"Connection timed out" vs "Connection refused": what each one tells you

These two errors look similar, and people often treat them as the same thing. They aren't. Each one tells you something different about where the problem is, and knowing which you have saves a lot of guessing.

The short version

Connection refused means your connection reached the machine, and the machine answered "nothing is listening on that port." Someone is home, but the door you knocked on doesn't exist.

Connection timed out means you got no answer at all. The request went out and nothing came back, so something in the middle dropped it, or the destination isn't reachable.

What "refused" usually means

Because the machine did reply, the network path is fine. Look at the server itself:

  • The server isn't running. Check that the status on your server page says Running, and open the console to see whether it's still starting up.
  • You're using the wrong port. The port shown on your server page is the one that counts, and it's often not the game's default.
  • The server crashed right after starting. See My server crashes or won't start.

What "timed out" usually means

Silence has more possible causes, so work through them in order:

  1. Wrong IP address. A typo or an old address from a server you've since replaced is the most common cause by far. Copy the address from your server page again rather than retyping it.
  2. The server is offline or suspended. A suspended server won't answer at all. See My server is suspended.
  3. A firewall is dropping the traffic. On your own VPS, that could be a firewall you set up yourself. On your home network, some routers and school or work networks block game ports.
  4. Your own connection. Try from your phone on mobile data. If it works there, the problem is your home or office network, not the server.

Test it yourself in 30 seconds

You don't have to rely on the game's error message. Test the port directly, which tells you the result in plain words.

On Windows, open PowerShell:

Test-NetConnection SERVER_IP -Port 25565

On Linux or macOS:

nc -vz SERVER_IP 25565

Replace SERVER_IP with your address and 25565 with your port. If it reports success, the server is reachable and the issue is in your game client or login. If it fails, you're back to the lists above.

Don't rely on ping for this. Many hosts block it on purpose, so a failed ping doesn't mean the server is down.

What Minecraft players see

The Minecraft client shows Connection timed out: no further information for the silent case and Connection refused: no further information for the other. Everything above applies directly. For the rest of the checklist, see Connect to your Minecraft server and I can't connect to my server.

Still stuck? Open a ticket on Discord - run /ticket in any channel, pick a department, and include your Server ID or Invoice ID so we can jump straight in.