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Connection Refused

Players get 'Connection refused' when their client cannot establish a connection to the server at all. This is different from a timeout or a DNS error: the address resolved, but nothing accepted the connection on the other end.

What does this error mean?
'Connection refused' means the client reached the target host but no service answered on that port. Either the server is not running, it is listening on a different IP/port, or a firewall / missing port-forward is blocking the connection. 
java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused: no further information
Most Common Causes
  • The server is not actually running.
  • Wrong IP address or port used by the player.
  • The port is not forwarded on the router.
  • A firewall blocking the port.
  • The server bound to localhost / a different interface than expected.
How To Diagnose
  1. Confirm the server is up and listening ('ss -tulpn | grep 25565').
  2. Verify the IP and port the player is using.
  3. Test locally on the host to rule out the server itself.
  4. Check router port-forwarding and the firewall rules.
Recommended Fixes
  • Start / confirm the server
    Make sure the server is running and listening on the expected port.
  • Forward the port
    Forward TCP 25565 (or your port) on the router to the host machine.
  • Open the firewall
    Allow the port through the host and any cloud/provider firewall.
  • Check the bind address
    Ensure server-ip is blank (all interfaces) unless you intend a specific bind.
Analyze My Log
Frequently Asked Questions

Refused means nothing is listening on the port. A timeout means the connection attempt got no reply at all (often a firewall dropping packets).

Then the server is fine, the issue is port-forwarding or a firewall between the player and the host.

TCP 25565 by default, or whatever server-port you set, to the host's local IP.