Server not responding? First checks before contacting support

When a server stops answering, the cause is usually one of a few things: it is stopped, an invoice is unpaid, a firewall rule blocks you, a service crashed, or your own network is the problem. Ten minutes of checks often finds it, and even when it does not, the results make your support ticket much faster to solve. Work through these steps in order.

Before you start

• You are signed in to your VPS provider's control panel.
• You know the server's IP address. It is on the service page under Services.
• A terminal on your own computer: PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on macOS or Linux.

Step 1: check the status in your VPS provider's control panel

1. Open Services and find the server.
2. Look at its status.

• If it shows as stopped, start it from the service page and wait two minutes.
• If it shows as suspended, check /invoices for an unpaid invoice. Paying it is usually the fix.

1. Check your VPS provider's control panel overview for Announcements about planned work.

Step 2: test the network from your computer

First, check whether the server answers at all:

ping -c 4 203.0.113.10

On Windows, use ping 203.0.113.10 (it sends four by default). Some servers block ping, so no reply does not prove the server is down. The port test is more useful.

Test the port you normally connect on. For a Linux VPS, SSH on port 22:

nc -vz 203.0.113.10 22

For a Windows VPS or Admin RDP, Remote Desktop on port 3389, from PowerShell:

Test-NetConnection 203.0.113.10 -Port 3389

For a website, test port 443 the same way.

What the results tell you:

• Port open: the server and network are fine. The problem is the login, the app or the client. Check your credentials and the app itself.
• Port closed or timed out: the service is not running, a firewall blocks it, or the server is frozen. Go to step 3.

Step 3: look through the browser console

The browser console shows the server's screen in your browser, without needing SSH or Remote Desktop.

1. On the service page, click Open control panel.
2. Open the browser console.
3. Look at what the screen shows:

• A login prompt or a Windows lock screen: the server is running. The problem is the network service or the firewall. Log in through the console and check them.
• "Getting Windows ready" or an update screen: updates are installing. Wait.
• Error text or a frozen screen: note or screenshot it for your ticket.

On Linux, once logged in through the console, quick checks are:

systemctl status ssh
df -h
free -h

On AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux, the SSH service is called sshd instead of ssh. A full disk or full memory are common causes of a server that stops responding.

Step 4: restart if needed

If the console shows a frozen screen, or the server is so overloaded that commands never finish, restart it.

• If you can log in through the console, restart cleanly from the OS: sudo reboot on Linux, or Start → Power → Restart on Windows.
• If not, use Reboot in your VPS provider's control panel.

Wait two to three minutes, then repeat the port test from step 2.

Step 5: test from another network

If the port test fails from your computer but the server looks healthy in the console, the problem may be on your side. Try from a different network, such as your phone's mobile data as a hotspot.

• Works from mobile data: your home or office network, router, VPN or ISP is blocking the connection. Office networks often block outbound Remote Desktop traffic on port 3389.
• Fails everywhere: the problem is on the server or its network. Open a ticket.

Check it works

The server is back when:

• The status shows as running in your VPS provider's control panel.
• The port test succeeds from your computer.
• You can log in normally over SSH or at 203.0.113.10:3389 with Remote Desktop.

Troubleshooting

• It went down right after a firewall change: log in through the browser console and allow your SSH port or 3389 again.
• It keeps going down every few hours: something is filling memory or disk. Check free -h and df -h, or Task Manager on Windows.
• Only your website is down, but SSH works: the web server or app has stopped. Check its service status and logs.
• Still stuck: open a ticket with the service, IP, what each step showed and when it started.

Next steps

• Learn more about the console: When to use the browser console instead of SSH or RDP.
• Write a ticket that gets solved fast: How to write a support ticket that gets solved fast.
• Linux SSH problems: Fix SSH connection refused or timed out.
• Windows RDP problems: Fix Remote Desktop can't connect.