JuiceSSH – Give me my pro features back

https://nproject.io/blog/juicessh-give-me-back-my-pro-features/

by jandeboevrie • 6 months ago

402 172 6 months ago

nproject.io

twosdai• 6 months ago

Wow nice work. Thanks for doing this and writing it up.

JorgeGT• 6 months ago

Damn. I especially liked the cloud backup & sync. Any good alternatives?

simlevesque2• 6 months ago

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.

Zenul_Abidin2• 6 months ago

I too bought JuiceSSH. I can still download and run it on other phones I get in the future, right?

mystifyingpoi• 6 months ago

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.

rclkrtrzckr2• 6 months ago

Serverbox on fdroid

cremp• 6 months ago

This might be a good plug for Morphie or Revanced patches to automate the patch process.

nfriedly• 6 months ago

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.

sowbug• 6 months ago

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.

sunnyam• 6 months ago

Do you mean Termux? I can't find any other Terminal app with a similar name

simlevesque2• 6 months ago

Enable Developper Options. It should be in the Developer menu. It's a toggle that'll enable this apk.

saidinesh53• 6 months ago

No Android started bundling a terminal app recently:

https://itsfoss.com/news/google-android-linux-terminal-rollo...

wilsonnb3• 6 months ago

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.

fulafel3• 6 months ago

Apparently it's about software, not hardware - Qualcomm recommends running Android under a virtual machine (which lacks nested virtualization support).

chasil• 6 months ago

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.

preisschild2• 6 months ago

Or termux, which doesnt use a VM

gruez2• 6 months ago

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

PortableCode• 6 months ago

smali code is funny to read, basically an object-oriented assembly language (feels so wrong)

arendtio• 6 months ago

Don't let Alan Kay[1] read that...

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=alankay

bakugo• 6 months ago

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.

saidinesh53• 6 months ago

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.

znpy• 6 months ago

I’d start rotating those keys asap… you’re one breach away from a security nightmare

graemep2• 6 months ago

You should encrypt your ssh keys anyway, and you should encrypt anything sensitive you are backing up to a cloud.

saidinesh53• 6 months ago

Yep, just did.. A lot of those devices don't even exist anymore but the keys exist lol.

pelagicAustral• 6 months ago

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.

Arrowmaster• 6 months ago

One was a one time purchase, the other requires a subscription.... The answer should be clear.

anonova• 6 months ago

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.

esseph• 6 months ago

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!

khanan• 6 months ago

Replaced JuiceSSH two years ago with ConnectBOT (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.connectbot...) as a "free" alternative. Never looked back.

genpfault• 6 months ago

ConnectBot

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.connectbot/

https://github.com/connectbot/connectbot

degamad2• 6 months ago

Never used JuiceSSH or Termux, but I've been using Connectbot for years, and it's pretty good.

muppetman4• 6 months ago

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.

josephcsible2• 6 months ago

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.

bspammer• 6 months ago

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.

muppetman4• 6 months ago

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.

1f60c• 6 months ago

This is pretty interesting but why not just pay the 20 bucks?

__float• 6 months ago

The second paragraph explains this: they already have paid, and some people have paid [again], but their purchase is not accepted.

blibble• 6 months ago

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?

user3939382• 6 months ago

The SSH deal has been altered. Pray I don’t alter it any further. csshck hoh.

dcdc123• 6 months ago

The issue is people that already paid lost their pro features unless they pay _again_.

awill• 6 months ago

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.

tssva• 6 months ago

I have been unable to find a SSH app for iOS that I like since I switched from Android. Just one of many reasons I will be switching back to Android for my next phone.

Grimblewald2• 6 months ago

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.

opan• 6 months ago

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.

wolvoleo3• 6 months ago

Yes I use termux too. What I love is that everything works that works on a normal computer too. And the same way. Even ssh keys on yubikeys work great with open keychain and okcagent.

jojomodding• 6 months ago

For me it's mostly that it just works and was very easy to set up when I first used it.

ycombinatrix2• 6 months ago

It has an SSH focused GUI which can be more convenient

worthless-trash• 6 months ago

What does that mean.

petesoper• 6 months ago

"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.

venusenvy47• 6 months ago

I bought Juice pro many years ago and use it daily on my phone and Tablet. I like how it gives my one click access to my handful of servers, and I liked the syncing between devices. I started using Termux last week and it seems like a decent alternative. The copy and paste is nicer on JuiceSSH, and I think it is more immune from getting disconnected if you switch to another app during a session.

Squeeeez2• 6 months ago

Have you looked into enabling ssh keep alive/server alive?

Lord_Zero• 6 months ago

Can I use that keyboard only with termux?

creshal• 6 months ago

No, it's a generic android keyboard and works with all apps. But you need a keyboard like it (arrow keys, ctrl, etc.) for termux to not be a total PITA to use.

(Android has full physical keyboard support, so with it you can use Ctrl+A/Ctrl+X/Ctrl+V in all input fields. Usually a lot faster than fumbling with the touch equivalents that keep randomly bugging out…)

rclkrtrzckr2• 6 months ago

I wonder why nobody mentions serverbox

https://f-droid.org/packages/tech.lolli.toolbox

johannes1234321• 6 months ago

I have used neither juice nor termux.

