Troubleshooting: FTP issues

This guide will: Help you to identify and fix common FTP issues.

Estimated time to complete: XXXXXXXX

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Background reading:

• What is FTP? How to use it, where to use it, and the key advantages
• KB ARTICLE

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Contents:

• My connection is timing out
• I can’t upload files

My connection is timing out:

By default, our servers are open on port 21 for connections from any IP. However, if you have enabled PCI compliance, FTP access will be restricted to specific IP addresses:

Read the guide to PCI compliance, and then check that your IP has been added to the allowed IPs list.

Another issue may be the encryption. To keep things secure, we only allow encrypted FTP access (FTP-S). Make sure that you have your connection set to this method within your FTP client. This may be referred to by different names, including:

• FTP with TLS/SSL
• ‘Require explicit FTP over TLS’
• FTP-SSL (explicit AUTH-TLS)

Failing the above, we also offer SFTP for file transfers. This is an alternate connection type so may sidestep any issues.

SFTP connections are on port 22 rather than port 21, and the user details are the SSH user details - you can use a standard FTP client for this. You will need to allow your IP for this kind of connection:

Read the guide to accessing your SSH details, and then add your IP to the allowed IPs list.

I can’t upload files:

1. The first step is to reset the file permissions on the affected website. Read our guide on how to reset your file permissions.

Note: FTP server security prevents files being directly uploaded to folders that share names with system folders. (Folders like lib, var, or etc.)

2.Then, try creating a new FTP user with a directory a folder higher than where you are attempting to upload.

• Troubleshooting: 550 etc: permission denied
• How to: Add an additional FTP user

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Video tutorial:

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Still having issues?

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Further reading:

• KB ARTICLE or
• BLOG LINK