FTP 220 Service Ready vs 426 Connection Closed
FTP 220 (Service Ready) is a 2xx Positive Completion response, while 426 (Connection Closed) is a 4xx Transient Negative response. 220 indicates that service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects. In contrast, 426 means that connection closed; transfer aborted. The data connection was closed unexpectedly during a file transfer.
Description
Service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects.
When You See It
Immediately upon connecting to an FTP server. This is the welcome banner confirming the server is accepting connections.
How to Fix
No fix needed — the server is ready. Proceed with USER and PASS commands to authenticate.
Description
Connection closed; transfer aborted. The data connection was closed unexpectedly during a file transfer.
When You See It
When a file transfer is interrupted due to a network timeout, client disconnect, or the data connection dropping mid-transfer.
How to Fix
Retry the transfer. If it keeps failing, check network stability, increase timeout values, and verify there are no firewalls killing idle connections.
Key Differences
220 is a 2xx Positive Completion response, while 426 is a 4xx Transient Negative response.
FTP 220: Service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects.
FTP 426: Connection closed; transfer aborted. The data connection was closed unexpectedly during a file transfer.
You encounter 220 when immediately upon connecting to an FTP server. This is the welcome banner confirming the server is accepting connections.
You encounter 426 when when a file transfer is interrupted due to a network timeout, client disconnect, or the data connection dropping mid-transfer.
When to Use Which
For 220 (Service Ready): No fix needed — the server is ready. Proceed with USER and PASS commands to authenticate. For 426 (Connection Closed): Retry the transfer. If it keeps failing, check network stability, increase timeout values, and verify there are no firewalls killing idle connections.