How to Fix “Could not Connect to Server” Critical Error

Below you find a step by step guide, if you prefer you can watch our How to Resolve the Critical Error “Could not Connect to Server” video tutorial.

This error usually means that the login details or method set for a remote connection are incorrect.

Check:

  • The user ID and password that you entered. Note that for many website hosting providers, the user ID and password that you use to login to the website itself will be different to the user ID and password that you need for file transfer connections. Look for FTP or SFTP or SSH connection details in the information provided by the hosting provider.
  • The type of login configured for this site. In the Site Manager, select the connection
    and check the Logon Type drop down list. Most servers will refuse Anonymous automatically.

Status: Connection attempt failed with "ECONNREFUSED - Connection refused by server" message

If the connection is failing with the status message above, there might be a local network configuration issue. FileZilla/FileZilla Pro has a network configuration wizard that can find common issues in network and router settings.

To diagnose:

  1. In the main menu click on Edit > Network configuration wizard….
  2. Click on Next
  3. Enter details as requested – if you’re unsure, you can usually use the default configuration settings and just click Next at each screen.

Once FileZilla/FileZilla Pro has gathered all the configuration information it needs, it will perform a test connection on a test server run by the FileZilla team. If the test connection works with no errors, then the problem probably exists on the remote site that you’re trying to connect to.

Another possible cause is that the connection is being blocked by a firewall. If you have a local firewall or an antivirus, try to disable it. If that works you may need to add an exception to the firewall configuration to grant FileZilla Pro permanent access to the network.

If you are in a corporate network, you may need to ask the network administrator to open specific FTP ports.
Most FTP servers use port 21, SFTP servers use port 22 and FTPS (implicit mode) use port 990 by default.

The video tutorial below shows how to resolve the critical error “Could not Connect to Server”

Video tutorial: How to Fix Connection Error

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