Friends show as offline on Minecraft but my switch says that they are online playing Minecraft.

Hi. Thanks for taking the time to answer this question. I actually got this fixed just yesterday when my friend came over. It turned out that I wasn't able to play with him and some others because they were playing on someone else's world and so his name didn't show. He also just regularly plays on private worlds that are invite only. Thank you though!

Hello Mia Leas,

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble playing with your friends on Minecraft. This issue might be caused by different versions of the game, different network settings, or different privacy settings.

I need to ask you a few questions:



- Are you and your friends playing on the same version of Minecraft? There are different editions of the game, such as Bedrock and Java, that are not compatible with each other.

- Are you and your friends connected to the same network or online service? For example, if you are playing on Nintendo Switch, you need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play online with other Switch users.

- Have you checked your privacy and online safety settings on your Microsoft account? You may need to adjust them to allow multiplayer and cross-platform play.

- Have you tried restarting your game, console, and router? Sometimes a simple reboot can fix connection issues.

Meanwhile, here are some troubleshooting steps we can perform to try and fix the issue:



- Make sure you and your friends are playing the same version of Minecraft. You can check the version number on the bottom right corner of the title screen. If you have different versions, you might need to update the game or delete and reinstall it.

- Make sure you and your friends are connected to the same network. If you are using Wi-Fi, try to use a wired connection or move closer to the router. If you are using cellular data, make sure you have a strong signal and enough data.

- Make sure you and your friends have the same privacy settings. You can check and change your privacy settings on your Microsoft account website or on your Xbox console. You might need to enable multiplayer games, online chat, or cross-network play.

- Restart your Nintendo Switch and your Minecraft game. Sometimes, a simple restart can fix many issues.

Please see: Minecraft for Nintendo Switch FAQ | Xbox Support / Manage a member’s safety settings to access Minecraft features | Xbox Support



We're looking forward to hearing from you. If there are any inquiries about our description or if there are any misconceptions, do reply to the post.

Thank you for choosing Xbox and have a great day!

Hello Mia Leas,

Thank you for the update. Please do not hesitate to ask the community anytime just in case you have any questions in the future.

When you look at your setting does it say "Show Offline" or "Show Online" If it says "Show Online" then you are appearing Offline to your friends. It is a simple toggle. When you look at it it is showing your friends the opposite of what it is showing
you. So you if want to appear Online to your friend you will want the switch to say "Appear Offline". This may not be the issue but it has confused a number of gamers in the past. Let us know. Good Luck!

Also when my friends are playing Minecaft it says my friends are not playing Minecraft. I have them as a friend and they have me as a friend, when they are playing Minecraft, their name does not show up in the friends tab. I need help.

- Thanks, Noah