---
title: "FTP Error – 421 Too Many Connections"
description: "In this tutorial, we will show you how to view and drop idle FTP connections in cPanel and limit your FTP connections in FileZilla. These steps should help fix or avoid the 421 Too many connections..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ftp/too-many-simultaneous-connections/
date: 2014-02-19
modified: 2026-01-22
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["FTP"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# FTP Error – 421 Too Many Connections

In this tutorial, we will show you how to view and drop idle FTP connections in cPanel and limit your FTP connections in FileZilla. These steps should help fix or avoid the 421 Too many connections error.

## Idle FTP Connections

### What is / causes an idle FTP connection?

Idle FTP connections are caused when an FTP client opens multiple connections without closing the previous ones, or due to an incorrect setting.

With [VPS](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/vps-hosting), and [Dedicated hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/dedicated-servers) plans you can modify the number of simultaneous connections allowed in their WHM and the default setting is usually 8 or 10. Increasing this limit will prevent the error messages that we’ll review later in this tutorial. Our [Shared plans](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/shared-hosting) and [Reseller hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/reseller-hosting) plans allow up to **8 simultaneous** FTP connections from 1 IP address at a time, but you cannot raise this limit.

![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ftp_ftp-connections-error.png)

### Response: 421 Too many connections (8) from this IP

If your FTP client is using more than 8 connections at the same time, you’ll get an error message similar to this:

`Response: 421 Too many connections (8) from this IP Error: Could not connect to server`

## Viewing / Closing Idle Connections in cPanel

On a **Shared Hosting Plan**, there is currently no direct way to access cPanel’s FTP Connections tool and manually disconnect extra connections. If you’re having trouble with a particular user, you can always [delete and recreate](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/cpanel/create-delete-account/) an FTP account with a different password, [change an FTP password](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/cpanel/resetting-your-ftp-password-in-cpanel/), or [get in touch with our 24/7 Support Staff](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/amp/how-to-get-great-technical-support/) to help you resolve the issue.

1. [Login to cPanel](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/cpanel/how-to-log-into-cpanel/) on your **VPS** or **Dedicated Server** hosting account.
2. Click on **FTP Connections** in the *Files* section.![ftp connections under Files in cPanel](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftpConnectionsIcon.png)
3. You will then see a list of all your current FTP connections. Click the **Disconnect link** in the *Actions* column.[![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_ftp-connections-table.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_ftp-connections-table.png)
4. You will see a message similar to “*Are you sure you want to disconnect testuser@example.com FTP user?*.” Click **Disconnect** to proceed.[![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_ftp-connections-disconnect.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_ftp-connections-disconnect.png)
5. You are finished when you see a message like this: “*The FTP session with PID 27510 was terminated*.”

## Limiting Simultaneous Connections in FileZilla

1. Open [FileZilla](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ftp/configuring-your-site-in-filezilla/).
2. Access the **Site Manager**.[![site manager in filezilla](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-1.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-1.png)
3. Click your site, then select the **Transfer Settings** tab.[![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-2.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-2.png)
4. Check the box for **Limit number of simultaneous connections** and set the *Maximum number of connections* to **8**.[![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-3.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ftp_limit-ftp-connections-3.png)
5. Click **OK**. Now when you are using FileZilla, it will *not* allow you to go over your limitation of 8 simultaneous FTP connections.

Congratulations, now you know how to **drop idle FTP connections** in cPanel and **limit your FTP connections** in FileZilla. We also have helpful guides on how to [Enable Logging in FileZilla](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ftp/enable-filezilla-logging/), [Troubleshooting FileZilla Error Logs](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/error-numbers/troubleshoot-filezilla-error-logs/), and [Managing your files in FileZilla](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ftp/managing-your-files-in-filezilla/).