How to Make a Water Elevator in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Build a 1x1 water column of source blocks, then swap the floor block: soul sand makes a bubble column that blasts you upward, and a magma block makes a whirlpool that pulls you down. Every block of the column must be a water source - grow kelp up through flowing water to convert it.

What you need

1 soul sand (up elevator) and/or 1 magma block (down elevator)
Water buckets (2+ for an infinite source, or 1 plus kelp)
Kelp to convert flowing water into source blocks
Building blocks and signs or a door to hold the water in

Step by step

Build a 1x1 vertical shaft with walls, from the bottom floor to the top exit. Hold the water in with signs, trapdoors or a door at the entrance.
Fill the shaft from the top: place a water source at the upper end so water flows down to the bottom. Plant kelp on a suitable temporary floor block and grow or place it up through the water. Each kelp block converts the water in its space to a source block.
Break the kelp from the bottom: the whole column stays as source water.
Up elevator: replace the floor block of the shaft with soul sand. After a second, bubbles appear - step in and you shoot to the top.
Down elevator: replace the floor with a magma block. The bubble column pulls you down and supplies air, but the magma can still hurt you when you reach the floor. Sneak before touching it to avoid its damage, then step out onto a safe block.
Combine both: two adjacent shafts, one soul sand for up, one magma for down, sharing walls.
Add a water source at the top entrance so you can also swim in from the top, and light the shaft so drowned cannot spawn in it.

Java vs Bedrock

Both editions require source water blocks above soul sand or magma. Bubble-column speeds differ: approximately 11 blocks per second upward and 4.9 downward in Java, compared with 14 upward and 6 downward in Bedrock.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note above for differences.

Frequently asked questions

Why are there no bubbles?

Almost always a flowing-water block in the column. Every single block between the soul sand or magma and the surface must be a source block - grow kelp all the way up and break it to fix gaps.

Does the magma block hurt?

Yes. The bubble column provides air, not immunity to the magma block at its base. Sneaking prevents magma damage. Sneak before reaching the bottom and leave onto a safe adjacent block.

Can I go up faster?

Keep the full shaft as source water with no gaps or obstructions so the upward bubble column reaches the top. Java and Bedrock have different bubble-column speeds.