Telnet Released for iPhone

30 July, 2008 - Apps, Utilities

A Telnet client for your iPhone or iPod Touch! This client can be used for interactive communication with another host using the TELNET protocol.

It implements a simple terminal emulator, and can be used to connect to any standard telnet server including Linux, BSD, Solaris, OS X, Cisco, or even Windows as long as telnet services are enabled.

You can choose which host and even which port to connect to, which makes this useful for debugging web and mail servers.

Works over WI-FI or your Carrier Network.

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Comments

John B., July 30, 2008

Hi! I just bought this app! I'm happy there's a client for iPhone now, but here are some observations. - Please change the layout to put the command line on the bottom, like just about every other app has. The current layout makes no sense. - Not all of us use telnet for simple command line. A lot of people use it to connect to "old-school" online communities. Please make a way to toggle or set the dictionary auto-correct on and off? It is only off, making typing difficult. - Saved connection info would be nice. - Color/font settings would also be nice, at least to some degree. The default iPhone Arial font is much nicer than this serif font. It's a good first step, but not really functional for many of us who want to use a telnet app. I already paid, but if I got to try before buying, I would not have bought this unless you made some of the updates I mentioned. As it is, I can't even use it. Good luck! I hope you consider my suggestions.
Administrator, July 30, 2008

Thanks for the feedback John! We will certainly take your comments into account for the next version of Telnet.
mat, July 30, 2008

Hi, I bought telnet through iTunes to use it in my iPhone to telnet to my IBM AIX servers. When I enter the IP address of the server, I only get "waiting for Connection" messages. It is not connecting. Let me know if your telnet App would support IBM AIX. I could not find this information before I purchase it. Thanks,
ronhip, July 31, 2008

Make this into an SSH client and you have me sold. There is simply no way I'm going to log in to a machine with telnet (which I've turned off on all my servers) as it is completely insecure. Passwords sent in the clear on a wireless network? Please! Keep up the good work and take this to the next level with SSH. I can't tell from the screenshot, but can you use it in landscape? That would be a really nice bonus.
Administrator, July 31, 2008

Hi Matt, Yes, this app does work with AIX. You have to make sure that the telnet service is enabled on your AIX server.
kessler, July 31, 2008

Great to see telnet for iPhone, at last -- I use both for everything, now. But how to use vi without esc or an escape sequence? I've tried ^ and ^^ and iPhone backspace...
Administrator, July 31, 2008

Hi Kessler et all, There is a refresh coming for telnet which adds the following features. Apple is currently pretty backlogged by application requests, so please bear with us until it is approved: * fixed-width font * Screen rotation for landscape or portrait mode * Escape characters like ctrl, and escape * Better terminal emulator support (clear screen, 'top', etc) * Remembers the last connection
tdukeman, July 31, 2008

I just bought this product and have not had any luck with this working on either my iphone, or my itouch. I just keep getting waiting for connection. I've tried connecting to our cisco devices, but have not had any luck. I tried to do a simply connection, and then tried to even specify the port to see if that would help...no luck. any ideas?
Administrator, July 31, 2008

tdukeman, Occasional network hiccups can disrupt the initial connection. The refresh version will be better at this. In the meantime, you can try hitting "back" and then connecting again to the same host. That seems to work in some cases.
kessler, July 31, 2008

OK, Admin, thanks for the reply -- we'll lite a candle to the iTunes gods... I'm assuming your update will be an AppStore feature of some kind, a new button we click & download on top of the old, so I should check AppStore weekly? If not pls post here.
joeshred, August 1, 2008

Any word on creating an ssh app? Like another poster, I am wanting to use a utility such as this, but telnet is not an option. I must be able to connect securely. Is this even possible with the iPhone SDK?
Administrator, August 1, 2008

Hi Joeshred, There are certainly issues with creating an SSH client. Two examples are that some people claim that Apple's licensing precludes releasing open source software, on which most SSH implementations are built. Also, there are issues with distribution, as it is currently illegal for US-based companies to release high-level encryption products to certain countries (this makes everything complicated). One good way to get an encrypted session *today* is to use our Telnet app on the iPhone with the iPhone's built-in VPN software. This means you need to have a VPN server set up on your host or at the entrance to your network, but this solution will give you complete encrypted sessions across the Internet.
Parker, August 1, 2008

I agree with many of the comments here. A few other suggestions to make this application more useful. -VT102 emulation would improve display for some aix connections, including an 80x24 display. -landscape and portrait mode. -A key to make the keyboard disappear without hitting return This is a good first step!
Scribble, August 16, 2008

Hi, I recent got your program and I've been trying to log onto a friend telnet that he uses to run a MUCK. The program seems to connect just fine, I get the intro screen and welcome text, but when I try to login into the server nothing seems to happen. It's like the program isn't actually sending out the commands, just printing them to the display. Am I doing something wrong? I'm not really use to working in pure telnet.. so I think I may be missing some step to get the program to actually send my commands. Thanks in advance for any help.
bradh, December 22, 2008

Just loaded the telnet client. is there a way to send the spacebar command equevelent? As if scrolling through a config file?
seulater, January 1, 2009

Could use some work. I would like to see the ability to be able to change the port# from 23 to whatever. Also, my server needed me to send a "?" followed by a carraige return. there was no way i could send a carraige return. This program should allow full keyboard functionality.