As a game under continuous development, players may need to update their Minecraft Worlds, their Realms, or their servers. Read on to learn how to update Old Worlds, Realms, and Servers to the latest version whenever a new version comes out.

How to Update an Old World

How to Update an Old World Steps
Create a Back-Up of Your World Open the Old World You Want to Update

Create a Back-Up of Your World

Find the Back-Up option when editing a world from the World Select screen.

While not a necessary step, we highly recommend to always keep a back-up of your worlds before making any drastic changes. This will ensure you can have a safe version to load back to in-case of any unexpected errors.

Open the Old World You Want to Update

Old Worlds will have their versions indicated on the World Select screen.

After backing-up your old worlds, the only other thing that you need to do is open the world you want to update. The selected world will automatically be updated to the version your game is on.

Check Updated Version on the World Select screen

When exiting to the World Select screen, you should now see that your world will be updated to the version you are on.

How to Update an Old Realm

How to Update an Old Realm Steps
Create a Back-Up of Your Realm Open the Realm You Want to Update

Create a Back-Up of Your Realm

Similar to updating a world, we highly recommend to always keep a back-up of your realms before making any drastic changes. This will ensure you can have a safe version to load back to in-case of any unexpected errors.

Let the Owner Open the Realm You Want to Update

The fastest way to ensure a Realm updates to the latest version, is to have the owner of the Realm enter the Realm from an updated version. The realm will then be automatically updated for all players of the Realm.

Otherwise, Realms will typically update themselves within a few days of a major update.

How to Update a Server

How to Update a Server
Download the server.jar From the Official Site Run the World You Are Hosting Through That .jar

Download the server.jar From the Official Site

For those who are running a server, you will need to download the server.jar file from the official Minecraft site. It can typically be found at the bottom of the Patch Notes page of any given patch.

Run the World You Are Hosting Through That .jar

After obtaining the necessary server.jar file, run the world through that .jar to update the world to the desired version.

Minecraft Related Guides

All Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks Guides

Gameplay Tips and Tricks
1.18 Ore Distribution	1.18 Diamond Level
Villager Trades and Jobs	How to Join and Create Realms
Walkthrough and Progression Guide	List of All Commands
How to Show Mob Hitboxes	Best Enchantments
How to Use Texture Packs	What is Simulation Distance?
Beginner's Guide	How to Get to the Far Lands
How to Update Old Worlds	How to Update to Newer Versions