Minecraft: Fix missing profile public key error in Java Edition

Minecraft is a fairly well-developed game. Be that as it may, bugs, glitches, and errors occur in even the best-made games. Some players have reported encountering an error that first got Mojang's attention back in the 1.19 update. The error reads "missing profile public key, the server requires secure profiles" when attempting to connect to a multiplayer server.

Considering this prevents fans from accessing their favorite multiplayer content in Minecraft, it has frustrated many members of the community. Although Mojang purportedly addressed this error in the 1.20 update, it still appears to be occurring for some players.

There doesn't seem to be a silver bullet that can guarantee a fix, but there are some things that players can do when troubleshooting.

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Recommended methods to remove the "missing profile public key" error in Minecraft

Update/Reset the Minecraft Launcher

The Minecraft Launcher being out of date can occasionally lead to connection errors (Image via Mojang)

In most situations, a desynchronization between the Minecraft client and its launcher can cause connectivity issues for multiplayer servers. Although servers tend to allow the use of third-party clients and launchers, if the official launcher is being used and updated, it can flag your account as non-secured and prohibit connection to the server.

Fortunately, some fans have reported that simply updating their launcher via the Microsoft Store app or elsewhere has addressed the problem. Others have even stated that restarting the launcher and the game did the trick.

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Not using third-party launchers/clients

Some third-party Minecraft clients can clash with multiplayer servers (Image via SuchSpeed/YouTube)

Sure, third-party clients like Lunar or BadLion have a ton of benefits for players. They implement many quality-of-life features and often provide improved performance. Be that as it may, they can unintentionally set off alarm bells for a server's authentication process when players try to connect to them.

This may occur just because a third-party client is out of date, but if updating one doesn't work, it's best to revert to the up-to-date version of the Minecraft Launcher after closing out the game. Sometimes servers simply have unintentional hangups with third-party clients despite their utility.

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Remove profile securing in the server properties

A server's properties file can be used to disable requirements for secure connections (Image via Microsoft)

If you encounter the "missing profile public key" as server administrators, then there may be a fix worth exploring that can disable the need for secure connections via the server.properties file. By opening this file with a text editor or in their server hosting service's dashboard, you can find a line that reads "set enforce-secure-profile" and set it to false.

It should be noted that this method can potentially open an admin's server up to malicious player accounts. However, for smaller servers encountering the problem, this shouldn't necessarily be an issue at all.

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Disable mods and/or mod loaders

Mod loaders like Forge and Fabric can occasionally cause issues when it comes to profile validation (Image via Fabric)

While mods and mod loaders have become a regular staple in Minecraft, they can occasionally lead to problems when connecting to a server. Although many multiplayer servers insist that certain mods are used by the player base, sometimes out-of-date mods/loaders and unexpected mods can be flagged by a server as illicit or prohibited.

If you encounter a missing profile public key error, you may want to close down your game and launcher and run it again in vanilla before re-connecting to a server. This can relax the recognition performed by the server and allow an ordinary connection.