diff --git a/actions/backups b/actions/backups
index cb539e7c0..a4d612948 100755
--- a/actions/backups
+++ b/actions/backups
@@ -27,9 +27,10 @@ import subprocess
 import sys
 import tarfile
 
-from plinth.errors import ActionError
 from plinth.modules.backups import MANIFESTS_FOLDER, REPOSITORY
 
+TIMEOUT = 5
+
 
 def parse_arguments():
     """Return parsed command line arguments as dictionary."""
@@ -38,7 +39,8 @@ def parse_arguments():
 
     subparsers.add_parser(
         'setup', help='Create repository if it does not already exist')
-    subparsers.add_parser('info', help='Show repository information')
+    info = subparsers.add_parser('info', help='Show repository information')
+    info.add_argument('--repository', help='Repository path', required=True)
     subparsers.add_parser('list', help='List repository contents')
 
     create = subparsers.add_parser('create', help='Create archive')
@@ -94,9 +96,9 @@ def subcommand_setup(_):
         subprocess.run(['borg', 'init', '--encryption', 'none', REPOSITORY])
 
 
-def subcommand_info(_):
+def subcommand_info(arguments):
     """Show repository information."""
-    subprocess.run(['borg', 'info', '--json', REPOSITORY], check=True)
+    run(['borg', 'info', '--json', arguments.repository])
 
 
 def subcommand_list(_):
@@ -189,7 +191,7 @@ def _get_apps_of_manifest(manifest):
     elif type(manifest) is dict and 'apps' in manifest:
         apps = manifest['apps']
     else:
-        raise ActionError('Unknown manifest format')
+        raise RuntimeError('Unknown manifest format')
     return apps
 
 
@@ -236,6 +238,29 @@ def subcommand_restore_exported_archive(arguments):
                         break
 
 
+def read_password():
+    """Read the password from stdin."""
+    if sys.stdin.isatty():
+        return ''
+    else:
+        return ''.join(sys.stdin)
+
+
+def run(cmd):
+    """Pass provided passwords on to borg"""
+    env = dict(os.environ, BORG_RELOCATED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK='yes')
+    password = read_password()
+    timeout = None
+    if password:
+        env['SSHPASS'] = password
+        env['BORG_RSH'] = 'sshpass -e ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no'
+    else:
+        # When no password is given ssh might ask for a password and get stuck.
+        # Use timeout to abort early.
+        timeout = TIMEOUT
+    subprocess.run(cmd, check=True, env=env, timeout=timeout)
+
+
 def main():
     """Parse arguments and perform all duties."""
     arguments = parse_arguments()
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/__init__.py b/plinth/modules/backups/__init__.py
index 5f5095bc2..d7f3b0a7a 100644
--- a/plinth/modules/backups/__init__.py
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/__init__.py
@@ -59,8 +59,12 @@ def setup(helper, old_version=None):
     helper.call('post', actions.superuser_run, 'backups', ['setup'])
 
 
-def get_info():
-    output = actions.superuser_run('backups', ['info'])
+def get_info(repository, password=None):
+    args = ['backups', ['info', '--repository', repository]]
+    kwargs = {}
+    if password is not None:
+        kwargs['input'] = password.encode()
+    output = actions.superuser_run(*args, **kwargs)
     return json.loads(output)
 
 
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/forms.py b/plinth/modules/backups/forms.py
index 6d61aa85e..0a42ff07b 100644
--- a/plinth/modules/backups/forms.py
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/forms.py
@@ -76,38 +76,52 @@ class RestoreForm(forms.Form):
 
 
 class UploadForm(forms.Form):
-    file = forms.FileField(label=_('Upload File'), required=True,
-            validators=[FileExtensionValidator(['gz'],
-                'Backup files have to be in .tar.gz format')],
-            help_text=_('Select the backup file you want to upload'))
+    file = forms.FileField(
+        label=_('Upload File'),
+        required=True,
+        validators=[FileExtensionValidator(['gz'],
+                    'Backup files have to be in .tar.gz format')],
+        help_text=_('Select the backup file you want to upload'))
 
