Direct answer

A server missing from the LAN list may still accept a direct connection. Try the host’s local IP address and its actual Minecraft listening port before changing your router.

What it means

LAN discovery and the TCP connection itself are separate. Guest Wi-Fi isolation, host firewalls, different subnets, or a blocked discovery broadcast can hide a server from the multiplayer list while direct joining still works.

If you are a player

  1. Confirm both computers are connected to the same private LAN rather than different guest or isolated Wi-Fi networks.
  2. Ask the host for its private IPv4 address and game port. In Java Edition, use Multiplayer → Direct Connection and enter 192.168.x.x:port with the real values.
  3. Check that the client and host are both Java Edition and use compatible Minecraft versions. Bedrock clients do not join a plain Java server without additional compatible bridge software.

If you run the server

  1. Watch the server console for the “Done” startup message, confirm the configured server-port, and test localhost:port on the hosting computer.
  2. Permit the Java server’s inbound TCP port in the host operating-system firewall for the private network only. Do not open WAN router forwarding just to fix LAN discovery.
  3. For a dedicated server, normally leave server-ip blank unless you specifically need to bind a particular local interface. Compare local interfaces and guest-network isolation before editing DNS.
How to verify the fix

Direct joining by LAN IP works from a second machine. The server appearing in the auto-discovery list is useful but not required for a healthy connection.

References

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