Connection Issues

Start with the machine's Test Connection button — its message narrows the problem immediately. For anything deeper, the connection dialog's Event Log and SSH Diagnostics show each attempt and the exact SSH-level failure.

"Failed to authenticate. Please check your key settings."

The server rejected the key:

• The key's public half is not on the server — see installing a public key.
• The server-side file permissions are too open (~/.ssh must be 700, authorized_keys 600).
• On Windows, administrator accounts read keys from C:\ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys — the most common Windows key failure; see Connect Windows.
• The server disallows that key type; try Ed25519, which every current OpenSSH accepts.

"Failed to authenticate. Please check your password."

The username/password pair was rejected. On macOS use the account's short name (the home folder name); on Windows try the MicrosoftAccount\[email protected] form or a local account. If the server only accepts interactive prompts (2FA, OTP), switch the machine's method to Keyboard Interactive.

"Failed to connect. Please check your network settings."

Nothing answered at that address and port:

• The SSH service is off — see the enable guides for macOS and Windows; on Linux check systemctl status sshd.
• A firewall or security group blocks the port.
• The address is a private one (192.168.*, 10.*) and you are not on that network — use a VPN, a port forward on the router, or a jump host.

"Host Key Changed"

SwiftServer stored the server's key on first contact; the server now presents a different one. If you reinstalled or rotated keys, verify the new SHA-256 fingerprint and choose Replace. If you changed nothing, stop and investigate — an unexpected host key change is what interception looks like.

Dashboard shows "Awaiting Trust"

A new host key is waiting for your confirmation — open the machine and trust it, or use Trust All New Hosts in the dashboard toolbar after restores or bulk imports.

Timeouts on slow links

Settings → Connection → Connection Timeout (default 15 seconds) can be raised to 300 seconds for servers behind slow links or several jump hops. The same screen has Always Trust Host Keys — it silences trust prompts entirely, at the cost of the protection they provide.

Keyboard-interactive machines and monitoring

Dashboard status requires unattended logins, so it is disabled for machines that need interactive prompts. Terminal and SFTP work normally.

What to send

The SSH Diagnostics text from the failure dialog, the machine's OS, and whether Test Connection succeeds. That is usually everything we need.