 
 class CreateRepositoryForm(forms.Form):
     repository = forms.CharField(
-        label=_('Repository path'), strip=True,
-        help_text=_('Path of the new repository.'))
+        label=_('SSH Repository Path'), strip=True,
+        help_text=_('Path of the new repository. Example: '
+                    '<i>user@host/path/to/repo/</i>'))
+    ssh_password = forms.CharField(
+        label=_('SSH password'), strip=True,
+        help_text=_('Password of the SSH  Server.<br />'
+                    'If you have set up <a href="https://www.ssh.com/ssh/key/"'
+                    'target="_blank">SSH key-based authentication</a> you can '
+                    'omit the password.'),
+        required=False)
     encryption = forms.ChoiceField(
         label=_('Encryption'),
-        help_text=format_lazy(_('"Key in Repository" means that a '
-            'password-protected key is stored with the backup. <br />'
-            '<b>You need this password to restore a backup!</b>')),
+        help_text=format_lazy(
+            _('"Key in Repository" means that a '
+              'password-protected key is stored with the backup. <br />'
+              '<b>You need this password to restore a backup!</b>')),
         choices=[('repokey', 'Key in Repository'), ('none', 'None')]
         )
     passphrase = forms.CharField(
         label=_('Passphrase'),
         help_text=_('Passphrase; Only needed when using encryption.'),
-        widget=forms.PasswordInput()
+        widget=forms.PasswordInput(),
+        required=False
     )
     confirm_passphrase = forms.CharField(
         label=_('Confirm Passphrase'),
         help_text=_('Repeat the passphrase.'),
-        widget=forms.PasswordInput()
+        widget=forms.PasswordInput(),
+        required=False
     )
     store_passphrase = forms.BooleanField(
         label=_('Store passphrase on FreedomBox'),
-        help_text=format_lazy(_('Store the passphrase on your {box_name}.'
-            '<br />You need to store the passphrase if you want to run '
-            'recurrent backups.'), box_name=_(cfg.box_name)),
+        help_text=format_lazy(
+            _('Store the passphrase on your {box_name}.'
+              '<br />You need to store the passphrase if you want to run '
+              'recurrent backups.'), box_name=_(cfg.box_name)),
         required=False
     )
 
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_create_repository.html b/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_create_repository.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b4be62eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_create_repository.html
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+{% extends "base.html" %}
+{% comment %}
+#
+# This file is part of FreedomBox.
+#
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+# published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+# License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+{% endcomment %}
+
+{% load bootstrap %}
+{% load i18n %}
+
+{% block content %}
+
+  <h3>{{ title }}</h3>
+
+  <form class="form" method="post" target="_blank">
+    {% csrf_token %}
+
+    {{ form|bootstrap }}
+
+    <input type="submit" class="btn btn-primary"
+           value="{% trans "Submit" %}"/>
+    <input type="submit" class="btn btn-secondary" value="Test Connection"
+           title="{% trans 'Test Connection to Repository' %}"
+           formaction="{% url 'backups:test-repository' %}" />
+  </form>
+
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_test_repository.html b/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_test_repository.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..da26fd960
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/templates/backups_test_repository.html
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+{% extends "base.html" %}
+{% comment %}
+#
+# This file is part of FreedomBox.
+#
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+# published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+# License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+{% endcomment %}
+
+{% load bootstrap %}
+{% load i18n %}
+
+{% block content %}
+
+  <h3>{{ title }}</h3>
+
+  {{ message }}
+  <div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
+    {{ error }}
+  </div>
+
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/urls.py b/plinth/modules/backups/urls.py
index 7e0090c03..9168922cd 100644
--- a/plinth/modules/backups/urls.py
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/urls.py
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ from django.conf.urls import url
 
 from .views import IndexView, CreateArchiveView, CreateRepositoryView, \
         DeleteArchiveView, UploadArchiveView, ExportAndDownloadView, \
-        RepositoriesView, RestoreArchiveView, RestoreFromUploadView
+        RepositoriesView, RestoreArchiveView, RestoreFromUploadView, \
+        TestRepositoryView
 
