Log in to your VPS when SSH does not respond

What you get: your server’s keyboard and screen even if the internal network is broken, the firewall has left you out or you have touched SSH and no one can log in anymore.

What is the console?

It’s like being in front of the server with a monitor and keyboard plugged in. It doesn’t go through the network from inside the machine, so it works when SSH doesn’t. It’s the tool to resort to when you’ve been left out.

For that same reason, whoever has a console has the server: the panel only opens it to whoever administers the account or really uses it, never to a read-only user.

Steps

  1. VPS menu and open your server.

  2. Press Console.

  3. Log in with the system user and password. The user depends on the system you chose: in Ubuntu it is ubuntu, in Debian debian, in Rocky rocky, in AlmaLinux almalinux. It arrived in your delivery email.

On the console you also have:

  • Send Ctrl+Alt+Del — to restart from within.

  • Paste - it is typed letter by letter, as if you were writing it yourself. Use it for long passwords and keys.

  • Full screen, Reconnect and Switch theme.

How to check it worked

You see the boot text or the user request, and when you type it out, it appears what you type. If you enter and ip a shows your address, the machine is alive and what is failing is the network or SSH, not the server.

Common problems

The console does not open and says to try again in a minute

It usually happens momentarily. Wait a minute and press Console again. If it still happens, write to us.

It shows that the server is suspended and it won’t let me open it

A suspended service does not turn on or allow the console to open. See the notice above: if it is due to an outstanding payment, as soon as it is charged it will turn on again alone and nothing will be lost.

I see the black screen and it doesn’t respond to anything

First check that the VPS is turned on: if it is stopped, there is nothing to show. Turn it on and open the console again.

I type the password and no character appears

It’s normal in Linux: passwords are not visible when typing them, not even with periods. Type it all out and press Enter.

The keyboard changes the symbols for me

The console sends the keys as they are and the system inside interprets them with its own distribution, which almost always comes in English. Use the “Paste” button for anything that has strange symbols.

I was left out because of the firewall I put up

That’s what the console is for: come in here and take off your rule. Keep in mind that the panel does not have a firewall for the VPS: the one there is the one you installed inside the machine.

I can see the server but I can’t open the console

The console is a real keyboard and mouse, so it is not for users who only read: from there you can log in as an administrator. Ask the person who administers the account.

I have lost the root password

It recovers from the console by starting in single user mode, just like on any server. If you don’t handle that, write to us and we’ll do it with you.