@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ public class XmppConnection implements Runnable {
.findChild("mechanisms"));
final Element auth = new Element("auth");
auth.setAttribute("xmlns", "urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-sasl");
- if (mechanisms.contains("EXTERNAL")) {
+ if (mechanisms.contains("EXTERNAL") && account.getPrivateKeyAlias() != null) {
saslMechanism = new External(tagWriter, account, mXmppConnectionService.getRNG());
} else if (mechanisms.contains("SCRAM-SHA-1")) {
saslMechanism = new ScramSha1(tagWriter, account, mXmppConnectionService.getRNG());