How To Update Minecraft On Windows 10

Minecraft is a critically-acclaimed survival sandbox video game jointly developed by Mojang, 4J and Xbox Game Studios, and Other Ocean Interactive. Being one of the highest-grossing video games of all time, it has an equally tall history of updates. However, issues with updating Minecraft aren’t unheard of, and if you’re facing such a dilemma, worry not! This guide will show you how to update your game to the latest version of Windows 10.

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Minecraft is available in two variants for Windows 10 — Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. While minor updates are small in size, most major Minecraft updates have a size of around 400-900 MB, so make sure you have access to a stable internet connection.

How to Update Minecraft (Java Edition)

(If you have the Java edition, read on. If you have the Bedrock Edition or the Windows 10 edition, you can safely skip this section and scroll down to the update guide for Bedrock Edition)

Updating Minecraft (java edition) from the Minecraft Launcher

If you want to play the latest version of the game in java edition, the update process is effortless, literally. If Minecraft is not updated to the latest version for any reason, all you need to do is:-

1. Open the Minecraft launcher and log into your Microsoft/Mojang/account.
2. From the left sidebar, select “Minecraft: Java Edition.”
3. Click on the popup menu at the bottom left of the launcher (besides the settings tab). By default, it should say ‘Latest Release.’ If another option is selected instead, select ‘Latest Release.’

   

4. Look for the ‘PLAY’ button at the bottom of the launcher. If the word ‘download’ is mentioned along with a version number under the ‘PLAY’ text, click on it. The launcher will then download the new version of Minecraft.

However, if the issue still doesn’t resolve itself, an effective fix would be to reinstall the entire game altogether.

Start Over With A Fresh Install

 This should be obvious, but a clean install would be the last resort to this frustrating problem. A reinstall will revert all your Minecraft and Launcher settings to their default values, which would solve the issue.

How to uninstall Minecraft Java Edition:

1. Open settings from the Start Menu, the search bar, or by pressing the ‘Windows key + I’.

   

2. In Settings, click on Apps; this will take you to Apps and features to see all your installed apps.
3. Search for Minecraft in the Search Bar. The results should bring up ‘Minecraft Launcher.’ Click on it, and then click on uninstall.
4. Alternatively, you can search for the Minecraft Launcher in the Start Menu, right-click on it, then click on ‘Uninstall.’

However, this only takes care of the launcher. It does not uninstall the game itself, which must be deleted manually. (Note that a complete uninstall will delete all your installed mods as well since these are patched onto Minecraft’s core ‘minecraft.jar’ files)

To delete the game:

1. Search for Run in the Search box, or press the ‘Windows key + R.’
2. In Run, search for “%appdata%” (without the double quotes).

   

3. Here, you can find a folder named ‘.minecraft.’ It’s usually the first folder in the location.
4. At this stage, you have an opportunity to backup your saved worlds and texture packs (if you’ve already done so, you can skip this step). Your worlds can be found in the ‘Saves’ folder, and your texture packs can be found in the ‘Resourcepacks’ folder. Copy them anywhere outside the ‘.minecraft’ folder.

   

5. To uninstall the game completely, delete the entire ‘.minecraft’ folder. (Don’t leave it in the Recycle Bin, delete it from there too!)

After this, you can reinstall the launcher (you will have to sign in to your Mojang/Microsoft account to reinstall the game). Then, after installation, the launcher should be ready to download the latest version of Minecraft java. Now, you can place your copied world saves and texture packs into their default folders in the game’s directory.

How to update Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

(If you have the Java edition instead, read the previous section and skip this one)

Updating Minecraft from the Microsoft Store

Also known as the Windows 10 edition, the bedrock edition cannot be updated directly from the launcher; it can only be updated from the Microsoft Store: –

1. Open the Microsoft Store.
2. Open the ‘Library’ tab. All your installed apps should be visible here.
3. Click on the ‘Get updates’ button to identify apps that need updating.

   

4. Scroll down until you find Minecraft, and click on the update button, or click on the ‘update all’ button at the top of the screen if you wish to update all your apps in one go. Now it should update your game to the latest version.
5. After following the above steps, you can access Minecraft: Bedrock edition from the ‘Minecraft for Windows’ tab on the sidebar of the Minecraft launcher.

What If the Above Method Is Not Working?

If Minecraft: Windows Edition refuses to update even after following the above steps, there are a few different fixes you can try to check if Minecraft is working correctly.

Reset Minecraft

Resetting will reset Minecraft to its original state, and if there are any minor errors, fix them as well.

1. Open Settings. You can access Settings from the Start menu, or by pressing ‘Windows + I,’ or by searching for it in the Search box.
2. In Settings, click on Apps. You will arrive at Apps and Features, displaying all your installed apps.
3. In the search box, type ‘Minecraft.’ When the search result shows Minecraft, click on it, then click on ‘Advanced options.

   

4. Scroll down to the Reset section. There will be a reset button – click on it (make sure to back up your world saves files and texture packs before the reset, as it will delete all the game’s data).

Finally, you can head to the Microsoft Store and check for available updates to download. If there are still no updates available, the only option remaining is to reinstall the game. Note that the reset will sign you out of the launcher, so you must sign in again.

Perform A Fresh Install

If your game refuses to update even following the steps mentioned above, the last resort is to perform a fresh install.

1. Open settings from the start menu or by pressing ‘Windows key + I’.
2. In Settings, click on Apps. This will bring you to ‘Apps and features.

   

3. Search for Minecraft. When the search result shows Minecraft, click on it, then click on ‘Uninstall.’
4. Alternatively, you can search for Minecraft in the Start Menu, right-click on it, and click on ‘Uninstall.’

You can now reinstall the latest version of the game from the Microsoft Store.

Conclusion

In this article, you git to know how to Update Minecraft On Windows 10. Follow the methods listed in the article, and your problems or doubts will be resolved.

Currently, Minecraft java is at version 1.18.1 (1.18.2 for Bedrock), a minor patch over the hotly anticipated Cliffs and Caves Update Part 2 (version 1.18), which was released in November last year. The latest update is mostly bug fixes, but 1.18 added several features like a wholly overhauled cave generation system, several mountain biomes, better ore veins, support for two new languages, and many more! 

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Tony Polanco

Tony, computing writer at Automaticable, covers laptops, tablets, Windows, iOS. Off-duty, he indulges in comics, gaming, speculative fiction, and excessive Twitter use. Non-nerdy side includes rocking out at concerts and hitting NYC bars.