You cannot play on Realms error in Minecraft

When you attempt to create or join a Realm in Minecraft Bedrock or Java edition for Windows 11/10 PC or in Minecraft edition for Xbox, you may get the permissions prompt stating You cannot play on Realms because of how your Microsoft/Xbox Live account is set up. In this post, we offer the most suitable solutions affected gamers can apply to resolve the issue.

When this issue occurs, you’ll receive either of the following full error messages:

You Need Permission
You cannot play on Realms because of how your Xbox Live account is set up. This can be changed in your privacy & online safety settings on Xbox.com.

You Need Permission
You cannot play on Realms because of how your Microsoft Account is set up. Please ensure your online safety settings allow Multiplayer and Clubs. See instructions for changing these settings at aka.ms/MCMultiplayerHelp.

Why is my Realm not letting me join?

When trying to play Minecraft: Java Edition Realms, and you’re unable to join a Realm, it could be that you’re using an older game version. In this case, to resolve the issue, you must update your game to the latest version of Minecraft. To do this, open the Minecraft launcher – the launcher should automatically show you the latest release. If not, press the arrow to the right of the play button and select Latest Release.

You cannot play on Realms error in Minecraft

If you get the permission prompt with the error message You cannot play on Realms because of how your Xbox Live or Microsoft account is set up when you try to create or join a Realm on your Xbox console or Windows 11/10 gaming PC, then outlined below are the recommended fixes you can easily apply to resolve the issue on your gaming device.

Log out of all Minecraft sessions
Change the privacy & online settings of your Xbox/Microsoft account
Verify your Minecraft Realms and Realms Plus subscription
Additional troubleshooting

Let’s look at the description of the process as it relates to each of the listed solutions.

1] Log out of all Minecraft sessions

You cannot play on Realms because of how your Xbox Live or Microsoft account is set up an error message on a basic level could be there are multiple logged sessions for Minecraft for your account. So, as your first troubleshooting step, we suggest you log out of all Minecraft sessions by following the steps below. Once done, you can then log back in on just the device you currently want to play on.

Launch a web browser.
Navigate to the Microsoft Account website.
Go to My Microsoft Account.
Select Advanced Security Options.
Sign Out of all Minecraft sessions.

Read: Your device does not support Minecraft Realms

2] Change the privacy & online settings of your Xbox/Microsoft account

Following numerous reports regarding the issue at hand, investigations revealed that gamers are more likely to encounter the issue due to the privacy settings of their Xbox or Microsoft accounts. In this case, it was also reported that to resolve the issue, you need to change the Privacy and Online safety settings of your Xbox/Microsoft account by following these steps:

Sign into your Microsoft account at Xbox.com.
Select your Gamertag, and then select the More actions (ellipsis – 3 dots) button.
Next, select Xbox settings, and then select Privacy & online safety. You may have to enter your password or PIN.
Next, select either the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 devices Online Safety tab or the Privacy tab.
Now, review the current settings and make sure all are set to the Allow permission.
When done, to save the changes, click Submit at the bottom of the page before leaving or switching to another tab. If you don’t submit the changes before you move to the other tab, your changes won’t be saved.

After completing this task. see if you can now create or join a Realm. If the issue persists, you can continue with the next solution. Or, although it might seem not ideal, you can create a new Microsoft account using an existing email address or create a new email address to use for signing into Xbox and see if that solves your problem.

Read: How to setup Xbox Privacy and Online Safety for Kids

3] Verify your Minecraft Realms and Realms Plus subscription

On the official Xbox support site at support.xbox.com/minecraft-realms-overview, it says Minecraft Realms and Realms Plus are subscription-based services that let you play Minecraft online with friends and family on your server and, depending on the service, give you access to a catalog of Minecraft content, including skins, worlds, and resource packs. So, verify that you have an active subscription. If you don’t, you can choose either a one-time purchase or a recurring subscription for either of the following options:

Realms: A personal server that allows you to play with up to two additional players.
Realms Plus: A personal server for up to 10 additional players and a catalog of Minecraft Marketplace content

If this isn’t the case, but the issue in the highlight is still unresolved, you can continue with the next solution.

Read:

4] Additional troubleshooting

Some affected console gamers reported the issue in view is more of an Xbox issue and not a Minecraft issue as they have experienced a similar issue with Party Chat, voice chat in games and accepting game invites for other games. So, you can go through the following additional troubleshooting and see if anything helps.

Check your Xbox network settings to make sure you have an Open NAT type (this shouldn’t matter with Realms but Open is always the best for gaming).
Delete your Gamertag from your Xbox (not your games or save game files, just the Gamertag).
Go to Xbox.com and go through your privacy settings there to make sure they’re correct. If they look correct (wide open with no restrictions), change one thing and save the change to force your privacy settings to be updated on the copy of your account Microsoft keeps. Then change it back and save it to force another update.
Sign in again on your Xbox which will force it to re-download a copy of your Gamertag.
Check (on your Xbox) that the privacy settings look correct. If they do, make a change (save it) then change it back (save it again).

Suppose after you have gone through this post, but the issue you’re currently facing persists, you can contact Mojang Studios support at help.minecraft.net or contact Xbox support and see what help they can render to resolve the issue on your gaming device for you — possibly, there may be temporary restrictions on your account, or worse — banned players are not allowed to play on servers, join Realms, host or join multiplayer games.

Any of these suggestions should work for you!

How do you enable Realms in Minecraft Xbox?

On your Xbox console, launch the Minecraft game. In Minecraft, select Play, and then select the Friends tab and choose Join Realm. If you are playing on a console, enter the 6-digit invite code. If you have received a Share Link invitation, the invite code will be the last six digits of the URL. if you want to play online, Xbox Live Gold is required for all multiplayer services on Xbox, no matter what console game you are playing. Xbox Live Gold is a paid service and is not required to access Realms on mobile devices or Windows PC.

Read next: Not Authenticated with Minecraft.net, Failed to connect to the server

Obinna@TWC

Obinna has completed B.Tech in Information & Communication Technology. He has worked as a System Support Engineer, primarily on User Endpoint Administration, as well as a Technical Analyst, primarily on Server/System Administration. He also has experience as a Network and Communications Officer. He has been a Windows Insider MVP (2020) and currently owns and runs a Computer Clinic.