Minecraft: Here’s How to Sync Worlds Between Devices

Most games don’t let you transfer game data on different devices, but most games aren’t Minecraft, either. We put a lot of time and effort into our worlds, and we wish to switch devices; we expect to be able to continue making our worlds epic on the new device, but is that possible? How do you sync Minecraft worlds between devices?

Reasons for syncing world between devices

The reasons for syncing worlds between devices appear evident and individual to each person wishing to sync them, but let’s name a few, nonetheless. It’s no secret that some worlds we worked harder on than others, and it’s also no secret that not every device you can play Minecraft on is easily portable.

In the instance of consoles like a PS4 or an Xbox One, you might want to sync your world with a more portable device like a Nintendo Switch or even a phone. You could then keep working on the world no matter where you are and whether or not you have access to your console.

A more common reason would be if you wished to play a world you created in Minecraft Java Edition on Minecraft Bedrock Edition. Perhaps your friends are all Bedrock Edition users or vice versa, in which case, it would be mandatory to transfer the world into either Java Edition or Bedrock Edition.

Syncing can be tricky, especially if you’re using an entirely different version of Minecraft (Java VS Bedrock) and can’t access the files (as is the case with most consoles). Unfortunately, no method of syncing Minecraft worlds between devices is free. Let’s see how you can do so in each type of situation, if possible.

How do you sync worlds between devices?

You have two methods of syncing worlds between devices in Minecraft. You have the Realm option (Mojang owns multiplayer servers), and if you play Minecraft on iOS devices, you can use iCloud, but it works between iOS devices only. Let’s start with the Realm option. Anyone can do the following:

1. Open Minecraft on the device you wish to transfer the world to.
2. Click the pen Icon in your Realms list.
3. Click on Replace World and confirm your selection.
4. Then, choose the world you want to transfer and wait for it to upload.
5. Once uploaded, click on Let’s Go.
6. Open Minecraft on the device you wish to share the world with.
7. Click on the pen icon next to the Realm in the Realms menu.
8. Click on Download World.
9. You’ll have to wait for the download to finish and then click Let’s Go.

If you haven’t already used a freebie on Realms because Mojang lets you try out the service for free, you can get away with transferring multiple worlds without paying for the service. If you have already used it, you’ll have to pay. I suggest going with the cheapest option available unless you plan on actually using the Realms subscription.

Can I transfer a world with a third-party server subscription?

If you’re a third-party server subscription service owner, you’ll need to check with your server provider if syncing worlds is possible. It is in most cases, like in the ApexHosting case, but since there are so many server providers, I can’t speak for all when I say it is possible. If it’s not possible, you can always rely on the Realms option-

Syncing worlds using iCloud

I’m probably repeating myself, but it’s worth mentioning once again that this method will only work with iOS devices. You can’t transfer a world using iCloud if you’re transferring from an iPhone to a PS4 and vice versa. This will work if you’re transferring, let’s say, from an iPhone to an iPad. If this applies to you, follow these steps to sync Minecraft worlds using iCloud:

1. Open Files on your old device.
2. Click on Browse and tap My Device (iPad, iPhone, etc..)
3. Tap on Minecraft.
4. Tap on the Games folder.
5. Find and tap on the com.mojang folder.
6. Find a file that’s named minecraftWorlds.
7. Press the file and hold it. A menu will pop up.
8. In the menu, tap on Save to Files.
9. Find your iCloud drive and save the file there.
10. Click Save
11. Next, go on your new device and make sure to log in with the same Apple ID.
12. Find the iCloud drive on it and the folder where you save the minecraftWorlds file.
13. Press and hold the file and copy it.
14. Next to Downloads at the top, tap iCloud Drive.
15. Tap on Locations next.
16. It’ll redirect you to the main Browse menu, where you should tap the My Device icon again.
17. Tap on Minecraft, then Games, and lastly, Mojang.
18. A new screen will pop up. Press anywhere that’s empty and hold.
19. A menu will pop up. Click on Paste and then Replace.

Can you sync a Bedrock Edition world with Java Edition?

It seems as if syncing a world between Bedrock and Java Edition Minecraft is as easy as using the Realms method, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Java and Bedrock Edition Minecraft are virtually entirely different games. Bedrock was coded in C++, whereas Java was coded in Java. This is one of the reasons why you can’t cross-play with Bedrock Edition users if you’re a Java Edition user and vice versa.

Since there’s a solution for bridging the gap between Bedrock and Java Edition users when it comes to cross-play using the GeyserMC plugin, it wouldn’t surprise players if one such plugin existed for syncing worlds between different Editions of Minecraft. It just so happens that it does, so here’s how.

A website called Chunker helps you convert Java Edition or Bedrock Edition worlds into the other. You’ll first need to export the world on your device and save it to a location you’ll remember for later. Then, you’d go to the Chunker website and click on the Upload Archive button that appears. Next, you’ll click on Start Upload and choose the Java Edition version of Minecraft you’re using. You’ll then convert it, download it to your computer, and transfer it to the file in .minecraft called saves. The file will be a .zip file.

Before doing this, make sure you back up your world just in case it gets corrupted, and you can’t access it anymore. You can back up, rinse, and repeat until you’ve successfully transferred the world, but I doubt it’ll take that long either way.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!