Failed to Login: Invalid Session — How to Fix It
The “Failed to Login: Invalid Session (try restarting your game)” error means the login token Mojang/Microsoft gave Minecraft has expired or become invalid. A quick restart almost always fixes it; here are the other cases.
What an “invalid session” actually means
When you launch Minecraft, it asks Mojang's servers to confirm your account and hands the game a short-lived session token. If that token expires (they last only a little while), or if you logged in somewhere else, the server rejects you with “Invalid Session.” It has nothing to do with the server itself — it's purely your account's login state.
Fix 1: Restart Minecraft
The error text tells you the fix: fully close the launcher and the game, then reopen. On launch, Minecraft fetches a fresh session token. Nine times out of ten this is all you need.
Fix 2: Log out and back into your Microsoft account
If restarting didn't help, open the Minecraft launcher, click your profile icon, choose “Log Out,” then sign back in with your Microsoft account. This forces a brand-new token.
Fix 3: Don't share one account across devices
Playing on the same Microsoft account on two devices at once invalidates the session on both. Use one device at a time, or a separate account for each player. This is unrelated to joining from console — see our Xbox and PS5 server guides for platform-specific help.
Fix 4: Check Mojang/Microsoft status
Rarely, login servers have an outage. If restarts keep failing for everyone, wait and retry — the problem is on the auth side, not your connection.
Reviewed by the MC Monitor Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches server listings, verifies live status data, and keeps these guides current. Last review: June 2026.