Droplet connection refused using Windows SSH

Hey Sam! 👋

It looks like your SSH service is running fine based on the service ssh status output, but the “Connection refused” error usually indicates that there might be some network-related issues or firewall rules preventing the connection.

If you have a firewall like ufw enabled on your Droplet, it might be blocking port 22 (which is used for SSH). To check the current status of ufw and allow SSH connections, run the following commands:

sudo ufw status

If you see that port 22 is blocked, you can allow SSH by running:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw reload

If you’re using DigitalOcean Cloud Firewalls, make sure that SSH (port 22) is allowed for inbound connections. You can manage firewall rules from the DigitalOcean Control Panel.

If you don’t have a firewall, it’s also worth verifying that your SSH service is configured properly. Check the SSH configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Ensure the following lines are uncommented and properly set:

Port 22
PermitRootLogin yes   # or no if you're logging in with a non-root user
PasswordAuthentication yes  # Ensure this is enabled if you're using password-based login

After making any changes, restart the SSH service:

sudo systemctl restart ssh

Recently I had a chat with a user who had the same exact problem and in the end it turned out that they were using the wrong IP address. So I will recommend to make sure you’re using the correct IP address for your Droplet. Sometimes the public IP can change if the Droplet is restarted. You can verify the IP in the Droplets section of the DigitalOcean dashboard and make sure that you are using the public IP address!

Let me know how it goes! If you’re still running into issues, feel free to share any new error messages or logs.

- Bobby

Heya,

Your ssh service is running fine given the details you’ve posted.

What I’ll recommend is to allow your IP address in your firewall. It seems like it that would be causing the issues. Another alternative would be to allow port 22 through your firewall however I would recommend just allowing your IP address.

Running the following command

sudo ufw allow from XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is your own IP address should do the trick.