smartphone, and it's surprisingly easy to set up. You can play on Android, jailbroken iOS devices, and Chromebooks.
I had great success playing the game on my Google Pixel 6 Pro, though you'll have better results on any of the best phones with an Adreno-based GPU such as the OnePlus 9 Pro. Be warned: you'll need to employ a workaround to play Minecraft 1.17.1 as well, and the latest Cliffs & Caves Part 2 update (version 1.18.1) also requires a number of complex steps. You can check out the official Pojav Launcher website to find out more information, including how to install Optifine or Forge.
Still, this works surprisingly well, and there's even a mouse pointer and touch controls that you can use for navigating menus. You can use Forge Launcher up to 1.16.5 for a modded experience, and Fabric is supported as well. The launcher is completely open-source on GitHub. Incredibly, I had better performance on the Google Pixel 6 Pro than I've seen on some laptops, and that was without any optimisation whatsoever. The most annoying part of the experience is that you can't easily click by tapping -- you need to hold down on the screen to use a weapon. This gets complicated when playing on PvP servers.
We would like to warn users that you will be required to log in to their Microsoft or Mojang accounts using the app, and that it is at your own risk that you do so. The source code for Pojav Launcher is available on GitHub, and the safest way to test it out is to audit the source code and build it yourself following the official instructions. I have been using it with my personal Minecraft account with the launcher downloaded from the Google Play Store.
To get started, you'll need to download Pojav Launcher on the Google Play Store. It's a launcher that mirrors the Minecraft launcher on desktop and requires you to log in to your Mojang account. It downloads all of the necessary files including game assets from Mojang's servers and even packs its own Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Once you have the app installed, log in to your Minecraft account. Be sure to tap "keep logged in", so that next time, you can tap "select account" instead. Choose the version of the game that you want to play and click play. It's a pretty simple process for earlier versions of the game, however, gets more complex with newer versions.
For playing Minecraft 1.17, you'll need to download JRE 17 for your specific device and change the renderer from the settings accessed in the bottom right. Select runtime manager, add your new JRE17 zip file and then change your renderer to gl4es 1.1.5 with OpenGL ES 3. It will say "no 1.17 supported yet", but if you have JRE 17, then it is supported. You can also increase the amount of RAM designated to the JVM from the settings, which might be worthwhile doing if you run into performance issues, especially if you're playing with mods.
You can then click "play", and if you get a warning in a dialogue box, click "play anyway". While you should follow the official instructions on how to install Optifine in Pojav Launcher, you may come across difficulties when trying to copy files to the /sdcard/Android/data/net.kdt.pojavlaunch[.debug]/files/.minecraft folder thanks to Android 11's Scoped Storage changes. You can use the internal Android file explorer or a computer to copy files into it, and you'll need to modify different files in it depending on what you're configuring. Installing the custom resource pack for version 1.18 will require navigating to this folder, and so will installing certain mods for your game.
As for installing Optifine, that will also require switching back to both the internal Java JRE, and to the original gl4es renderer. Not switching will cause the Optifine installer to crash when launching, though once installed, you'll need to switch back again to JRE17 and gl4es 1.1.5 with OpenGL ES 3 to actually play. It's complex and it can be easy to lose track of what you need to do, so your best bet is just to follow the instructions carefully to ensure that you do it right.
If you have performance problems, there are a number of things you can try. The most important is lowering the resolution, which you can do from the launcher's settings. Failing that, you can also follow the official optimization guide on the Pojav Launcher website, which has a link to a pack of mods for Fabric 1.16.5 that may improve your performance. While nearly all of the mods are aimed at improving performance, there are one or two in the pack that are also included for quality of life improvements. Some mods in the pack include:
Minecraft Java Edition can often be a taxing game to run on lower-end laptops, but many users have had great experiences running it on their smartphones. While it's not perfect, it might be the best way you can enjoy the game with some of your friends if they play on a Java Edition server and your computer or laptop isn't powerful enough to run the Java edition of the game.
There are two separate versions of Minecraft, Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. If you're thinking of starting a Minecraft server, this choice can be a daunting one. Luckily, for most cases, the solution is relatively straight forward.
The Java Edition multiplayer landscape has had over a decade to mature. Due to this, there's a wide range of server software platforms to run, and tens of thousands of server-side mods and plugins. Creating a server with tonnes of custom content has never been easier. Server software like Paper and Spigot, or Forge and Fabric, all exist to allow you to customise the server to your liking.
The range of server plugins on Java Edition is significant compared to Bedrock. Java Edition has many staples that are ubiquitous across Minecraft servers. From standard plugins like WorldEdit, WorldGuard, CraftBook and Essentials, to plugins like Factions and Towny that have become entire game modes, Java Edition has plugins for everything.
Java Edition's server landscape also encourages community servers, due to the lack of any partnership program at the time of writing. Thus, a much larger portion of Java Edition players will join community servers than Bedrock players.
Java Edition is no longer the default version of Minecraft that people buy. Due to the prevalence of devices that don't support Java Edition (mobile devices and game consoles), especially amongst the game's target demographic, only a small portion of the entire player base uses this edition.
Due to how old the game is, there are also many Minecraft servers out there. With a dwindling player base and an increasing number of servers, it's harder than it has ever been to make a Java Edition Minecraft server popular. Without a unique premise to get players excited, or an advertising budget, most servers are dead from the start.
Minecraft Bedrock Edition is a newer version of Minecraft that has slowly gained feature parity with Java Edition and runs on consoles and mobile devices. Bedrock Edition was formerly known as Minecraft Pocket Edition but renamed after gaining support for more platforms. Although Bedrock mostly focuses on consoles and mobile devices, it also runs on Windows 10.
Minecraft Bedrock Edition is now the default version of Minecraft, and therefore has many more users. There are a few caveats to this, however. Not all devices that run Bedrock Edition allow users to connect to community servers. Players are also more likely to join officially partnered servers because the game more heavily pushes them. Caveats aside, not running a Bedrock server means you're missing out on a large portion of the player base.
Bedrock Edition also allows more official customizability than Java Edition. You can make custom user interfaces and modify the look and shape of things such as entities more easily. While Java Edition partially allows this, it's not as powerful as Bedrock.
Due to a mix of the average age of Bedrock players being lower, and the user interface dissuading community servers, players are much less likely to keep coming back to the same server. This issue can work fine for minigame servers, but not for servers that want to build a community.
Bedrock is also much more limited in terms of third-party modifications than Java Edition. Popular plugins like WorldEdit and WorldGuard are just not available here. Some third-party server software projects such as Cloudburst/Nukkit or PocketMine-MP exist. However, they aren't perfect and can take time to update to new Minecraft versions. While on Java Edition it's possible not to update to the latest version (despite the recommendation to use the latest version), this is much more difficult on Bedrock Edition due to players not having a game version choice. Due to these factors, most Bedrock servers run on the limited server software Mojang provides, unlike with Java Edition.
The command system in Bedrock is also much more limited, making it harder to run a large community. Compared to Java Edition, the commands are unintuitive and basic. The chat user interface also leaves a lot to be desired, further making server administration a challenge.
GeyserMC is a project that allows Bedrock Edition players to connect to a Java Edition server, allowing servers to make the most of the mature Java Edition server community while benefiting from the larger player base of Bedrock. While not perfect, the development team continually improves Geyser and provides the current best solution for a Minecraft server to support both Bedrock and Java Edition.
Java Edition provides the best community engagement and customisations, while Bedrock has a more extensive player base for servers. Luckily, GeyserMC offers a solution that, to quote Miley Cyrus, is the best of both worlds.
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