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ChatGPT is a wildly popular online AI chatbot. As time has passed its popularity has skyrocketed resulting in many users jumping on the AI bandwagon. From time to time, the OpenAI website may face some technical difficulties, where you might see that the AI bot is not working. But, why isn’t ChatGPT working?
For those who aren’t familiar, ChatGPT is a phenomenal AI language model, released near the end of last year. The chatbot, utilizing its GPT-3 and GPT-4 models – can do a wide range of pretty exciting and revolutionary tasks such as essay writing, coding, and as of late passing university-level exams.
Those who are eager to try out this AI application may be wondering how to deal with errors. This guide will detail the whole “ChatGPT not working” matter.
Why isn’t ChatGPT working?
There are various reasons why ChatGPT may not be working for you. As a heads up, we’ve seen a spike in searches for ‘how to install plugins’ at the same time as ‘ChatGPT not working’ related issues. There’s a possibility that ChatGPT is not working as intended as a result of a plugin you’ve installed. Don’t worry, we know how to fix that! If you haven’t installed any, we can diagnose the problem another way.
A common cause stems from a bunch of users trying to use the chatbot at the same time. Usually, this leads to a server overload issue (high traffic), where many people get locked out of the site and are unable to login. This often results in ChatGPT at capacity errors.
Although, this isn’t the only cause. On some occasions, problems can arise from issues on your end. Classic causes are internet issues, corrupt browser cache or cookies, or your geographic location.
ChatGPT is available in most developed countries. However, interestingly there are some places in the world where ChatGPT is not available. Countries that seem to ban the use of the AI bot are China, Russia, and Egypt among others. So how can you go about solving these problems? We detail these fixes below so you can get ChatGPT access once more.
Why is ChatGPT not working on Chrome browser?
If ChatGPT is not working on Google Chrome, try following the official guidelines for clearing your cache:
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
. - Click “More tools” and then “Clear browsing data”.
- At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select “All time”.
- Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files,” check the boxes.
- Click “Clear data”.
After that, restart your browser and access the service again. As a result, ChatGPT should be working. If that doesn’t fix it, it’s unlikely to be a browser-specific issue, and you should follow some of the more general advice in our step-by-step guide below.
Why isn’t ChatGPT working on Firefox browser?
If ChatGPT is not working on Mozilla Firefox, try following the official guidelines for clearing your cache:
- Click the menu button
and select Settings. - Select the Privacy & Security panel.
- In the “Cookies and Site Data” section, click “Clear Data”.
- Remove the check mark in front of “Cookies and Site Data”
- With Cached Web Content check marked, click the “Clear” button.
After that, restart your browser and access the service again. As a result, ChatGPT should be working. If that doesn’t fix it, it’s unlikely to be a browser-specific issue, and you should follow some of the more general advice in our step-by-step guide below.
Why is ChatGPT not working on Edge browser?
If ChatGPT is not working on Microsoft Edge, try following the official guidelines for clearing your cache:
- Go to “Settings”
- Then click “Privacy”
- Lastly click “Browser data” and use Ctrl + Shift + Del
Alternatively, you can copy and paste the following into the URL bar (only on Edge): edge://settings/clearbrowserdata
After that, restart your browser and access the service again. As a result, ChatGPT should be working. If that doesn’t fix it, it’s unlikely to be a browser-specific issue, and you should follow some of the more general advice in our step-by-step guide below.
Fixing the ChatGPT error – suggested steps
There are various ways you can go about fixing the ChatGPT ‘not working’ error. Below we have outlined a few options for you to try.
Step
Clear your browser cookies and cache
Sometimes browsing history and cookies on your machine may prevent you being able to access ChatGPT.
Remove these and try to access the application again.
Whether you are using Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox or another browser, this is a step worth trying.
Step
Check your internet connection
Is your connection to the Internet stable and without issue? If it’s experiencing instability or other issues it may be that you cannot get a secure connection to ChatGPT.
Step
Different browser or device
If you are able, try to use a different browser, Chrome, Edge or another.
If you don’t have another browser to use, try accessing the ChatGPT application on another device, a tablet, smartphone or another computer.
Step
Get support
If it is not obvious why ChatGPT isn’t working, and none of the above resolve the issue, wait al little while and try again.
If the server status seems fine, and there is no issue with your connection, it may be worth contacting ChatGPT support.
Some suggestions involve the use of a VPN to get around any ChatGPT not working issues. However, this hasn’t been proven as effective in allowing users to gain access. And it won’t allow access when there are widespread server issues since the fix needs to be implemented on OpenAI’s side. In such instance, only OpenAI can fix ChatGPT accessibility.
It is also worth ntoing that even those with ChatGPT Plus access may not have access to the service during heightened times of stress on the servers. They may get priority access as the service returns, but they are not immune to errors and issues experienced by others.
ChatGPT isn’t working
If ChatGPT still isn’t working, this can be due to reasons like high traffic, server issues, or poor internet connection. The most common (and effective) solutions are:
- Clear cookies and your browser cache
- Disable browser extensions
- Use a different browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge are three popular and valid choices)
- Check ChatGPT’s server status (It might be an issue on OpenAI’s side, not yours)
- Contact OpenAI support as a last resort
Why is ChatGPT not loading?
There can be many reason for this. If you have ensured you Internet connection is stable, and your browser working normally, it could be that the service is at capacity or that it is experiencing another issue. Waiting it out is usually best practice where it seems that the issue is widespread. For example, the “ChatGPT failed to get service status” error.
ChatGPT uses an unsupported protocol?
You may have come across an uncommon error message, as follows:
this site can’t provide a secure connectionchat.openai.com uses an unsupported protocol. err_ssl_version_or_cipher_mismatch
ChatGPT error message
This means that your browser won’t let ChatGPT load — but it’s not your browsers fault! You’d have the same result on any other browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge etc.) because the problem is actually on OpenAI’s end.
As a PC enthusiast, you might know that each websites domain name starts with “http://”, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. You might also know that reputable and secure websites begin with “https://” where the additional S stands for secure. Never submit payment card details to a website without this! Well, this includes OpenAI’s Chatbot, the unabbreviated URL of which is https://chat.openai.com/
If your browser doesn’t trust the SSL certificate, it’s only trying to protect you. However, you cannot fix someone else’s SSL certification. Simply wait a bit and try again.
Can’t log in to ChatGPT?
A common error message preventing users from logging in reads as follows:
we ran into an issue while signing you in, please take a break and try again soon.
ChatGPT error message
This is the most popular error message of the week. However, you won’t need to change anything! This can the result of high server load, or more likely a local internet connectivity issue — either of which tend to go away by themselves. As a result, you may benefit from taking a quick break and attempting to log in again soon.
Final Thoughts
ChatGPT errors are somewhat common, with many users reporting their experience online. In this guide, we have outlined a few possible causes and fixes so you can start using ChatGPT again. There are also many paid and free ChatGPT alternatives that you may want to consider using too, like Jasper AI, Truth GPT, and more.
- NOW READ What is ChatGPT?