Unable to log in when the target device has no password set.

[GWan1234]

I tried using AeroFTP to connect to my OpenWrt device on the local network so I could debug LuCI and my own programs locally. I haven't set a password on the target device because logging in to the LuCI web interface and connecting via WinSCP are more convenient this way. However, whenever I try to connect using AeroFTP, it keeps reporting that the connection cannot be established. I have entered the correct IP address and username, and I'm certain that no password has been set on the target device. Is there any way to resolve this issue?

[axpnet]

whenever I try to connect using AeroFTP, it keeps reporting that the connection cannot be established. [...] I'm certain that no password has been set on the target device.

Thank you for this report, it is a valuable one: it found a real gap in AeroFTP. OpenWrt's SSH server (Dropbear) lets root in without a password only through the SSH none authentication method, and refuses the password method outright when the password is blank. WinSCP sends none before anything else, so it gets in; AeroFTP never sent it, so the router turned it away. The fix is in #1453: AeroFTP now sends none first, as WinSCP and OpenSSH do, for SFTP, the SSH terminal and AeroRsync. The details are in the PR, and we will post here when the release that carries it is out.

connecting via WinSCP are more convenient this way

The router needs one more thing for AeroFTP: a stock OpenWrt image ships no SFTP server (WinSCP quietly falls back to SCP there), and AeroFTP talks SFTP. Install it once with opkg update && opkg install openssh-sftp-server, or on builds that use apk, apk update && apk add openssh-sftp-server.

Is there any way to resolve this issue?

Until that release is out, an SSH key works today, without setting a password and without changing how LuCI behaves: paste your public key in LuCI under System > Administration > SSH-Keys, then in the AeroFTP SFTP connection open SSH Authentication (Optional) and set Private Key Path to the matching private key. If anything still fails, tell us your AeroFTP version and paste the exact error message.

[axpnet]

A follow-up on my earlier reply: you should not have to change anything on the router to use AeroFTP. WinSCP connects to a stock OpenWrt image because it falls back to SCP when there is no SFTP server, and AeroFTP will do the same. We are adding SCP support, with the same automatic fallback from SFTP, tracked in #1454. Once it ships, AeroFTP will connect to your router exactly as it is today.

Installing openssh-sftp-server stays an option, never a requirement: SFTP is the faster path, with resumable and parallel transfers.

[GWan1234]

That's an encouraging response! I look forward to your future work. Thank you for creating such a wonderful project.