 urlpatterns = [
     url(r'^sys/backups/$', IndexView.as_view(), name='index'),
@@ -40,4 +41,6 @@ urlpatterns = [
         RepositoriesView.as_view(), name='repositories'),
     url(r'^sys/backups/repositories/create/$',
         CreateRepositoryView.as_view(), name='create-repository'),
+    url(r'^sys/backups/repositories/test/$',
+        TestRepositoryView.as_view(), name='test-repository'),
 ]
diff --git a/plinth/modules/backups/views.py b/plinth/modules/backups/views.py
index 4ecfa2ff5..9a51efc49 100644
--- a/plinth/modules/backups/views.py
+++ b/plinth/modules/backups/views.py
@@ -40,10 +40,10 @@ from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy
 from django.views.generic import View, FormView, TemplateView
 
 from plinth import actions, kvstore
-from plinth.errors import PlinthError
+from plinth.errors import PlinthError, ActionError
 from plinth.modules import backups, storage
 
-from . import api, forms, SESSION_PATH_VARIABLE
+from . import api, forms, SESSION_PATH_VARIABLE, REPOSITORY
 from .decorators import delete_tmp_backup_file
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class IndexView(TemplateView):
         context = super().get_context_data(**kwargs)
         context['title'] = backups.name
         context['description'] = backups.description
-        context['info'] = backups.get_info()
+        context['info'] = backups.get_info(REPOSITORY)
         context['archives'] = backups.list_archives()
         context['subsubmenu'] = subsubmenu
         apps = api.get_all_apps_for_backup()
@@ -282,12 +282,12 @@ class ExportAndDownloadView(View):
         filename = "%s.tar.gz" % name
         args = ['export-tar', '--name', name]
         proc = actions.superuser_run('backups', args, run_in_background=True,
-                bufsize=1)
+                                     bufsize=1)
         zipStream = ZipStream(proc.stdout, 'readline')
         response = StreamingHttpResponse(zipStream,
-                content_type="application/x-gzip")
+                                         content_type="application/x-gzip")
         response['Content-Disposition'] = 'attachment; filename="%s"' % \
-                filename
+            filename
         return response
 
 
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ class CreateRepositoryView(SuccessMessageMixin, FormView):
     """View to create a new repository."""
     form_class = forms.CreateRepositoryForm
     prefix = 'backups'
-    template_name = 'backups_form.html'
+    template_name = 'backups_create_repository.html'
     success_url = reverse_lazy('backups:repositories')
     success_message = _('Created new repository.')
 
@@ -335,3 +335,25 @@ class CreateRepositoryView(SuccessMessageMixin, FormView):
         repositories.append(new_repo)
         kvstore.set('backups_repositories', json.dumps(repositories))
         return super().form_valid(form)
+
+
+class TestRepositoryView(TemplateView):
+    """View to create a new repository."""
+    template_name = 'backups_test_repository.html'
+
+    def post(self, request):
+        context = self.get_context_data()
+        repository = request.POST['backups-repository']
+        ssh_password = request.POST['backups-ssh_password']
+        try:
+            info = backups.get_info(repository, password=ssh_password)
+        except ActionError as err:
+            if "subprocess.TimeoutExpired" in str(err):
+                msg = _("Server not reachable - try providing a password.")
+                context["error"] = msg
+            else:
+                context["error"] = str(err)
+        else:
+            context["message"] = info
+
+        return self.render_to_response(context)
diff --git a/plinth/modules/users/forms.py b/plinth/modules/users/forms.py
index f3bfef69b..16e9807de 100644
--- a/plinth/modules/users/forms.py
+++ b/plinth/modules/users/forms.py
@@ -146,7 +146,9 @@ class UserUpdateForm(ValidNewUsernameCheckMixin,
                      plinth.forms.LanguageSelectionFormMixin, forms.ModelForm):
     """When user info is changed, also updates LDAP user."""
     ssh_keys = forms.CharField(
-        label=ugettext_lazy('SSH Keys'), required=False, widget=forms.Textarea,
+        label=ugettext_lazy('Authorized SSH Keys'),
+        required=False,
+        widget=forms.Textarea,
         help_text=ugettext_lazy(
             'Setting an SSH public key will allow this user to '
             'securely log in to the system without using a '