Simple Voice Chat Server Setup (2026): Proximity Voice on Paper, Fabric & NeoForge

Simple Voice Chat Server Setup (2026)

Simple Voice Chat is the mod and plugin (by developer henkelmax) behind almost every "voice SMP" you have seen in 2026. It adds real, in-game proximity voice: you hear players who are near you, the audio fades with distance, and you can form private groups. It is the dominant social-survival format right now, and the setup is the same whether you run a small friends server or a public 18+ voice SMP.

This guide covers what the mod is, why it has to run server-side, the separate UDP voice port it needs, the three install paths (Paper plugin, Fabric, NeoForge), and the single mistake that breaks most first-time setups: the voice port not being open.

Last verified: June 14, 2026. Default voice port and server-side requirement confirmed against the official henkelmax documentation and Modrinth/Hangar release listings.

What Simple Voice Chat Actually Is

Simple Voice Chat is not a Discord bot and it is not a service in the cloud. It is a peer-to-server voice system that runs directly on your Minecraft server. The server acts as the voice relay: every player's microphone audio goes to the server over UDP, the server works out who is close to whom, and it sends each player only the voices they should be able to hear.

Because of that architecture there are two non-negotiable rules:

• It must be installed on the server. The server is the relay; without it there is nothing to route voice through.
• Every player must also have the client mod installed. Vanilla Minecraft has no voice support, so each player needs the matching client version (Fabric, NeoForge, Forge, or Quilt) on their own machine. A player without the client mod can still play normally - they simply will not hear or be heard.

The Voice Port (read this before anything else)

This is the part people get wrong. Simple Voice Chat does not use your normal Minecraft port (25565 TCP). It uses a separate UDP port, and the default is:

That is in addition to your game port, not instead of it. So a working voice server is listening on at least two things:

• 25565 TCP - the normal Minecraft connection (game traffic).
• 24454 UDP - the Simple Voice Chat voice traffic.

The voice port is configurable. If 24454 is taken on your host, you can change it in voicechat-server.properties to any value the mod allows (it accepts a wide range; pick something free and out of the way). Whatever you choose, that exact port must be reachable over UDP from the outside.

Install Path 1: Paper / Purpur / Spigot (Plugin)

Simple Voice Chat ships a real Paper plugin variant, so you do not need a mod loader on the server side.

1. Download the Bukkit/Paper plugin build of Simple Voice Chat for your Minecraft version from the official Modrinth/Hangar listing.
2. Upload the .jar into your server's /plugins/ folder.
3. Restart the server. On first boot it generates plugins/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties.
4. Open that file and confirm the port value. Leave it at 24454 unless your host told you otherwise.
5. Make sure the matching UDP port is open (see the next section), then restart again.

You should see a line in the console confirming the voice chat server started on the port. If it warns that the port is already in use, something else (another voice instance, Geyser, a leftover process) is holding it - change the port or free it.

Install Path 2: Fabric (Mod)

1. Confirm your server is running the Fabric loader and that Fabric API is installed in the server's mods/ folder.
2. Download the Fabric build of Simple Voice Chat for your exact Minecraft version.
3. Drop the .jar into the server's mods/ folder.
4. Restart. Configuration lives in config/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties (path can vary slightly by loader); confirm the port.
5. Every player joins with the same Minecraft + Fabric + Fabric API + Simple Voice Chat versions on their client.

Install Path 3: NeoForge / Forge (Mod)

1. Download the NeoForge (or Forge, matching your loader) build of Simple Voice Chat for your version.
2. Place the .jar in the server's mods/ folder. Simple Voice Chat is a normal server-safe mod - it is designed to load on a dedicated server, so it will not trip the client-class crash described in our client-only class crash guide.
3. Restart, confirm the generated voicechat-server.properties and its port.
4. Players install the matching NeoForge/Forge client build.

Opening the Voice UDP Port - the #1 Setup Failure

If voice chat installs cleanly but players see "Voice chat not connected", it is almost always the port. The classic symptom is that the server log shows successful authentication (the TCP handshake worked) but voice still fails - because voice rides UDP, and only the TCP path was opened.

Things to check, in order:

1. Open UDP, not just TCP. Forwarding/allowing 24454 TCP does nothing. The voice traffic is UDP. You must open the same port number on UDP.
2. Home / self-hosted: forward 24454/udp in your router and add a firewall exception for it (Windows Firewall, ufw, iptables - whatever applies).
3. Docker: publish the port as UDP explicitly. -p 24454:24454 only maps TCP. You need -p 24454:24454/udp.
4. Linux firewall: for example ufw allow 24454/udp, or the equivalent iptables/nftables rule.
5. DDoS protection / proxy: some upstream protection drops unexpected UDP. If everything looks right but voice still fails, the provider may need a UDP exception for the voice port.
6. Mobile data / restrictive ISP: some networks block arbitrary UDP. If one player fails on mobile data but works on Wi-Fi, that is the cause, not your server.

A quick mental model: if players can join and play the game but nobody can hear anyone, the game (TCP) port works and the voice (UDP) port does not.

Proximity and Group Basics

Out of the box, Simple Voice Chat is proximity voice: your audio reaches players within a configurable distance and gets quieter toward the edge of that range. Server settings let you tune the broadcast distance and behavior in voicechat-server.properties; players adjust their own microphone, volume, and push-to-talk vs voice-activation in the in-game voice menu (default keybind V on the client).

Groups let players talk privately regardless of distance - useful for parties, staff channels, or split squads. Players create and join groups from the voice menu; whether group voice is allowed (and whether it is still positional) is governed by the server settings, so admins keep final control.

Server-Admin Checklist

• Server build of Simple Voice Chat installed for the correct loader and Minecraft version (Paper plugin, or Fabric/NeoForge/Forge mod).
• voicechat-server.properties generated, port confirmed (default 24454).
• Voice UDP port open and forwarded - the same number, on UDP, end to end.
• Voice port does not collide with Geyser's UDP port or anything else.
• Every player told to install the matching client mod (or to use the Discord Bridge if they will not).
• Console shows the voice chat server started without a "port in use" warning.
• Test with two real clients: confirm proximity (audio fades with distance) and groups work.

Common Errors

"Voice chat not connected": the UDP voice port is blocked, not forwarded, or only opened on TCP. This is the overwhelming majority of cases.

"Port already in use" on startup: another process (a second voice instance, Geyser, a leftover server) holds the port. Free it or change the voice port.

Some players hear voice, others do not: the ones who fail are missing the client mod, are on a version mismatch, or are on a network that blocks UDP.

Everything authenticates but no audio: classic TCP-works-UDP-blocked. Re-check the firewall/forward as UDP.

Related Guides

• DiscordSRV: Bridge Your Community - chat and (with the bridge) voice between Discord and Minecraft.
• GeyserMC Crossplay Setup - also uses a UDP port; mind the conflict.
• Common Minecraft Server Errors - EULA, Java mismatch, port binding.
• Fabric vs Forge Modding Guide - choosing and installing the right loader.

Want voice-SMP-ready Minecraft Java hosting? Supercraft runs Minecraft dedicated servers with the voice UDP port pre-opened, daily backups, instant setup, and 5 region options. Plans from $5.99/mo.