Support is unresponsive, this looks like an exit scam.
I'm so glad this is finally getting traction after leaving so many of us out of pocket.
Both developers [1] are working in management positions at Microsoft and AWS while ignoring emails, leaving JuiceSSH to rot because they couldn't be bothered to wrap up cleanly (refund, release a final update with pro features enabled, release the source code etc.)
Paul Maddox [2]: Director - Cloud & AI Solutions Engineering @ Microsoft - last reposted a month ago
Tom Maddox [3]: Head of AWS Solutions Architecture for Local Markets - last commented two months ago
Don't bother going back to Google either. A Play store "support specialist" just told me:
I tried to create a refund request but its not allowing to create one since the date of the transaction is out of our refund policy as we can only process refunds for up to 120 days only after the transaction was charged.
I've been using this app for years. A couple months I needed to use forwarding, which is a Pro feature.
I thought I already bought it years ago, but the app asked me to pay so I bought it again. It instantly locked me out of the whole app. Later I checked and I had bought pro already in 2014 (for 5€, and I paid 30€ this time). Absolutely no answer to my emails.
> I'm sure "purchase does not work at all" is an exception
Nope, a Play store "support specialist" just told me: "I tried to create a refund request but its not allowing to create one since the date of the transaction is out of our refund policy as we can only process refunds for up to 120 days only after the transaction was charged."
I've never succeeded on getting a refund with Google. There were a few apps that tricked me into buying a subscription (namely Musescore and Yazio), I immediately asked Google for a refund because I didn't actually get what I thought I was getting, and they denied me both times.
Now I just don't buy anything on the Play store that I can't afford to just be outright scammed on.
I am not contending truth here, but also I have never even tried / considered anything outside of termux + unexpected keyboard, and I can't imagine anything improving my experience.
what makes juicessh so good? I guess I'm asking for a "Convince me to try it" style review of juice.
"I guess I'm asking for a "Convince me to try it" style review of juice"
Notice this is about juicessh becoming unusable and no longer having any support. That should satisfy you.
I used JuiceSSH many years ago, had the Pro version when it was briefly free once. I've used Termux for years now and it seems better to me. You can set up ssh keys and aliases like usual, multihop works. I think I used to use Hacker's Keyboard but now I use AnySoftKeyboard since it had better alt layout support (e.g. Dvorak, Workman). I've got a row at the top with ctrl, tab, arrows, esc... It even works to do C-a, C-c, C-v in other apps. I'd recommend the combo. All available from F-Droid.
I haven't used my Pro purchase in years, but if I did want to ssh from my phone today, I'd use the newish Terminal app, available since Android 15. It's a full Debian virtual machine.
Apparently it's about software, not hardware - Qualcomm recommends running Android under a virtual machine (which lacks nested virtualization support).
Yeah, another vote for Termux. The linux VM ends up being a bit laggy because it's actually a webview that renders a terminal, that's connected to the VM. More importantly though, the soft keyboard support is totally broken, so if you try to backspace more characters than you've typed, it won't let you. That sucks if do something like:
1. type some command, hit enter
2. hit up to edit it (because you typoed something)
3. can't backspace because the soft keyboard thinks there's nothing to delete
Yikes. I also just noticed that all the plugins (part of the pro feature set) rely on separate apk downloads from the Play Store, which all appear to be dead/delisted. This is really a shame, I too have thought of this as "the best" Android SSH client in the past.
I'm a big fan of Revanced, but I haven't heard of Morphie - do you have a link for it? (I tried searching, but all I'm coming up with are cosmetics, chargers, and an IRC app.)
Edit: found it: https://morphe.software/ - looks like it's sort of an offshoot of ReVanced that only supports Youtube at the moment.
And, for those who weren't aware of ReVanced, see https://revanced.app/ - it was originally just a tweaked version of the YouTube app called Vanced (an "advanced" YouTube app, but without the "ad"s ;) - but now it's a tool that can patch a bunch of different apps.
Just a cynical observation here, but its funny how the author still hangs onto the notion that it is "the best" despite that it de facto cannot be "the best."
Also, maybe dont rely on a poorly maintained app for making secure connections to your systems? Just me?
Not trying to defend the developer here but they went really silent once before like this. Then came out of the gate with a bunch of updates and new features.
I'm hoping they've just got really busy with life, I know when I emailed them before they have been responsive and helpful.
I mean hell they might have died? Does the Store have a process for this?
This app has been around a long time so I don't understand the rugpull comments.
Also the syned keys are (supposedly, I guess we don't have the source) encrypted so even if the dev is no longer active that aspect should be secure I hope.
My Pro features still seem to be working for me. EDIT: No, I see now that Cloud Sync isn't a thing anymore. Looks like it's really lost its backend servers.
The article says "the purchase made in 2019 is not recognized anymore". The seller unilaterally taking back something you previously bought, especially without a refund, is a rug pull.
A rugpull to me is something specifically setup to try and make money by scamming/rugpulling. JuiceSSH has been around for so long, even if it doesn't work anymore I don't feel rugpulled? If it was a year old I'd agree.
