Type coordinates on either side and the other updates instantly. Copy ready-to-use teleport commands and see the portal search range on a real-scale map.
Both panes show the same patch of your world, top down (X runs right, Z runs down), drawn at the true 8:1 scale. The Overworld pane spans 2,560 blocks; the Nether pane spans 320. The circle is the area the game scans for an existing portal. Any portal inside it can capture your teleport, which is exactly how mislinks happen. Click either pane to mark an existing portal and the map will tell you whether it would capture you.
The Nether runs on an 8:1 coordinate scale. When you step through a portal, the game converts your X and Z (divide by 8 going in, multiply by 8 coming out), keeps your Y, and then looks for an existing portal near that converted point. If it finds one, you arrive there, whether or not it is the portal you built. If it finds nothing, it creates a brand new portal at the closest valid spot.
The search range is the whole story. On Java Edition the game scans 128 blocks around the target in the Overworld and 16 blocks in the Nether. Those two numbers cover the same ground once you account for the 8:1 scale, so linking behaves symmetrically. On Bedrock Edition the scan is 128 blocks in both dimensions, and 128 Nether blocks equals 1,024 Overworld blocks. That huge capture area is why Bedrock portals grab the wrong partner so much more often.
This calculator applies the exact rule the game uses internally: Nether X and Z are the Overworld values divided by 8 and rounded down (Java's Math.floor, so -1290 becomes -162, not -161). Y passes through untouched.
A mislink almost always means another portal sits inside the search circle of your converted target. The usual causes: two Overworld portals are close enough that their Nether targets land within 16 blocks of the same Nether portal, an auto-generated portal spawned offset from the ideal spot and now outcompetes your manually built one, or an old portal from a previous base was never removed. The game does not remember pairs. It re-runs the nearest-portal search on every trip, so the closest portal in range always wins.
The reliable pattern is simple: never let the game place a portal for you. Build the Overworld portal, convert its coordinates, then build the Nether portal at that converted X and Z before you ever step through. Keep Y levels roughly similar where the terrain allows it. Do this for every portal pair you own and mislinks become impossible, no matter how close together your bases are.
| Mechanic | Java Edition | Bedrock Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Search range, Overworld side | 128 blocks | 128 blocks |
| Search range, Nether side | 16 blocks | 128 blocks (1,024 Overworld equivalent) |
| Nether build height | Up to Y=255 (roof at Y=127 is accessible) | Hard cap at Y=127, roof unreachable |
| Portals above the roof | Can be built manually, never auto-generate | Not possible |
| Coordinate conversion | Identical: X and Z divided or multiplied by 8, Y unchanged | |
The math in this calculator is the same for both editions. What changes is how forgiving the linking is: Java's tight 16-block Nether scan rewards precise builds, while Bedrock's giant capture area means you should always build both sides of a pair manually.
| Nether distance | Overworld distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | The base ratio |
| 16 | 128 | Java portal search range |
| 128 | 1,024 | Bedrock Nether search range |
| 1,000 | 8,000 | One ice highway segment |
Portal spacing: if you build both sides of every pair manually, portals can sit a few blocks apart and still link correctly. If the game generates one side for you, keep Overworld portals at least 256 blocks apart on Java and at least 2,048 blocks apart on Bedrock so their search areas cannot overlap.
Gold farm spacing: portal-array gold farms rely on the same linking rules. Place the array so that no portal you actually travel through has its converted target within the search range of the farm portals: 128 Overworld blocks on Java, 1,024 on Bedrock. Convert the array's center with the calculator and check the map above to confirm your travel portals sit outside the circle.
Roof of the Nether: the bedrock roof sits at Y=127. Portals never generate above it, so the roof (Java only) is the safest place for long-distance travel and farms. A Nether portal built at Y=127 or below behaves normally; the calculator warns you if your Nether Y is above the cap.
Divide your Overworld X and Z by 8 and round down. Going the other way, multiply Nether X and Z by 8. Y is not scaled. An Overworld portal at X=344, Z=-1290 pairs with a Nether portal at X=43, Z=-162. The calculator at the top of this page does both directions as you type.
No existing portal sat inside the search range of your converted coordinates, so the game built one at the closest valid spot it could find. That spot can be offset by dozens of blocks, on a cliff or above lava. Build the destination portal yourself at the exact converted X and Z before traveling and the game will always use it.
Y is never multiplied or divided, and X and Z dominate the portal search. A Nether portal at Y=12 happily pairs with an Overworld portal at Y=64. Keep Y levels loosely similar when convenient, and keep the Nether side below the bedrock roof at Y=127, since portals cannot generate above it.
With both sides built manually, a few blocks of separation is enough. With auto-generated portals, keep Overworld portals at least 256 blocks apart on Java, which puts their Nether targets more than 16 blocks apart, and at least 2,048 blocks apart on Bedrock, where the 128-block Nether scan covers 1,024 Overworld blocks.
Browse more Minecraft tools:
