Simple Voice Chat on Paper: Setup, UDP Ports and Connection Fixes

Simple Voice Chat adds proximity voice chat to Minecraft, with push to talk, voice activation and private groups. This guide helps Paper server owners install it, make its UDP port reachable and test voice connections before inviting players.

Simple Voice Chat Proximity voice chat for Minecraft with groups, push to talk and noise suppression, available as a plugin for Paper, Spigot, Folia, Velocity and BungeeCord and as a mod. On Modrinth

Check what the server and players need#

The server plugin is only half of the setup. Every player who wants to use voice chat also needs the Simple Voice Chat client mod.

• Server: choose the Bukkit/Paper plugin build for your Minecraft version from the official Modrinth listing.
• Players: install the client mod that matches their Minecraft version and mod loader.
• Networking: arrange a reachable UDP port for voice traffic. The default is 24454.

Players without the client mod can still join when force_voice_chat=false, but they cannot use voice chat. Bedrock is unsupported, so do not plan this as a voice solution for Bedrock players.

If you have not installed Paper yet, start with our Paper server setup guide. When choosing hosting, ask whether the provider can allocate and expose an additional UDP port.

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Install the Paper plugin#

Download the server plugin build, rather than putting a client mod file in the server's plugin folder. Use the installation route for where your server runs.

The Paper plugin uses the configuration path above. The client mod and other server platforms have their own setup, so use the project wikiSource site when preparing those installations.

Open the separate UDP port#

Decide which UDP port your server will actually receive before editing the configuration. On a rented panel server, use the port assigned by the host, even if it differs from 24454.

The Breakdown's tutorial walks through adding Simple Voice Chat, setting voice distances and opening UDP port 24454 on a self-hosted server.

Add Proximity Voice Chat to a Minecraft Server (Simple Voice Chat Guide) The Breakdown

Set voice distance and joining rules#

In plugins/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties, start with a small set of deliberate settings. This example uses the default port and distances. Replace the port if your host assigned another one.

port=24454
max_voice_distance=48
whisper_distance=24
enable_groups=true
force_voice_chat=false

• max_voice_distance controls the proximity voice distance.
• whisper_distance controls the whisper distance.
• enable_groups enables the group feature.
• force_voice_chat=false allows players without the voice chat mod to remain on the server.

Keep voice optional while testing. Setting force_voice_chat=true kicks players who do not have the mod installed; login_timeout controls the verification wait in milliseconds, with a default of 10000.

The bind_address setting controls where the voice server listens. When empty, it uses the Minecraft server-ip setting. The separate voice_host setting tells clients which hostname to use for voice chat. Change these only when your network layout requires it, following the server configuration referenceSource site.

After saving your configuration, restart through the controls appropriate to your server.

Test connections and fix the failing layer#

Join with the client mod installed, then run the connection test in game. Replace the example name with the player you want to test.

/voicechat test PlayerName

This requires voicechat.admin, which defaults to operators. Simple Voice Chat's commands work in game, not from the server console.

1. Check the client: the player needs the client mod to use voice chat.
2. Check the configured port: it must match the UDP port assigned or opened for the server.
3. Check each network boundary: review the machine firewall, provider firewall and any home router forwarding that applies.
4. Check permissions: a player needs permission to listen and speak, even after the network connection works.
5. Test proximity: have two players speak nearby, then move apart to check the distances you selected.

A missing open voice port is a common cause of the not-connected error. Ordinary web port checkers are insufficient for this test because UDP checking needs an application that answers. Use the plugin's connection test and the official setup troubleshootingSource site instead.

Control speaking, listening and groups#

Simple Voice Chat uses the Bukkit permission system on Paper. LuckPerms can grant or deny its nodes for particular groups or players.

LuckPerms Free Permissions plugin used to grant or deny the voicechat.* permission nodes per rank. On LuckPerms

• voicechat.listen: permission to listen, enabled for everyone by default.
• voicechat.speak: permission to speak, enabled for everyone by default.
• voicechat.groups: permission to use groups, enabled for everyone by default.
• voicechat.admin: administration permission, enabled for operators by default.

Give connection-test access to the staff who need it. If a player connects but cannot speak or hear, inspect their effective permissions before changing network settings again. Our LuckPerms ranks guide covers organizing permissions by group.

Groups support password protection. Players can use these commands in game to invite someone, join a group or leave one:

/voicechat invite PlayerName
/voicechat join GroupName
/voicechat leave

Connect voice chat across a Velocity network#

For a Velocity network, install the Simple Voice Chat Velocity plugin on the proxy and voice chat on every backend server. The proxy plugin detects each backend's voice port and provides a single external UDP entry point.

Velocity Free A modern Minecraft proxy; the voice chat has a Velocity plugin so one UDP port serves a whole network. On PaperMC

Only one UDP port needs opening externally for the proxy. It typically matches the proxy's Minecraft port, with 25577 being the default described for Velocity. Use your actual proxy configuration rather than copying that number without checking.

Backend voice_host settings are ignored in this arrangement. If a voice hostname is needed, set it in the proxy's voice chat configuration. Follow the official proxy instructionsSource site for that layout.

If you are still building the network itself, follow our Velocity setup guide first. Then test voice connections on each backend before opening the network to players.