How to Install Minecraft Addons without Jailbreaking or Rooting your Mobile Device

I’ve already talked about how addons can help improve and enhance the vanilla Minecraft experience. If you read through the whole article though, you might have noticed that most of the addons that I detailed required your mobile device to be rooted or jailbroken.

Although jailbreaking or rooting can be pretty straightforward, there are risks attached to these methods. In fact, owners of iOS and Android mobile devices who aren’t tech-savvy are not encouraged to use these methods.

One reason for this is the fact that Apple won’t provide support for any of its products that have been jailbroken (iOS). As for Android users, the process of rooting itself can get pretty complex and could result in the phone or tablet getting bricked.

So You Can’t Enjoy the Benefits of Minecraft Addons without Jailbreaking/Rooting?

The best thing about the Minecraft modding community is that it will always find ways to get more people to play Minecraft as it’s meant to be played (with addons). In fact, methods have been devised that make it possible to install addons on mobile devices that aren’t jailbroken or rooted. Now, not all types of addons can be installed without a jailbreak or root access.

In addition, the methods for installing these addons can be quite complicated and would require downloading additional apps or even the use of a Mac or Windows computer. Don’t worry though because the time and effort you’ll spend configuring your non-rooted/jailbroken device with these methods are guaranteed to be worth it.

Do you want to know how to install minecraft addons without jailbreaking or rooting you mobile device?Then make sure to read and follw the methods I’ve listed below!

Installing Addons on Android Devices that aren’t Rooted

Mods and Textures

BlockLauncher is a god-sent application for Android users who have Minecraft PE.

It can work on both rooted and non-rooted Android devices without any problems and is also easy to use. I’ve already covered how to use Blocklauncher in my previous post about Minecraft addons which you can find here.

Maps

I’ve discovered a new app that has a great selection of maps that you can install on your copy of Minecraft PE called MineMaps. The app is free to download and use and will allow you to choose maps based on their categories (parkour, adventure, survival, etc…).

In order to use MineMaps, you’ll first need to have a copy of Minecraft PE. Once installed, all you’ll need to do is look for the map you’d like to play on MineMaps and then press on the download button.

As soon as the map download is completed, all you’ll need to do is click on the Play button on the map’s page on MineMaps or open up Minecraft and look for the downloaded map under the Worlds selection screen.

Either way, you’ll still be able to play the downloaded map even though you didn’t root your Android device.

Skins

MineSkins is another app for Minecraft PE made by the developer of MineMaps. Similar to MineMaps, it doesn’t require root access to download and is also easy to configure/install. I’ve actually found the app to be better for changing skins than even BlockLauncher (by the way, it will also work in tandem with BlockLauncher if it’s also installed on your phone).

All you need to do once you’ve downloaded MineSkins to your Android device is to browse for the skin you’d like your character to have and then click on the Apply button. You can then open up Minecraft PE and set the view to third person to check if the skin was applied successfully.

Installing Addons on iOS Devices that aren’t Jailbroken

Mods and Maps

As of now, there is no way for you to use MCPE mods on non-jailbroken devices. However there are methods that allow you to play the game as if you were using mods.

I will be detailing one process that will require you to download an app outside of the app store (don’t worry though since it’s safe to use).

First you’ll need to create two worlds using the same seed (it can be any seed). The first world needs to be a creative world and the second one needs to be on survival. It’s also important to remember that they need to be the same type (if world 1 is old, world 2 should also be old) and that they use the same seed in order for this method to work.

Once you’re done creating the worlds, you’ll then have to download either MCPE Maps app from iEmulators.com (this was mentioned in my previous post as well) or iExplorer (if you want to use your computer). MCPE Maps will overwrite your Minecraft PE install and allow you to gain access to the apps folders.

On the other hand, iExplorer can only be used with a computer (Mac or Windows) and will let you access the same folders as MCPE Maps. For this example, I used iExplorer since my iPad (which is pretty old) can’t run MCPE Maps. The process for both is essentially similar though so you should be able to follow the next steps easily.

Upon connecting your iPad to the computer and opening iExplorer, look for MineCraft under the Apps section and then click on Documents. You should then see a games folder which contains another folder named com.mojang.

Click on it and look for a folder called minecraftWorlds. Now, look for the folder name of first world you created (the creative world) and delete its level.dat file.

You’ll then have to go back to the previous directory (minecraftWorlds) and look for the second world (the survival world). Now you’ll need to move the level.dat file that is found in this folder to the second world’s (the survival world) folder.

To check if it worked, go to your iPad and check your worlds list. It should now contain two similarly named worlds. The first world on the list is the one that you should be playing since your character will have unlimited health and the ability to fly on it.

If you used MCPE Maps, you’ll have to go back to the Apple App Store and re-download Minecraft. As soon as the download is finished, open up the game and load the survival world (the creative world should now be gone) that you created earlier. You’ll now have unlimited health as well as the ability to fly (by double tapping the jump button) without jailbreaking your iOS device!

You can also use MCPE Maps to load custom maps that you won’t normally be able to load if you’re iOS device isn’t jailbroken. For more information on that, refer to my previous article here.

Skins

Changing skins in Minecraft PE for iOS without jailbreaking your iPhone/iPad is actually possible but like with mods, will involve the use of a computer (Mac or Windows) and iExplorer.

You’ll need to download a skin first (once again, refer to my previous post) and save it to your desktop (or any folder in your computer). Make sure you rename it to char.png before you proceed with the next steps.

Connect your iOS device to the computer and run iExplorer.

Look for Minecraft under Apps and then click on the minecraftPE.app folder.

Now look for a file called char.png and delete it. After the deletion, go back to your desktop and then move the skin that you downloaded (and which you renamed earlier to char.png) to the minecraftPE.app folder.

With this done, you can now unplug your iOS device from your computer to check if Minecraft PE is working. If your character still has the old/default skin then you might want to close the app first (or restart your iOS device). After this, your Minecraft PE character should now have a new skin/look as soon as you open up the game once again.

Texture Packs

Like with custom maps, I’ve already talked about how you can install texture packs for Minecraft PE on your iOS device in my previous post. Some of the most popular texture packs that you can download and install even when your device is not jailbroken are BDCraft, Codercraft, and OZOCraft. In addition to changing the in-game textures, the OZOCraft texture pack will also change your character’s default skin and most importantly set your game back to version 0.9.5 (as you can see in the screenshot).

Overall, I’d say that it’s easier to install Minecraft PE addons for non-rooted Android devices than for non-jailbroken iPads/iPhones.

This might be due to the Android platform’s open source nature as opposed to iOS being stricter when it comes to apps that change the behavior of other apps. Regardless of the reason, we’ve established that it is still possible to install addons for Minecraft PE on these types of devices.

Do you know of any other methods for installing Minecraft addons to mobile devices that are not jailbroken or rooted? If the answer is yes, we’d like to hear from you!

We’d really appreciate if you shared what you know down on the comments section!