Fix: “io.netty.channel.AbstractChannel$AnnotatedConnectException: Connection refused: no further information” Error on Minecraft

Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by Mojang. The game was released in 2011 and instantly became popular in the online gaming community. It has one of the largest player counts with a giant number of 91 million players logging in monthly. However, quite recently a lot of reports have been coming in of users encountering the error “io.netty.channel.AbstractChannel$AnnotatedConnectException: Connection refused: no further information” while trying to connect to a server. This error is not limited to a single server and persists across all of them.

What Causes the Connection Refused Error?

After receiving numerous reports from multiple users we investigated the issue and devised a set of solutions which solved the problem for most of the users. Also, we looked into the reasons due to which the error is triggered and listed them below. For that:

  • IP issue: In some cases, the problem is caused due to the wrong IP address or the port listed while trying to connect to a server. The IP address along with the correct port is used to forward your connection to the server and connection is established once the server approves. Unless you are using a static IP address, that is quite rare, the IP address assigned to you by the ISP changes from time to time and multiple users might be allocated the same IP address. Therefore, the IP address needs to be edited from time to time.
  • Firewall: Also it is possible that the Windows Firewall that you are using might be blocking your connection to the server. Both the Java files and the game directory is to be added to the exclusion list of Windows Firewall in order for the game to connect to the server properly.
  • Outdated Java: Minecraft requires the Java software to be updated to the latest version in order for it to work properly. If the Java is outdated on your device and the launcher has been updated to the latest version it might cause conflicts with certain elements of the game and prevent proper connection to the server.
  • Incompatible Software: There is a list of software that is not compatible with Minecraft and cause issues if they are installed on the computer on which you are trying to connect to the server. Minecraft has an official list of software which is not compatible with the game and causes conflicts.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the issue we will move on towards the solutions. It is recommended that you try these solutions in the specific order in which they are provided to ensure that no conflicts occur.

Solution 1: Resetting Internet

Whenever the internet router is reset the IP address that is provided by the ISP is changed unless you are using a static IP address. Therefore, in this step, we will be reinitializing the internet settings and the DNS cache by completely power cycling the Internet Router. For that:

  1. Disconnect the power from the internet router.
  2. Wait for 5 minutes and reconnect the power.
  3. When the internet access is granted try to connect to the server and check to see if the issue persists.

Solution 2: Adding Exception in Firewall

It is possible that the Windows Firewall that you are using might be blocking your connection to the server. Therefore, in this step, we will be adding an exception in the Firewall for some executables in the Minecraft folder that need internet access. For that:

  1. Click on the start menu and select the Settings icon.
  2. In the Settings, click on the “Updates & Security” option.
  3. Select the “Windows Security” from the left pane and select the “Firewall & Network Protection” option.
  4. Scroll down and select the “Allow an App through Firewall” option.
  5. Click on “Change Settings” and select “Yes” on the warning prompt.
  6. Select the “Allow another app” from the options and click on “Browse
  7. Navigate to the game installation directory and select the game and the launcher executable.
  8. Now repeat the above process again and this time navigate to the directory where you have the Minecraftservers installed.
  9. Open “Maxwell” folder and then the “MinecraftServer” folder.
  10. Now allow both the Javaexecutables located inside the folder in the same way.
  11. Now repeat the process again and instead of clicking “Allow another app” after selecting the “change” option simply scroll down the list of apps available and allow all the “Java Platform SE Binary” options through both the “Private” and “Public” networks.
  12. Open the Minecraft launcher, try to connect to the server and check to see if the issue persists.

Solution 3: Adding the IP address and Port

If the IP address that you are using is not a static one, it will change every couple of days or whenever the Internet Connection is reset. Therefore, in this step, we are going to be checking the IP address and the correct port for the game and add it to the Minecraft Launcher. For that:

  1. Click on the search bar on the Windows toolbar and type in “Command Prompt“.
  2. Rightclick on the icon and select “Runas Administrator“.
  3. Type in “ipconfig” and note down the “IPV4Address“.
  4. Also, Navigate to the “Minecraft Servers folder>Maxwell (some random numbers)> MinecraftServer” and open the “Server Properties” text document.
  5. Note down the “Server Port” listed there. In our case it was “25565” it should be similar in most cases however in some it is not.
  6. Now open up Minecraft and navigate to the “Play Multiplayer” option.
  7. Select the server which you want to join by clicking on it and select “Edit” from the below options.
  8. The server name can be according to your preference but the “Address” needs to be the IPV4 address that we noted and the port number for example “XXX.XXX.X.X:25565” the “25565” is the port number and it may vary.
  9. Click on “Done“, click on “Refresh” and check to see if the issue persists.

Note: There are some applications that are generally incompatible with certain elements of Minecraft and cause issues with it. The list of applications is available here. If these are installed on the computer on which the server is running from or on your computer you will continue to face issues with the game.

Solution 4: Checking for Port Filtering

We came across numerous instances where users were accidentally filtering ports. Even though the port forwarding was working alright, the filtering automatically nullifies it and you will not be able to connect to Minecraft servers.

Here, what you can do is check your router’s and your local machine’s network configurations and make sure that port filtering isn’t turned on and if it is, the correct ports are being filtered.

Solution 5: Checking ISP Network Access

If none of the above methods work, you should check your ISP’s network access. ISPs sometimes block network access to specific domains and don’t allow you to go through. Contact your ISP and verify that internet access isn’t indeed blocked.

Furthermore, you can also change your internet connection to your smartphone’s 3G and see how that works out for you. If it does, it probably means that your ISP is blocking you and you need to change your network.

Anbefalt

Fix: Minecraft svarer ikke
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