«Failed to login: Invalid session»

Errors & Fixes Reviewed September 6, 2026 1 min read

This one is almost always the player's launcher rather than your server. The client could not prove to Mojang's session servers that it is who it says it is.

What you are seeing

  • Failed to login: Invalid session (Try restarting your game and the launcher)
  • It affects one player while others connect normally.
  • It started after the player left the game open for a long time.

Why it happens

The launcher holds a session token that expires. When the client tries to join an online-mode server with a stale token, Mojang's authentication refuses it and the server declines the connection.

What to do

  1. Fully restart the game and the launcher

    Not just the game — the launcher too. This refreshes the token and resolves it in the large majority of cases.

  2. Sign out and back in

    If a restart is not enough, signing out of the Microsoft account in the launcher and back in forces a completely new session.

  3. Check whether the account is signed in elsewhere

    The same account logged in on a second device can invalidate the first one's session.

How to confirm it worked

The player connects normally. Nothing on the server side needs to change.

Worth knowing

If every player gets this at the same moment, it is worth checking Mojang's own status — an authentication outage on their side looks exactly like this and no amount of restarting will help.