How to Enable Root Access on Your VPS Server Using Plesk

If you get one of the following messages from the Plesk migrator you should check that you are using root as the username along with the Plesk admin password.

“The source server does not appear to be a Plesk server”
“Plesk Migrator tool requires original ‘root’ user access or root user with GUI/UID = 0.”
“Failed to check SSH connection to the source server ‘source’ (203.0.112.0): Unable to connect to ‘203.0.112.0’ by SSH: Authentication failed.”

If you are still getting the same error, you may have to enable root SSH access.

If you haven’t disabled root access via SSH, you can easily enable it using the terminal option within Plesk. This guide will walk you through the process step by step.

Step 1: Log in to Plesk

Open your web browser and navigate to your Plesk login URL
(e.g., https://yourvpsname.com:8443).
Enter your username and password.

Step 2: Access the Web Terminal

In the left-hand menu, click Tools & Settings (or Websites & Domains, depending on your Plesk version).
Look for SSH Terminal or Web Terminal and click on it.
A terminal window will open inside Plesk, allowing you to execute Linux commands.

Step 3: Modify the SSH Configuration

In the terminal, run the following command to open the SSH configuration file:
```
vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
```
Locate the line that contains PermitRootLogin.
Change the value to yes. If there is a # symbol in front of it, remove the # to activate the line.

Step 4: Save the Changes

Press the ESC key.
Type :WQ and press Enter to save and exit.

Step 5: Restart the SSH Service

Run the following command to apply the changes if you’re using CentOS or AlmaLinux:

systemctl restart sshd

If your server uses Ubuntu type the following instead:

systemctl restart ssh

Final Step: Verify and Proceed

Give it a few moments for the changes to take effect. Once enabled, you should be able to proceed with your migration successfully.

If you encounter any issues, try restarting your VPS and repeating the steps. For further assistance, please contact our support team via your Customer Area.