LND Peer Connection Issues -- Debug and Fix

Symptoms

- Cannot connect to peer- "no connection to peer" on payment- Peer disconnects frequently

Check Connected Peers

lncli listpeers

Connect to a Peer

lncli connect <pubkey>@<host>:<port>
# Example:
lncli connect 02abc...@1.2.3.4:9735

Debug Connection Refused

1. Verify the node is online: ping <host>

2. Check port 9735 is open: nc -zv <host> 9735

3. Confirm your own node is listening: lncli getinfo (check uris)

Persistent Disconnections

# In lnd.conf add:
[Bitcoin]
bicoin.node=bitcoind

# Increase keep-alive:
# Not directly configurable — upgrade LND version
# Or pin peer in channel.db by keeping channel open

Tor vs Clearnet

If both you and your peer are on Tor, connections may be slow or fail. Ensure your tor service is running and your onion address is correct in lnd.conf.

# lnd.conf for Tor:
[tor]
tor.active=true
tor.v3=true

Force Reconnect

lncli disconnect <pubkey>
lncli connect <pubkey>@<host>:<port>

Node Not Visible on Network

If peers cannot find you: ensure listen=0.0.0.0:9735 is set in lnd.conf and your external IP or Tor address is announced via externalip= or tor config.