EC2 SSH Connection Timed Out

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Check the instance is ready

   1. EC2 > Instances: state must be running and status checks passed
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Fix the security group

   Copy steps
   1. Select the instance > Security tab > Inbound rules
   2. Add a rule: SSH, TCP 22, source = your public IP (or range if your IP changes)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Fix routing

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   1. Instance > Networking tab, note VPC and subnet
   2. VPC > Subnets > Route table: need 0.0.0.0/0 to the internet gateway (::/0 for IPv6)
   3. Confirm an internet gateway is attached to the VPC
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Check network ACL and public IP

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   1. VPC > Subnets > Network ACL tab: allow inbound 22 and outbound 1024-65535
   2. Associate an Elastic IP if the instance has no public IPv4
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Use another way in

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   1. Try EC2 Instance Connect from the console, or Systems Manager Session Manager
   2. Check CloudWatch CPU in case the instance is overloaded
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

ssh hangs and ends with 'Connection timed out' or 'Network error: Connection timed out'.

Why it happens

• Security group has no inbound rule for port 22 from your IP
• Your IP changed so a single-IP rule no longer matches
• Subnet route table lacks 0.0.0.0/0 to an internet gateway
• Network ACL blocks port 22 or ephemeral return ports
• Instance has no public IPv4 address
• Corporate firewall blocks port 22
• Instance not running or failing status checks

This guide also covers

• ec2 ssh connection timed out
• aws ec2 cannot ssh
• ssh to ec2 timeout
• can't connect to ec2 instance

The same problem in other apps

All not loading, error messages & connection guides →

• DigitalOcean Droplet SSH Connection Refused or Timed Out (DigitalOcean)
• Vercel FUNCTION_INVOCATION_TIMEOUT (504) Error (Vercel)

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