How do I connect to servers?

[tts2025]

I think I could use Electrum but I can't connect to any server.

I use the Windows installer vrsion.

Am I supposed to use the signatures? How do I do this?

And is Tor required?

Everything else seem quite straightfoward.

[Charles-Tim]

Using Tor is not mandatory, but for anonymity, you can use Tor. If you want to connect to Tor, you need to click on red, green or blue circle at the lower right corner and click on Proxy. It would be in red so far your wallet is not connected. Blue if you are connected to Tor. Green if you are connected but not to Tor.

Read this article for it: https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tor.html

If you want to use it without Tor, check if the connection is set to auto-connect. Or make sure the server you connected to is working by selecting another server. But it is better you use auto-connect.

If it is not still working, update your Electrum wallet to the latest version and also make sure your online connection is working well.

Or maybe you have anti-virus that is not making it work.

[Pmalek]

Verifying the signatures isn't mandatory and has no affect on the wallet's functionality. It will work regardless if you verified them or not. Signature verification only shows if the binaries were signed by the right developers who release Electrum or if the software you have was released by a (malicious) third party.

Please provide a bit more information about your problem. When you start Electrum and load your wallet, what color is the orb in the bottom right? Are you trying to run the software with your normal connection or are you using a proxy, TOR, or VPN that might create issues? What happens if you go to the network settings, select "manual server selection" as connection mode, and pick one from the list?

[tts2025]

Button is red

No special network  

When I change from auto-connection to manual selection and select a server nothing happens or changes, ecpt the name of the servere in the server field changes to to the server I selected

[flatfly]

Button is red

No special network  

When I change from auto-connection to manual selection and select a server nothing happens or changes, ecpt the name of the servere in the server field changes to to the server I selected

Try right-clicking on a server in the list and click "Use as server".  The network icon should turn green.  If it doesn't, check if your AV or firewall is blocking some outgoing connections.

Also, can you confirm what version of Windows and Electrum you are running?

[nc50lc]

When I change from auto-connection to manual selection and select a server nothing happens or changes, ecpt the name of the servere in the server field changes to to the server I selected

What version of Electrum are you using? Where did you download it from?
If it's as old as v3.3.x, most of the servers will prevent you from connecting.

If not and there's no issue in your network, try to enable logging to check if you can find the issue there.
You can enable it in "Tools->Preferences->Misc->Write logs to file" (restart Electrum and try to connect to a server),
Close Electrum, then check the latest log file in "electrum/logs" directory. (electrum datadir default loc)

[tts2025]

Electrum version = 4.6.2
has ben added to apps list allowed to communicate through defender
should save log but I cannot find te log file in the electrum dr
always shows status as "not connected"


Do I need to state a specific port?
And wagt is th nostr tab all ablut?

[nc50lc]

Okay, version is good.
AV as well, but it may have just whitelisted electrum's process rather than the connection to servers.
But Defender isn't too strict on Electrum unlike other AVs.

always shows status as "not connected"

Then misconfigured proxy is out of the question.

should save log but I cannot find te log file in the electrum dr

You mentioned Defender, you're on Windows then.
If you're not using the portable version, it should be in your: %appdata%/electrum/logs ; otherwise, its electrum datadir is in the same directory as your portable executable.
But don't forget to enable it in the settings first like I instructed.

Do I need to state a specific port?

The servers in the list should be pre-configured with their respective port.

Speaking of ports, your firewall may have the Electrum server defaults blocked.
Or your router or ISP aren't configured to connect through them.

And wagt is th nostr tab all ablut?

That's for Electrum's Nostr-related features (e.g. Swap Server) and plugins, it shouldn't affect your connection to any server.

[Pmalek]

When I change from auto-connection to manual selection and select a server nothing happens or changes, ecpt the name of the servere in the server field changes to to the server I selected

Try to restart Electrum after manually selecting a server from the list then see if the software attempts to connect to the selected server the second time you run it or if it's still automatically trying to connect to a random one.

I agree with nc50lc about Windows Defender not being problematic when it comes to Electrum. Still, you can turn off virus & threat protection and the firewall just to see if it will make a difference. Type "virus" in the Windows search field and click on "Virus & threat protection." Click on "protection history" and see if perhaps the AV placed Electrum on the list or in quarantine. Go back to "Virus & threat protection" and under "Virus & threat protection settings" click "manage settings." Turn everything off there.

