Why might my Minecraft Alpha server be disconnecting?
Playing older versions of Minecraft Alpha is always a good way to reminisce back to simpler times, especially if you’re playing with your friends on a server. However, experiencing disconnects, lag and other problems can ruin the experience.
Why Does My Minecraft Alpha Server Keep Disconnecting?
Earlier Alpha versions of Minecraft are often unstable and might disconnect you randomly.
Make sure to use Minecraft Alpha 1.2.6, as it is the most stable version of Alpha.
You might also experience lag if you don’t supply enough RAM for your Alpha server.
Unstable Alpha Versions
Some versions of Minecraft Alpha are more stable than others. For singleplayer use, most versions will not give you any issues. The problem might arise when you try and play some versions on a server together with other people. For example, Alpha version 1.2.5 of Minecraft came with the new server version “0.2.7”, which fixed a major memory leak that would cause frequent crashes.
Alongside Alpha versions of the Minecraft client, Notch also frequently updated and released new server versions. For example, server version 0.2.0, a version that released along with Alpha 1.1.0 was the first version of Minecraft to support server-side inventories, which allowed the server to track and log what items players have in their inventories, preventing cheating and abuse.
Server version 0.2.0 was also the first version to track players log-out locations, meaning players could now log back in the same location they left. Each release of Alpha brought with them a lot of stability fixes.
If you want the most stable Alpha experience, or are experiencing issues like disconnects or lag on your server, we recommend using Minecraft Alpha 1.2.6 when playing.
Read our guide of every Alpha version of Minecraft
Amount of memory
The amount of memory a server has will usually have a lot of impact on the performance level you experience. For Minecraft, the industry standard in server hosting is often a minimum of 2 GB of RAM, which will cover basic needs for smaller servers with few players.
However, newer versions of Minecraft are quite resource heavy, and often require 4 GB or more if you want a stable experience with more than 3 - 4 players. When exploring and rendering new chunks, players might still experience some instability.
Minecraft Alpha, in contrast to newer versions, can almost run on a potato.
Jokes aside, Alpha Edition is extremely light on the hardware, making it both easy and cheap to set up an Alpha server. A standard server package with us at Gateway.gg for Alpha Edition gives you 1 GB of ram, which should be plenty enough resources to host a small friend group on a survival adventure.
However, if you intend to play on your server long term, explore a lot or host a high amount of players, more resources will be required to ensure a stable and good experience. For servers with more than 12 players, we recommend between 2 – 4 GB of RAM to really ensure a quality experience for your community.
You can read more about RAM requirements here
In short, if you keep experiencing disconnects, you should either try a newer version, or consider upgrading your memory for your server. Sometimes, Minecraft Alpha has moments of instability, but it is only natural due to its age.
Host with our infrastructure, and get your Alpha server with the click of a button!