Is Contabo Down? Live status & outage reports

Service info and troubleshooting

Virtual server fails to start after reboot

This happens when you restart your VPS through the control panel but it doesn't come back online. First, check the VNC console in your customer panel - it often shows boot errors or kernel panic messages. If the server is stuck at boot, you might need to boot into rescue mode and repair the filesystem with fsck. When using custom kernels, switching back to the default kernel in the boot configuration usually helps. For servers that fail silently, verify that you didn't run out of disk space before the reboot - a full root partition prevents many services from starting.

SSH connection times out constantly

• Check if your firewall rules allow port 22 or your custom SSH port
• Verify the SSH daemon is running by accessing VNC console and typing systemctl status sshd
• Look for failed login attempts in /var/log/auth.log - too many failed attempts might have triggered automatic IP blocking
• Test connectivity from a different network to rule out ISP-level routing issues
• Reset your network configuration through the control panel if ping works but SSH doesn't

Control panel login returns authentication error

Double-check you're using your customer credentials, not the VPS root password - these are completely separate. Clear your browser cache and cookies for contabo.com specifically. If you recently changed your password, wait 5-10 minutes for the system to fully sync. Password managers sometimes insert invisible characters, so try typing manually. For persistent issues, use the password reset function and check your spam folder for the reset email.

Payment processing fails at checkout

This typically occurs with international cards due to 3D Secure requirements. Contact your bank to authorize international transactions and online payments. Prepaid cards and virtual cards often get rejected - standard debit or credit cards work more reliably. If your card details are correct but payment still fails, try a different browser without autofill extensions. PayPal is an alternative payment method that bypasses most card-related issues.

High latency from specific locations

Contabo's data centers are in Europe, US East, Asia and Australia. If you're experiencing 200+ ms ping, you're likely connecting to a distant location. Check your actual server location in the control panel - sometimes orders default to Germany when you expected US deployment. You can't migrate between regions, but you can order a new server in the correct location and transfer your data. For applications sensitive to latency, choose the data center closest to your primary user base during initial setup.