How to Add a Custom Server IP on PlayStation Minecraft

PlayStation Minecraft runs Bedrock Edition, and Bedrock on a console doesn't give you a field to type a custom server IP — there's no Add Server button on the Servers tab at all. People usually assume PlayStation Network stripped the feature out, but it was never there to begin with: Bedrock on closed consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) shipped without a custom-IP box, and only the Windows and mobile versions of Bedrock have one. So this is a console platform limitation, not a network block. The server you want is perfectly reachable; the console just won't hand you a place to type its address.

The way console players get around it is a community DNS trick called BedrockConnect. If you just want the general flow, how to join a Minecraft server covers the basics, and the crossplay servers list is where the console-friendly addresses live.

What PlayStation can join without any setup

Because PS4 and PS5 are Bedrock, you're looking for Bedrock multiplayer, not Java. A few things you can join with no workaround at all:

• Featured servers. The short curated partner list on the Servers tab. One tap joins them — no address needed, which is exactly why there's no box to type one.
• Realms. A paid Bedrock Realm works on PlayStation and crossplays with other Bedrock players on phones, Xbox, Switch, and Windows. One factual note: Realms is edition-locked, so a Bedrock Realm can't include Java players.
• Friends' worlds. Anyone in your Friends list who's hosting, pulled in through your linked account.

A couple of requirements quietly gate all of this. You need a linked Microsoft account for crossplay friends, and PlayStation Plus is generally required for online multiplayer. If either one is missing, the menus still look normal but nothing actually connects.

One more thing worth pinning down now, since it comes back later: Bedrock servers default to port 19132, and Java servers default to 25565. Keep those straight and you'll avoid the most common mistake further down.

Why there's no Add Server button on PlayStation

On Windows 10/11 and on mobile, Bedrock's Servers tab has an Add Server button where you type any address and port you like. On PS4 and PS5 — and on the other closed consoles — that button just isn't there. The closed-console builds only surface the vetted featured list, so there's no path in the standard menu to enter your own address.

It helps to be clear about what kind of limitation this is. It's a menu decision, not a network restriction. Your PlayStation can reach the server fine; the game simply doesn't expose a field for it. Players have asked for an official console Add Server button for years on the Minecraft feedback site, and it was never offered, so the practical answer has always been a community workaround rather than a setting buried somewhere in the options.

The workaround: BedrockConnect via PlayStation DNS

BedrockConnect is a free, open-source community tool, and the simplest way to describe it is that it turns the featured-server screen into a server browser. You point your console's DNS at a BedrockConnect address, and the next time Minecraft looks up its featured list, that lookup gets redirected. The featured screen then becomes a menu where you can enter any Server Address and Port yourself.

The reason it works at the DNS level — and not through a phone companion app — is that the redirect happens when the game resolves the featured-server list. No second device, no app to install. Your console does the lookup, BedrockConnect answers it.

Here's the PlayStation-specific path, which is where this differs from the Switch version of the same trick:

1. Go to Settings > Network > Set Up Internet Connection.
2. Choose Wi-Fi or LAN, depending on how you connect, then pick Custom.
3. Work through the screens until you reach DNS Settings, and choose Manual.
4. Set the Primary DNS to a current BedrockConnect address, and a normal Secondary DNS like 8.8.8.8.
5. Finish setup, then open Minecraft and go to Play > Servers. The featured screen is now the BedrockConnect menu, where you enter the Server Address and Port — 19132 unless the listing says otherwise.

A couple of cautions worth knowing. I'm not going to paste a fixed DNS number, because the public BedrockConnect addresses change over time and a stale one can break your console's connection — get the current Primary DNS from the BedrockConnect project itself rather than an old guide. The public instance is also sometimes blocked or offline specifically on PS4/PS5, so you may need one of the alternates the project lists, and public instances have at times been turned off entirely.

Changing DNS affects all of your PlayStation's online traffic, not just Minecraft. If PSN sign-in or another app starts misbehaving after the change, set your DNS Settings back to Automatic and it reverts. This is a community workaround you're using at your own discretion, not a feature the platform endorses.

Can PlayStation join a Java server? Geyser, briefly

By default, no. Bedrock and Java clients live on separate networks and can't reach each other's servers directly. The bridge that closes that gap is Geyser, and it's worth understanding what it does and doesn't solve for a console player.

Geyser is server-side software — a proxy the Java server owner runs that translates Bedrock traffic into Java, so Bedrock and console players can join a Java world. It's usually paired with Floodgate, which lets those players in without owning a Java account. You install nothing on the PlayStation; it all happens on the server's end.

The PlayStation catch is that Geyser closes the edition gap but still doesn't give your console an address box. So reaching a Geyser'd Java server from a PS4 or PS5 needs both pieces: Geyser on the server to accept you, and the BedrockConnect DNS step on your side to actually type the address in. When you do, use the Bedrock port the server publishes — 19132 by default — not the Java :25565 port. Mixing those up is one of the most common reasons a connection fails. If the Java-versus-Bedrock split is still fuzzy, minecraft server types explained lays it out.

Finding servers that actually accept PlayStation players

The smoothest path is to start from servers built for Bedrock or crossplay, so you sidestep edition mismatches before you ever touch a DNS setting. A Java-only address won't connect through the Bedrock flow no matter how carefully you follow the steps, so it's worth confirming up front that the address you have is a Bedrock or crossplay address, and noting the port it lists.

That's where the live rankings help. The crossplay servers list shows servers that accept console and Bedrock players, and the homepage monthly rankings reset each calendar month, so what you're seeing reflects what's actually active right now rather than a list that went stale two years ago. Pick the gameplay you want — browse survival servers or any other tag — check that the listing shows a Bedrock or crossplay address, and then use the BedrockConnect flow above or the general join guide to connect.

FAQ

Does the BedrockConnect DNS trick work over a phone hotspot or mobile data?

Usually yes, since the redirect happens at DNS lookup and not on any particular network, but a carrier or hotspot that forces its own DNS can override your manual Primary DNS and quietly undo the setup. If the featured screen still shows the normal list instead of the BedrockConnect menu after you've set everything, your connection is probably handing the console a different DNS than the one you entered. A home router you control is the most reliable place to run this.

Will a PlayStation system update wipe my DNS setting?

A standard system update generally leaves your saved internet connection alone, so the manual DNS usually survives it. The thing that does reset it is choosing Set Up Internet Connection again and running through the wizard, or doing a network-settings reset — either of those drops you back to Automatic. If BedrockConnect suddenly stops working after you've touched your network setup, recheck that DNS Settings still reads Manual with the BedrockConnect address.

Can two people on the same PlayStation use BedrockConnect at once?

The DNS setting lives on the console, not the account, so it applies to every profile signed in on that system — both split-screen players go through BedrockConnect the same way. The limit is the server itself: split-screen and crossplay rules are set by the server, and some Bedrock servers don't allow more than one player per console. If the second player bounces while the first connects fine, that's the server's policy, not your DNS.

Is there any way to do this without changing DNS at all?

Not on PS4 or PS5 directly — the closed-console build has no place to enter an address, and DNS redirection is the only method that turns the featured screen into a browser. The genuinely setting-free routes are the ones that need no address in the first place: a Bedrock Realm you're invited to, or joining off a friend in your list who's already hosting. For anything with a raw IP and port, the DNS step is unavoidable on PlayStation.