by At FreeMcServer.net, we provide free Minecraft servers — but running servers costs money. To make sure we can offer free servers to as many people as possible, we use a renewal system instead of keeping every server online 24/7.
Important: This renewal system applies only to free servers.
Upgraded servers do not require renewal — they run continuously as long as your upgrade remains active.
Here’s how it works:
Renewal Timers
- Every server has a 4-hour renewal timer (or 6 hours if you watch an ad).
- You can renew your server anytime you want — even before it expires. Renewing resets the timer back to 4/6 hours.
- If you forget to renew, your server will simply expire. It won’t be deleted immediately — you can log in and renew it anytime within 30 days.
- Players can also renew or start the server from the Public Page if you enable it — this way your friends can keep the server alive even if you’re not online.
Player Inactivity Timer
To prevent servers from running empty and wasting resources, we’ve added a Player Inactivity timer:
- If no players join your server after a renewal, it will automatically expire after 30 minutes (or 60 minutes if you watched an ad).
- If there are players online, the server will stay up until the normal 4/6-hour renewal timer ends. The inactivity timer does nothing while players are connected.
- If players are online when the 4/6-hour timer ends, you still need to renew manually (or they can renew via the Public Page) to keep the server running.
This helps free up space for players who are actively playing and reduces queue times for everyone.
What Happens When Your Server Expires?
- Your server just stops running — it is not deleted.
- You can renew and start it again instantly.
- Servers that are not renewed for 30 days are permanently deleted.
Why We Use This System
We’ve been running FreeMcServer for years, and we’ve seen that many people start a server once, never join, and forget about it — leaving it running and taking up space. This leads to long queue times for active players.
The renew + inactivity system ensures that:
- Servers stay online for players who are actually playing.
- Idle, unused servers don’t waste resources.
- Performance remains fast and stable for everyone.
Important Notes
- The regular 4/6-hour renew timer is still required — player activity alone won’t keep your server online forever.
- Upgraded servers are not affected by the inactivity timer.
- This system applies to all free server types.