How do you stop nether portals from linking?

Nether portals are structures that connect the Minecraft Overworld with the Nether. The Nether is a dangerous second dimension in Minecraft where you can find materials and loot other than those in the Overworld.

Connecting Nether and Overworld portals

When you create a portal to the Nether, you will be teleported to a random coordinate. This is fine for your first few visits. However, as you progress through the game, you will find points of interest in the Nether that you don’t want to miss or always walk back to since they can be far from your current portal.

To avoid this problem, you must first write down the exact coordinates of your Overworld portal and divide the Nether coordinates by eight. Once you have that, round up the number if you get an answer in decimal (since coordinates in decimal won’t work). Once you get an integer, go to that coordinate in the Nether and create the portal there as well. Please note that I cannot stress how significant it is to create the portal on those exact coordinates.

How to Connect Nether Portals

When you build a Nether Portal and use it for the first time, a Nether Portal will be created in a similar location. But, if you want it to be much more accurate, you’ll want to build a portal at the exact, equal location in the Nether.

To do this, look at the X, Y and Z coordinates of your portal in the Overworld. Take the X and Z coordinates and divide by 8 to compensate for that disparity we mentioned earlier.

How to Pair Nether Portals

It’s best to build both Nether Portals yourself to make sure they connect reliably to each other. In the Overworld, build at the desired location X, Y, Z. Then head to the Nether. After that, dig your way to X/8, Y/8 and Z/8 and build a passage there.

A less accurate way would be to disable all portals within a 128 block “radius” of the Nether. Entering a new portal from the Overworld, either by death or with the help of a second player, would force the development of a new portal within the Nether, which the Overworld portal should prefer.