Perform a second search for "Firewall & network protection." Again, turn everything off after clicking on "Domain network", "Private network", and "Public network."

Start Electrum again and see if you can get it to connect to a server.
I think Windows will automatically turn on all your AV settings after X minutes. If not, make sure you double check everything and turn it back on.

[tts2025]

I did he AV stuff. Electrum not listed as a threat. And I switched the AV protection off and started Electrum, and still not connected.

But I found the log files and inhem is this:
interface.[ex.btcmp.com:50002] | disconnecting due to: ErrorGettingSSLCertFromServer(ConnectError(ConnectionRefusedError(22, 'The remote computer refused the network connection', None, 1225, None)))

So it eems the remote servers listed by Electrum are refusing to connect to my computer.
Do I need to have my Electrum verified or authorised? By using signatures?

[flatfly]

I did he AV stuff. Electrum not listed as a threat. And I switched the AV protection off and started Electrum, and still not connected.

But I found the log files and inhem is this:
interface.[ex.btcmp.com:50002] | disconnecting due to: ErrorGettingSSLCertFromServer(ConnectError(ConnectionRefusedError(22, 'The remote computer refused the network connection', None, 1225, None)))

So it eems the remote servers listed by Electrum are refusing to connect to my computer.
Do I need to have my Electrum verified or authorised? By using signatures?

 

You could try to add some of the servers to your hosts file
See:  https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/4940

(or try from another computer if possible.)

In any case, it looks like something specific to your system. 
Electrum has been rock solid lately, no downtime for the last few weeks / months.

[ghost43]

But I found the log files and inhem is this:
interface.[ex.btcmp.com:50002] | disconnecting due to: ErrorGettingSSLCertFromServer(ConnectError(ConnectionRefusedError(22, 'The remote computer refused the network connection', None, 1225, None)))

So it eems the remote servers listed by Electrum are refusing to connect to my computer.

That specific server simply seems to be offline. It is normal that some servers are not reachable.
What does it say for other servers? For example, what gets logged if you manually try to connect to

Code:

electrum.emzy.de:50002:s

?
Could you share the logs?

[NeuroticFish]

I think I could use Electrum but I can't connect to any server.

Once - some years ago - I had a similar issue after an Electrum update (which back then it meant for me new settings).
I will start with the fact that I prefer to use Electrum in portable mode, which ensures the Electrum data and settings are in the place of my choice (that's why I had new settings too back then).

What I'd do: I'd get Electrum portable and start it in a folder of my choice (it should not be directly the desktop because it will create more folders and may confuse you). This would ensure new settings in case you've missed something. And this may also mean new popups from your Windows or Antivirus in case you forgot some setting/click you've done). And give it more time to connect, just in case. When I was in trouble it took much more minutes until it connected.

[Pmalek]

But I found the log files and inhem is this:
interface.[ex.btcmp.com:50002] | disconnecting due to: ErrorGettingSSLCertFromServer(ConnectError(ConnectionRefusedError(22, 'The remote computer refused the network connection', None, 1225, None)))

Just to make sure, is this the website from where you downloaded Electrum?
https://electrum.org/#download
Don't just guess, but check the browser history.

From what I can understand, Electrum tried but couldn't connect to the ex.btcmp.com server. The reason for that could be as others have mentioned: the server could be offline but it can also mean that something on your system is preventing the connection. I can't connect to it from my side either.

You have your seed phrase written down right? Try to uninstall the software and redownload and install it. Watch for any messages from your AV and firewall. An uninstall won't mess with your wallet files anyways.

Btw, I just manually tested and connected to the following server so I know that it's up and running. You can try that if you want. I remembered it for being one of the nodes that supports below 1 sat/vByte transactions.
electrum.labrie.ca:50002:s

[nc50lc]

But I found the log files and inhem is this:
interface.[ex.btcmp.com:50002] | disconnecting due to: ErrorGettingSSLCertFromServer(ConnectError(ConnectionRefusedError(22, 'The remote computer refused the network connection', None, 1225, None)))

As ghost said, the indicated server is offline.
For comparison, issues on your side usually comes with "Access denied" error or something.

Do I need to have my Electrum verified or authorised? By using signatures?

Aside from verifying Electrum's validity, no.
But under normal circumstances, it should work out of the box, specially in Windows so there's definitely something wrong with your setup.

To minimize the guesswork, it's best to rely on the logs to check if it's caused by your network or something else.