For my few emergencies ConnectBot worked quite well as an ssh client for me, including port forwarding (so i could use VNC sessions to unlock a boot issue in a VM using some VNC app)

nottorp2• 6 months ago

I believe Google will cut off that avenue soon...

ilvez• 6 months ago

I could not find JuiceSSH in Play store at this point anymore..

nottorp2• 6 months ago

I'm talking about sideloading. They announced they'll require something like Apple's notarization, it was posted on here a couple days ago.

tiagod3• 6 months ago

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.

smileybarry• 6 months ago

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)

stavros2• 6 months ago

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.

cube003• 6 months ago

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."

tiagod3• 6 months ago

I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but just requested it and it got instantly approved. At least that.

TheRoque4• 6 months ago

Why would you pay for such feature ? Termux is basically a small Linux in your pocket and has anything you'd ever need regarding SSH

BenjiWiebe4• 6 months ago

It's far quicker and easier to hit a toggle in JuiceSSH to turn on a port forward than to open up termux and type in the commands.

cyberrock• 6 months ago

JuiceSSH was popular starting 2013-2014 and Termux was released in 2015. ConnectBot technically existed before but its keyboard has always left more to be desired.

wafflemaker2• 6 months ago

Keyboard in Juice is/was very good too. Just a bar over your Android keyboard with all the special characters that are normal when using bash. Like tilde or forward slash. Saved a lot of time and made me not switch to Termux. But haven't used it in a long time.

tiagod3• 6 months ago

Because I already had my servers loaded in the app, have been using it for 13 years, and I like it, so I paid to support development. Really backfired.

I ended up setting it up through Termux as you suggested.

gorkish• 6 months ago

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?

dstnn• 6 months ago

Same thing happened to me so I coded my own with claude instead of paying them again

netsharc• 6 months ago

Next project: Claude-coded SSH server?

aposm• 6 months ago

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.

cube003• 6 months ago

Support is unresponsive, this looks like an exit scam.

Finally this is getting traction after leaving many of us out of pocket.

Both developers [1] are working in management 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 or https://sonelli.com/about

[2] https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-maddox

[3] https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-maddox-87236b27

opello• 6 months ago

The about link above gave a Cloudfront-looking failure, but the base domain here worked and is where the app help link takes me, albeit to /faq:

https://sonelli.com/

I reactivated my license a few months ago using the in-app functionality but I'm not quite sure when I'm afraid.

saghm• 6 months ago

I tried to create a refund r request but its not allowing to create one since the date of the transaction is out of our refund p policy as we can only process refunds for up to 120 days only after the transaction was charged.

In other words, any Google Play app is allowed to just pull the plug on features after four months and pocket the money. Wonderful...

cube003• 6 months ago

You'll own nothing and be happy.

Zenul_Abidin2• 6 months ago

Thinking I'll just create a clone of JuiceSSH myself and make all the stuff FOSS. I don't like developers who fleece me out of my purchases.

ggm• 6 months ago

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"

InMice• 6 months ago

I like Termius a lot better than JuiceSSH. Move on, you won't miss it.

TheRoque4• 6 months ago

I quickly dropped JuiceSSH when I discovered Termux. And I also find it way easier to use the way I want to, and flexible.

thih95• 6 months ago

I get it why an article like this is being posted, but I’m also worried that it’s jumping to conclusions.

Devs/support get overwhelmed, apps get buggy. A better course of action to me seems: reporting a broken app, requesting refund, waiting for the fix and switching to an alternative in the meantime.

I also dislike that this behavior could be a reason against sideloading, especially if made more popular.

BenjiWiebe4• 6 months ago

It worked for years with no/few changes. Then the price increases and pro features stop working. I'm not too likely to give the devs the benefit of the doubt. Patch out the 'pro' check and release an update. Or reply to one of the many new 1 star reviews and say you lost access to the source code, if that's what happened.

Complete silence + taking money...

thih95• 6 months ago

I still don’t get it. You say it yourself that it worked for years with no issues. Current behavior is bad but the community pirating the app does not seem right either.

Popular apps get away with more user hostility and price gouging. To me this effort seems misplaced.

alias_neo• 6 months ago

They seem to have pulled it, I can't find it on my Pixel.

I paid for it in 2014, and it hasn't been updated in about half of that time, they removed the cloud key backup at some point without notification so I lost all of the keys I had stored, and last time I used it, it didn't even recognise I had paid for it.

I moved to a different app a while back.

anta40• 6 months ago

I used the Pro version a few years ago. Now it's delisted from Play Store? Couldn't find it.

DeathArrow• 6 months ago

It's nice to see some good old fashioned cracking. It transports me 25 years back in IDA Pro days.

Banditoz• 6 months ago

Could this be considered grounds for a lawsuit?

kjs3• 6 months ago

In the US, pretty much anything can construed as a grounds for a lawsuit. It's the 'affording the lawsuit' that's the problem.

stonecharioteer• 6 months ago

Oh boy. I wanted to get a license for this. I waited for the price to drop, and now I'm glad I never did it.

nisegami• 6 months ago

After using it for many years, I recently switched from JuiceSSH to Termius (com.server.auditor.ssh.client for disambiguation) after having some issues and seeing the writing on the wall regarding JuiceSSH. It took some customization but I was able to get it set up pretty nice and I'm happy with it.

imcritic• 6 months ago

Isn't such patching illegal??

JuiceSSH – Give me my pro features back

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