It still doesn't sound intentional to me. How many scammers are going around creating useful apps, supporting them, pushing out new features, and then finally doing the rugpull 14 years after release? It feels a lot more likely that the backend servers have fallen down on their own and for whatever reason there's no one around to fix them.
Termux is one of the best apps ever made for Android power users. It literally replaces so much stuff, if you don't care about GUI. No need for SSH app - it has ssh. No need for file sync app - there is rsync. No need for notetaking app, there is your $EDITOR you like. All 100% free. It's amazing.
I just tried to purchase pro from within the app just to see what the price is, and the Google Play purchase popup tells me it's not available. Interesting.
Support is unresponsive, this looks like an exit scam.
I'm so glad this is finally getting traction after leaving so many of us out of pocket.
Both developers [1] are working in management positions at Microsoft and AWS while ignoring emails, leaving JuiceSSH to rot because they couldn't be bothered to wrap up cleanly (refund, release a final update with pro features enabled, release the source code etc.)
Paul Maddox [2]: Director - Cloud & AI Solutions Engineering @ Microsoft - last reposted a month ago
Tom Maddox [3]: Head of AWS Solutions Architecture for Local Markets - last commented two months ago
Don't bother going back to Google either. A Play store "support specialist" just told me:
I tried to create a refund request but its not allowing to create one since the date of the transaction is out of our refund policy as we can only process refunds for up to 120 days only after the transaction was charged.
[1]: https://juicessh.com/about
[2]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-maddox
[3]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-maddox-87236b27
I've been using this app for years. A couple months I needed to use forwarding, which is a Pro feature.
I thought I already bought it years ago, but the app asked me to pay so I bought it again. It instantly locked me out of the whole app. Later I checked and I had bought pro already in 2014 (for 5€, and I paid 30€ this time). Absolutely no answer to my emails.
Thanks for the instructions.
If you haven't already, you can ask Google for a refund on that (the second, recent) in-app purchase:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/15574897?hl=en
The policies are "up to 48 hrs after purchase" but I'm sure "purchase does not work at all" is an exception. (It is on iOS)
> I'm sure "purchase does not work at all" is an exception
Nope, a Play store "support specialist" just told me: "I tried to create a refund request but its not allowing to create one since the date of the transaction is out of our refund policy as we can only process refunds for up to 120 days only after the transaction was charged."
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I've never succeeded on getting a refund with Google. There were a few apps that tricked me into buying a subscription (namely Musescore and Yazio), I immediately asked Google for a refund because I didn't actually get what I thought I was getting, and they denied me both times.
Now I just don't buy anything on the Play store that I can't afford to just be outright scammed on.
Thank you for reminding me about risks of cloud key storage. I think I better go wipe my .ssh/ states and re-work things to a modern keypair.
I think ed25519 would be both shorter sigs in authorised_keys and definitely NOT what I used "back then"
> juice is best ssh for android
I am not contending truth here, but also I have never even tried / considered anything outside of termux + unexpected keyboard, and I can't imagine anything improving my experience.
what makes juicessh so good? I guess I'm asking for a "Convince me to try it" style review of juice.
"I guess I'm asking for a "Convince me to try it" style review of juice" Notice this is about juicessh becoming unusable and no longer having any support. That should satisfy you.
I used JuiceSSH many years ago, had the Pro version when it was briefly free once. I've used Termux for years now and it seems better to me. You can set up ssh keys and aliases like usual, multihop works. I think I used to use Hacker's Keyboard but now I use AnySoftKeyboard since it had better alt layout support (e.g. Dvorak, Workman). I've got a row at the top with ctrl, tab, arrows, esc... It even works to do C-a, C-c, C-v in other apps. I'd recommend the combo. All available from F-Droid.
It has an SSH focused GUI which can be more convenient
For me it's mostly that it just works and was very easy to set up when I first used it.
I haven't used my Pro purchase in years, but if I did want to ssh from my phone today, I'd use the newish Terminal app, available since Android 15. It's a full Debian virtual machine.
I don’t think it is that widely available due to Snapdragon chips not supporting some feature it requires.
Good option for Pixel owners or phones with MediaTek chips though.
Apparently it's about software, not hardware - Qualcomm recommends running Android under a virtual machine (which lacks nested virtualization support).
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I run LineageOS on both a Pixel 3a XL and a OnePlus 5. Yes, these both run Snapdragons.
The option to install the subsystem is present on both, but I have not attempted it.
I have loaded it onto a Pixel 6a running Graphene.
Or termux, which doesnt use a VM
Yeah, another vote for Termux. The linux VM ends up being a bit laggy because it's actually a webview that renders a terminal, that's connected to the VM. More importantly though, the soft keyboard support is totally broken, so if you try to backspace more characters than you've typed, it won't let you. That sucks if do something like:
1. type some command, hit enter
2. hit up to edit it (because you typoed something)
3. can't backspace because the soft keyboard thinks there's nothing to delete
1 reply →
Do you mean Termux? I can't find any other Terminal app with a similar name
No Android started bundling a terminal app recently:
https://itsfoss.com/news/google-android-linux-terminal-rollo...
4 replies →
Enable Developper Options. It should be in the Developer menu. It's a toggle that'll enable this apk.
