Locked Out of SSH - DigitalFyre Knowledge Base

If you cannot connect to your VPS via SSH, the cause is typically a wrong password, SSH service not running, a firewall blocking port 22, or a network configuration issue. The VNC console is your primary recovery tool in all cases.

Diagnose the Problem

Run SSH with verbose output to see where the connection fails:

ssh -v root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Error	Likely Cause
`Connection refused`	SSH is not running or firewall is blocking port 22
`Connection timed out`	Firewall dropping packets or server is down
`Permission denied`	Wrong password or SSH key mismatch
`No route to host`	Network issue or server is down

Recovering via VNC

Open the VNC Console from your service page and log in with your root credentials.

Wrong Password

Reset your root password from the Client Portal, then try SSH again. Alternatively, log in via VNC and run:

passwd

SSH Service Not Running

# Check status
systemctl status sshd

# Start if stopped
systemctl start sshd

# Enable on boot
systemctl enable sshd

# Check for config errors if it won't start
sshd -t

Fix any errors reported in /etc/ssh/sshd_config, then start the service again.

Firewall Blocking SSH

iptables
firewalld (RHEL-based)
ufw (Ubuntu)

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh
firewall-cmd --reload

ufw allow ssh

SSH Key Lockout

If you disabled password authentication and your key no longer works:

Open the VNC Console and log in with your root password.

Re-enable Password Authentication Temporarily

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Set PasswordAuthentication yes, then restart SSH:

systemctl restart sshd

Fix Your SSH Key

Connect via SSH using your password, resolve your key configuration, then re-disable password authentication once key access is confirmed.

Network Configuration Broken

If the server has no network connectivity:

# Check if the interface has an IP
ip addr show

# Check the default route
ip route show

# Restart networking
systemctl restart networking       # Debian / Ubuntu
systemctl restart NetworkManager   # RHEL-based

If the configuration is beyond repair, restore from a backup.

Prevention

Always test SSH after making firewall or SSH configuration changes — do this before closing your existing session
Keep password authentication enabled as a fallback until key-based login is confirmed working
Maintain a recent backup before making network or SSH configuration changes

​Diagnose the Problem

​Recovering via VNC

​Wrong Password

​SSH Service Not Running

​Firewall Blocking SSH

​SSH Key Lockout

​Network Configuration Broken

​Prevention