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Is ChatGPT down? When you can’t connect to the ChatGPT server, and you think an AI chatbot is down or offline, you can get it working again by diagnosing the problem first. It may be that the server isn’t even offline, that your browser or its extensions were at fault. It could even be your hardware, like your internet router! Here’s how to diagnose whether it’s a major outage, or a minor hiccup.
Why is ChatGPT down?
The issue today, November 9th, 2023, is a sign-in error. In other words, you’re unable to log into ChatGPT due to high traffic. Occasionally this can be for other reasons, such as a issue with OpenAI’s security certificate, which also happened recently.
We ran into an issue while signing you in, please take a break and try again soon.
ChatGPT error message
To fix this, as the error message suggest, take a break and try again soon. For any other error message, try our solutions below.
The most likely cause of the service being unavailable is that the servers on which it works are inaccessible. The popularity of ChatGPT does mean that the service could be overloaded, especially at peak hours. Other potential issues include internet connection problems, corrupt browser cache or cookies, and conflicting extensions.
It could also be down if there is an important need for OpenAi’s servers to enter downtime. This is something that typically happens when there is a need for a fix or upgrade. While it is highly unusual for any service to go completely offline, sometimes it is necessary to resolve an issue or protect the service in the long term.
ChatGPT being down shouldn’t be confused with the common ChatGPT at capacity message, although it may offer the ‘at capacity’ warning before becoming inaccessible altogether. In this case, it could be that there is so much traffic across the service that it is an issue that has forced ChatGPT temporarily offline. Similarly, if you are seeing the ChatGPT failed to get service status error, that may be significant too.
Is ChatGPT down? — How to diagnose outages
If ChatGPT is down, there are a few things API customers and general users can do – but access may depend on geography and the cause of the outage. If it’s a global outage it could be that everyone is facing similar problems. However, if you are based in, say, the United States, it may be that just your region is experiencing ChatGPT being down temporarily. So patience may be key, but here are the things to do, in order of importance and usefulness.
Check OpenAi status
It’s also worth checking the official OpenAI status page. There you’ll be able to see whether the server is down or if there is an issue with your prompt or your API integration. There you’ll find updates on anything from infrastructure issues to increased error rates, and it provides a dashboard status and time of the playground and API.
Check a third-party status checker
If the site isn’t loading at all, then you can also check a third-party website or online status checker like Downdetector, to ensure that the issue isn’t just on your end. It should also show you if the AI chatbot has a major outage or partial outage. Checking social media, like Twitter, is also a good place to go to quickly see if it’s down, as Twitter trends will likely show how many people are being affected.
Clear OpenAI and ChatGPT data
Clearing your browser data could help remove cookies and potentially corrupted data for OpenAI and the ChatGPT service. Here’s how you do it in Chrome, without removing all of your other data and cookies.
Step
Open the Chrome menu
Click the three-dots on at the top-right of your Chrome browser window.
Step
Go to settings
Navigate to ‘Settings’. Then select Privacy & Security, on the left hand menu.
This will allow you to options for collected cookies and site data.
Step
Click on Cookies & other site data
Select the ‘Cookies & other site data’ option to go to the next menu.
Step
‘See all site data’
From the menu select ‘see all site data and permissions’.
Step
Search for ‘OpenAI’
In the search bar at the top, and near the middle of the webpage, search for OpenAI.
This will retrieve all of the OpenAI and ChatGPT cookies and data stored in the Chrome browser.
Step
Clear the data
Click the ‘clear displayed data’ button to clear all OpenAI-related cookies and data from your browser.
Why are ChatGPT’s servers down?
Without an official response or explanation from OpenAI, it’s impossible to do anything but speculate about server issues. Servers can be down to a surge in demand, server instability, or another technical issue affecting performance. OpenAI, or any company, may not explain why its servers are down, so knowing why ChatGPT is down is not easy.
Here’s what to do when you can’t log in
If you’re seeing the following error message, thankfully this isn’t an issue of ChatGPT going down:
we ran into an issue while signing you in, please take a break and try again soon.
ChatGPT error message
In this case, the solution is in the error message! The site is still live, and functional — this is more likely to be a local internet connectivity issue in your area causing a timeout during the login process. Simply wait for a few minutes, maybe reset your router, and try again.
What to do when ChatGPT can’t provide a secure connection
Occasionally, you might see the following error message:
this site can’t provide a secure connectionchat.openai.com uses an unsupported protocol. err_ssl_version_or_cipher_mismatch
ChatGPT error message
This error occurs when your browser isn’t satisfied with the SSL security certificate of the website. Each and every website has one — every reputable website, at least. The URL of a website famously starts with “http://” which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. However, most modern and secure websites begin with “https://” where the additional S stands for (you guessed it) secure. This is critically important for any websites with which you exchange payment details, addresses, and personally identifiable information.
This includes OpenAI’s Chatbot, the unabbreviated URL of which is https://chat.openai.com/
You cannot fix their SSL certificate. In this case, the lack of connection is not your fault. Try again in a few minutes!
FAQ
Why is ChatGPT not working?
As ChatGPT is still being developed, there is a relatively low limit to the server capacity. This means that the web page home to the chatbot is unable to handle an unusually large number of people trying to access the service. Hence, the website effectively shuts down, preventing any more users from accessing the ChatGPT service.
You can wait a while for your turn – around 15 to 30 minutes usually. However, if there are still a lot of people trying to access the chatbot, this could still be difficult. You could also try refreshing the page, clearing your browser cache, using a VPN or Incognito mode, or logging in to your account again if possible.
How often is ChatGPT down?
ChatGPT is not usually down for more than a few minutes at a time, and OpenAI states that ChatGPT is up for 99.1% of the time. However, if the servers are busy, you may have to wait around 15 to 30 minutes until you can access ChatGPT again. You can also now check the status of the ChatGPT servers on the OpenAI website.
ChatGPT is experiencing very high traffic now, and it’s overloading the services. This means limits are being placed on the amount of users at one time. So if you’re trying to access the ChatGPT server, there’s a good chance you won’t get in. Hopefully, the hardworking software developers at OpenAI will fix this soon.
Is ChatGPT offline, or is it my internet connection?
If it appears the site is up, but it is down for you alone, it may be a bad internet connection. In this case, be sure to try disconnecting and reconnecting from your Internet or restarting your router. Should that not fix your issue, ensure that your ISP isn’t having difficulties. Even ISPs have downtime — typically less than 0.1%, but not 0! It’s uncommon, but possible, that an entire internet service provider is at fault.
What’s blocking ChatGPT? — Disable browser extensions
If you’re still finding that ChatGPT is down seemingly only for you, it may be worth disabling your browser extensions. You can do this by clicking on the three dots on the far right side of your screen, clicking settings, and then ‘More Tools’. There you can access extensions and disable them.
ChatGPT Plus — Will a premium subscription help?
If the service returns but remains at capacity, you may consider signing up for ChatGPT Plus. The subscription costs $20 per month and allows access even when it is under heavy load. In the future, if ChatGPT is offline completely, you still will not be able to access it. However, one of the key selling points of this subscription is that you get a smooth and immediate connection, whenever possible.
What to do if ChatGPT is at capacity right now — Wait!
Finally, when ChatGPT is down, you may just need to wait for the service to return. Given its popularity, ChatGPT may be down for everyone everywhere. Hopefully, the service will return shortly.
That being said, if you’re running into the problem time and time again, it may be time to check out some ChatGPT alternatives, such as Bing Chat, or Google Bard.