10 replies →
Yikes. I also just noticed that all the plugins (part of the pro feature set) rely on separate apk downloads from the Play Store, which all appear to be dead/delisted. This is really a shame, I too have thought of this as "the best" Android SSH client in the past.
This might be a good plug for Morphie or Revanced patches to automate the patch process.
I'm a big fan of Revanced, but I haven't heard of Morphie - do you have a link for it? (I tried searching, but all I'm coming up with are cosmetics, chargers, and an IRC app.)
Edit: found it: https://morphe.software/ - looks like it's sort of an offshoot of ReVanced that only supports Youtube at the moment.
And, for those who weren't aware of ReVanced, see https://revanced.app/ - it was originally just a tweaked version of the YouTube app called Vanced (an "advanced" YouTube app, but without the "ad"s ;) - but now it's a tool that can patch a bunch of different apps.
Just a cynical observation here, but its funny how the author still hangs onto the notion that it is "the best" despite that it de facto cannot be "the best."
Also, maybe dont rely on a poorly maintained app for making secure connections to your systems? Just me?
Wow. Thanks for this. I haven't logged into Juice SSH in years, but i thought it had all my ssh keys backed up in the cloud.
I’d start rotating those keys asap… you’re one breach away from a security nightmare
Yep, just did.. A lot of those devices don't even exist anymore but the keys exist lol.
You should encrypt your ssh keys anyway, and you should encrypt anything sensitive you are backing up to a cloud.
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Not trying to defend the developer here but they went really silent once before like this. Then came out of the gate with a bunch of updates and new features. I'm hoping they've just got really busy with life, I know when I emailed them before they have been responsive and helpful. I mean hell they might have died? Does the Store have a process for this? This app has been around a long time so I don't understand the rugpull comments. Also the syned keys are (supposedly, I guess we don't have the source) encrypted so even if the dev is no longer active that aspect should be secure I hope.
My Pro features still seem to be working for me. EDIT: No, I see now that Cloud Sync isn't a thing anymore. Looks like it's really lost its backend servers.
> I don't understand the rugpull comments.
The article says "the purchase made in 2019 is not recognized anymore". The seller unilaterally taking back something you previously bought, especially without a refund, is a rug pull.
A rugpull to me is something specifically setup to try and make money by scamming/rugpulling. JuiceSSH has been around for so long, even if it doesn't work anymore I don't feel rugpulled? If it was a year old I'd agree.
1 reply →
It still doesn't sound intentional to me. How many scammers are going around creating useful apps, supporting them, pushing out new features, and then finally doing the rugpull 14 years after release? It feels a lot more likely that the backend servers have fallen down on their own and for whatever reason there's no one around to fix them.
Same thing happened to me so I coded my own with claude instead of paying them again
smali code is funny to read, basically an object-oriented assembly language (feels so wrong)
Don't let Alan Kay[1] read that...
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=alankay
Replaced JuiceSSH two years ago with ConnectBOT (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.connectbot...) as a "free" alternative. Never looked back.
> ConnectBot
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.connectbot/
https://github.com/connectbot/connectbot
I believe Google will cut off that avenue soon...
> JuiceSSH used to be the best SSH client available on Android until December 2025.
Really? I always gave that award to Termius, which is kind of my second best behind Servercat which I miss very dearly from the iOS environment.
One was a one time purchase, the other requires a subscription.... The answer should be clear.
Local-only usage of Termius is free and doesn't even require logging in to the service. I've been using it like this for years.
Really great terminal app that I used in Android for a very long time with some interesting features.
Also, Mosh shell support for sshing in degraded connection environments!
Damn. I especially liked the cloud backup & sync. Any good alternatives?
I'm using Termux with aliases. I'll write "c1" and it logs in the machine. I use git to sync and backup from my laptop.
I bought JuiceSSH too but I didn't use it that much. It's a shame they did what they did.
Termux is one of the best apps ever made for Android power users. It literally replaces so much stuff, if you don't care about GUI. No need for SSH app - it has ssh. No need for file sync app - there is rsync. No need for notetaking app, there is your $EDITOR you like. All 100% free. It's amazing.
1 reply →
I too bought JuiceSSH. I can still download and run it on other phones I get in the future, right?
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Wow nice work. Thanks for doing this and writing it up.
I just tried to purchase pro from within the app just to see what the price is, and the Google Play purchase popup tells me it's not available. Interesting.
This is pretty interesting but why not just pay the 20 bucks?
I would not use an SSH client written by someone that feels it's OK to break the terms of the contract this way
who knows what's coming next?
The SSH deal has been altered. Pray I don’t alter it any further. csshck hoh.
The second paragraph explains this: they already have paid, and some people have paid [again], but their purchase is not accepted.
The issue is people that already paid lost their pro features unless they pay _again_.
There are just fewer highly polished Android apps vs iOS apps, and that's why I switched to iOS.
I bought JuiceSSH years ago on Android and it worked great, but I agree it's degraded, and I couldn't find an equivalent I liked.
iOS has multiple apps that beat JuiceSSH. I use Termix and it's really, really good.