Adding voice chat to your Minecraft server (Simple Voice Chat plugin)

The most requested addon for Minecraft community servers in 2026 is Simple Voice Chat (SVC) — the plugin that gives proximity-based voice (you hear players based on distance, like real life, like in DayZ or Rust). It works on Paper, Purpur, and Forge/Fabric.

This article covers the AndroHost-side setup. It takes about ten minutes.

What you're installing

Simple Voice Chat is one plugin (server side) + one mod (every player needs it client side). Server publishes audio packets between players; the client mod plays them back with stereo positioning.

Properties worth knowing:

• Players who don't have the mod can't hear or speak. They can still play, just no voice. There's no "vanilla-friendly" version.
• Voice doesn't go through Mojang or Microsoft. Audio is peer-server, encrypted, never recorded by us.
• It uses UDP, on a port you choose. This is the only port you need to think about beyond the normal Minecraft port.

Step 1: install the server-side plugin

Find the right download for your server type:

• Paper / Purpur / Spigot: the SVC plugin .jar. Get it from Modrinth or SpigotMC.
• Forge: the SVC mod for the matching Minecraft + Forge version.
• Fabric: SVC mod for Fabric + the Fabric API dependency.

Upload it to your server:

1. Panel → Files tab → navigate to plugins/ (for Paper) or mods/ (for Forge/Fabric).
2. Click Upload or drag the file in.
3. Restart the server.

Watch the console as the server boots. You should see a line like:

[Simple Voice Chat] Loaded.
[Simple Voice Chat] Voice chat server started on port 24454

If that line doesn't appear, check the next section.

Step 2: open the voice port

This is the AndroHost-specific bit. SVC uses a UDP port for audio. Your Minecraft port (25577 or whatever) is TCP — it won't carry voice.

By default SVC tries to use port 24454. On AndroHost, you should use the same port number as your Minecraft port, just on UDP. This is easier because:

• You already have that port allocated to you.
• It's already firewalled-open for incoming traffic.
• Players can use the same address for both.

Configure SVC to use it:

1. Restart the server once (SVC creates its config on first run).
2. Files tab → plugins/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties (Paper) or config/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties (Forge/Fabric).
3. Open it. Find port= and set it to your Minecraft port number.
4. Find bind_address= — leave blank for default behavior.
5. Save. Restart the server again.

You should now see:

[Simple Voice Chat] Voice chat server started on port 25577

(or whatever your port is).

Why we recommend matching the Minecraft port

Some networks (school WiFi, office, restrictive home routers) block arbitrary UDP ports. Using the same number for both means: if Minecraft connects at all, voice will too. Different ports doubles the chances something is filtered.

Step 3: tell players to install the mod

Each player needs the client-side mod that matches their setup:

• Vanilla Minecraft: no SVC support; players need a mod loader (Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge).
• Fabric players: install the SVC mod + the Fabric API in their mods folder.
• Forge players: install the Forge version of the mod.
• Modpack users: check if SVC is already in the modpack. Many popular packs include it. If not, add it as a client-side mod.

After install, players join the server normally. They'll see a microphone icon appear in the corner of their screen. If they don't see it, the mod isn't loading — usually a version mismatch.

Step 4: configure proximity range and groups

Once SVC works at all, you can tune the experience:

• voice_chat_distance=48 — how many blocks a voice carries. 48 = roughly the default Minecraft view distance. Lower (16-24) for "you can only hear neighbors", higher (64+) for "you can hear across the spawn".
• enable_groups=true — lets players form voice groups (like Discord channels) that bypass distance. Useful for parties or staff coordination.
• whisper_distance=4 — close-range "whisper" volume range.

All in the same voicechat-server.properties.

Troubleshooting

"Voice chat is not enabled on this server." Mod is installed client-side but server isn't running SVC. Restart the server. Check console for the "Voice chat server started" line.

Microphone icon shows red X / "voice chat unreachable": UDP port isn't reaching the server. Most common causes:

• The port in voicechat-server.properties doesn't match what your firewall allows.
• The player is on a network that blocks UDP entirely (some corporate / school networks).
• The player has VPN software intercepting UDP traffic.

Voice cuts out / robotic: packet loss. SVC is sensitive to network quality. Have the affected player run a speedtest with the same connection they game on; if their packet loss is over ~1% they'll have voice issues.

Players can hear each other but you can't hear them: check your client-side audio device selection (game settings → SVC → microphone / speakers). The mod sometimes defaults to "system default" which doesn't match your actual audio device.

Voice only works at very close range: voice_chat_distance is too low, or your server is running an older version of SVC. Update both server and clients.

A word on privacy

SVC traffic is encrypted client to server. We don't and can't decode it. The encryption keys are per-connection and ephemeral.

That said:

• Server operators (you) can disable SVC entirely via a config option, which players will see as "voice chat unavailable".
• Server operators cannot listen in on conversations through the plugin itself. Anyone telling you they can is misinformed or trying to scare you.
• If you set up something like Discord-side voice integration (some Bukkit plugins do bridge SVC ↔ Discord), THAT is recordable. The default install is not.

When SVC isn't the right tool

If your community is small (5-10 players) and you all hang out in Discord anyway, you might not need SVC. Pure Discord voice has no proximity, but it has the benefit of working when nobody's actually in-game.

SVC shines on bigger servers (15+ active players) where multiple conversations should happen simultaneously across the world. Spawn chaos, base raids, separate group bases — these are SVC's natural use case.

If you're running a roleplay server, especially: SVC is transformative. Proximity voice makes the medium work in a way text chat never could.

In summary

1. Upload one .jar to plugins/ (or mods/ for modded).
2. Set the port in voicechat-server.properties to your Minecraft port.
3. Restart the server twice (first to generate the config, second to use it).
4. Have every player install the client mod.
5. Done.

Total setup time: ten minutes for you, two minutes per player. The first time someone whispers across a base wall and you hear them only in your left ear, you'll understand why this plugin gets requested so often.