WardtermSSH client
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Troubleshooting

Why is my SSH connection refused?

Fix "Connection refused" in Wardterm: the server is reachable but nothing accepts SSH on that port. Check the port, the SSH service and the firewall.

What you see

The app shows The server refused the connection on port 22. The details say:

Connection refused (os error 61)

In the Connection log the attempt shows as Failed, server not reachable.

Why it happens

The address leads to a machine, but nothing accepts connections on that port. Usually the SSH service is not running, the server uses another port, or a firewall rejects the connection.

What to do

  1. Open the server and check the Port. SSH uses 22 unless the administrator chose another one.
  2. On the server, from its console or a provider's web console, check that SSH is running: 
    sudo systemctl status ssh
    On some systems the service is called sshd. To start it now and at every boot: 
    sudo systemctl enable --now ssh
  3. Check which port SSH listens on. Look for the port next to sshd, or systemd on recent Ubuntu: 
    sudo ss -tlnp
  4. Check that the firewall lets the port in, for example with ufw: 
    sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
  5. If you go through jump servers, the refusal can come from any step of the chain. Try to connect to each jump server on its own. See Jump hosts and proxies.

The same check from a computer with OpenSSH:

ssh -v -p 22 user@203.0.113.10