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I'm having troubles connecting to ftps via Filezilla. They told me it could be router ports. Some say 21 port (exit traffic?) is always open, some say it's closed. How do I check if it's open? If it's closed, how do I open it? Could it be something else? The ftp server works perfectly since I've asked my friends to connect and they succeed at it.The router is a d6000.

Edit: I'm running on w7. Indeed, I need my computer to read and upload content from an ftp. FileZilla connects to server but waits forever when tries to read directory list. I tried passive and active mode but none works. I'm confused, do I need inbound traffic for it through port 21 or not? I can connect from another pc and another router with the same software settings, that's why I'm asking about the router.

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  • Outgoing traffic is always allowed. Does it work without encryption? Is your FTP client set to use passive mode?
    – Daniel B
    Mar 31, 2015 at 20:33
  • Testing outgoing ports is trivial, but you'd have to tell us the operating system you're using.
    – Mario
    Mar 31, 2015 at 20:40
  • This question isn't 100% clear. Are you connecting to a remote site? Or are people have problems connecting to a site you are hosting? If you are connecting to a remote site, have you tried active and passive? Is your FileZilla up to date? Have you tried any other clients?
    – Kirk
    Mar 31, 2015 at 21:18

3 Answers 3

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To test your connection, simply try Windows' ftp command line client.

  • Open a command prompt by starting cmd.
  • Wait for the shell window to appear and then run ftp your.ftp.server.
  • If this outputs connection refused, then the port isn't open on the server or your router (or local firewall) are blocking the traffic.
  • If this is successful, you'll see ftp's command prompt or it will ask for your username/password.
  • To test whether it's something with your server or the connection to your server, try accessing another server, e.g. ftp ftp.microsoft.com.
  • To close the ftp session, use bye, exit, or hit Ctrl + C and then close the actual shell window.

If those tests all are successful, there might be something wrong with your Filezilla and/or firewall configuration.

You won't need an open incoming port for FTP if it's running in passive mode, which should be the default for most clients and/or should be able to determine the need for this on their own.

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  • Mmmh Mario, strange. I can login using cmd prompt. Where should I look then, to fix the problem?
    – Muteking
    Apr 2, 2015 at 5:16
  • @Muteking Then something blocks Filezilla (Firewall?) or there's some configuration problem.
    – Mario
    Apr 2, 2015 at 5:18
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Answer not specific to FTP: If you would like to see what ports are open for Inbound traffic on your home router, then from a computer that is inside the router(i.e. on your home network), you an online scanning tool. I'm kind of partial to ShieldsUp! from Steve Gibson, but you can google around and find more.

FTP Answer: I've had some issues in the past with FTPS and the way the encryption is done. Are you sure that FTPS is actually running on port 21? The default is 990. Is the encryption explicit or implicit?

EDIT 4/1/2015: I did make an assumption here (based your use of port 21) that you are in fact talking about FTPS and not SFTP, which traditionally would use port 22. Here is a good article about the difference.

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  • FTPS isn't really FTP, it's more like a standard SSH session. Both protocols aren't compatible/exchangeable with each other. An online tool for port scanning won't help with determining outgoing traffic though.
    – Mario
    Apr 1, 2015 at 6:41
  • SFTP and FTPS are not the same thing. FTPS is essentially SSL wrapped FTP and is fraught with all of the same networking issues as traditional FTP. Perhaps I shouldn't have assumed that the op is using the correct terminology.
    – Kirk
    Apr 1, 2015 at 14:05
  • True, confused both.
    – Mario
    Apr 1, 2015 at 14:06
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21 should be open by default, but to check it in your browser go to http://192.168.1.1 and the username is admin and the password is admin. Once in there you can add a port exption under gaming/port forwarding for 21 on the up of the server

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    DO NOT use port forwarding if you'd like to access external services. That's a very bad and misleading advice unfortunately often given by support staff as well. And to add it won't even solve the problem. Port forwarding is important if you'd like to provide a service (like a FTP server). If you open a port - especially a common one - without actually using it, you're just opening one possible attack vector for malware trying to use that port for its own communication.
    – Mario
    Mar 31, 2015 at 20:36
  • @Mario, that's what I suspected. Anyway, I've tried also that, now I've reclosed it.
    – Muteking
    Apr 1, 2015 at 5:16

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