Troubleshooting SSH & IoT Connection Issues: A Complete Guide

13 May, 2025

Are you locked out of your own digital kingdom, staring blankly at a "Connection Refused" error when trying to SSH into your Amazon EC2 instance? The frustration is palpable, but the solution is often closer than you think: a strategic approach to troubleshooting and configuration can restore your access and ensure a smooth, secure connection to your cloud resources.

The digital landscape is riddled with potential pitfalls, and encountering issues when attempting to connect to your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance via SSH is a common hurdle. The dreaded "Connection Refused" or "Connection Timed Out" errors can halt your workflow, leaving you stranded outside your virtual server. However, understanding the underlying causes and employing systematic troubleshooting steps can quickly resolve these connectivity problems and restore your access. It's crucial to recognize that these errors aren't arbitrary; they are indicators of specific configurations or network issues that need addressing. From ensuring the correct security group rules are in place to verifying that the SSH daemon is actively listening on the instance, each step in the troubleshooting process is a vital component of restoring a secure and reliable connection.

Issue	Description	Possible Solutions
Connection Refused	The server actively refused the connection. This usually means no service is listening on the port or a firewall is blocking the connection.	Verify the SSH daemon is running. Check security group rules and network ACLs. Ensure the correct port is being used (default is 22).
Connection Timed Out	The connection attempt timed out. This suggests a network issue preventing the connection from reaching the server.	Check network connectivity. Verify security group rules and network ACLs. Examine route tables to ensure proper routing.
Incorrect SSH Key	The SSH key used for authentication is not authorized on the server.	Verify the correct SSH key is being used. Ensure the key is present in the `~/.ssh/authorized_keys` file on the server.
Firewall Issues	A firewall, either on the client or server side, is blocking the SSH connection.	Check local firewall settings. Verify security group rules and network ACLs on the EC2 instance.
Incorrect Instance Configuration	The EC2 instance may not be configured to allow SSH access.	Verify the SSH daemon is running. Check security group rules and network ACLs. Ensure the instance has a public IP address (if necessary).

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