How to Fix You Are Banned from This Server
A server ban is stored in banned-players.json or banned-ips.json. What the ban message tells you, how bans expire, and how admins lift one.
Quick Fix
Read the reason in the message and ask the server's staff about an appeal. Admins lift a vanilla ban with /pardon for a player or /pardon-ip for an address.
Error Message
You are banned from this server. Reason: Banned by an operator.How to Fix
Note the reason and, for a temporary ban, the end date in the message.
Contact the server through its website or community and ask how appeals work there.
Admins: run /pardon with the player's name, or /pardon-ip with the address, to lift a vanilla ban.
Admins: /banlist players and /banlist ips list every ban with who made it and the reason.
Admins: to edit bans by hand, stop the server first and then change banned-players.json or banned-ips.json. The expires field takes forever or a date in the format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z.
Common Causes
- An operator banned your account with /ban. The screen says You are banned from this server, with the reason on the line below. When the operator gave no reason, that line reads Banned by an operator.
- Your IP address is banned with /ban-ip. The message then starts with Your IP address is banned from this server, and every account that connects from that address is blocked.
- The ban has an end date. Vanilla /ban has no duration, but when an entry in the ban file has an expires date, the message adds Your ban will be removed on, followed by that date.
- A plugin or anti-cheat banned you. Those keep their own ban lists and show their own message.
- The message says You are banned from playing online, or the game says your account is suspended from online play. That ban comes from Mojang, covers every server and can't be lifted by a server admin.
Diagnostic Steps
- Read the ban reason and any end date.
- Find the server's appeal process.
- Submit an appeal and wait for the staff.
- Admins: use /pardon or /pardon-ip, then let the player reconnect.
FAQ
Can I use a VPN to bypass a ban?
A vanilla account ban is stored under your account's UUID, so connecting from a different IP address doesn't lift it. Ask the server staff about an appeal instead.
Do vanilla bans expire?
Not by themselves. /ban has no time limit, so a ban lasts until an operator uses /pardon, unless someone set an expires date in banned-players.json.
Where are bans stored?
In banned-players.json for accounts and banned-ips.json for IP addresses, both in the server folder. Each entry records when the ban was made, who made it, when it expires and the reason.
