Just recently, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, released ChatGPT-4, the next iteration of the popular large language model chatbot leading to increases in downtime.
This might lead you to question, “Is ChatGPT down?” To help answer this, we’ll cover some of the common ChatGPT errors and what you can do about them (if anything!).
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Check the OpenAI official Page first
2. The Different Types of Errors
Check the Official OpenAI Server Page First
The first and most obvious step is to head over to https://status.openai.com/ and check the official status of the ChatGPT servers.
If you see the word “operational” this means there are no known issues coming from the server end at OpenAI.
While you still might be experiencing connectivity issues you’ll at least know that the problem is on the user end.
ChatGPT is exceptionally popular so downtimes are to be expected but if problems persist it might be an indicator that your device has a glitch in the system!
In the next section, we’ll detail some of the common error codes while using ChatGPT and the fixes.
The Different Types of Technical Issues You Might Experience and What To Do
Let’s take a look at the most common ChatGPT errors you might experience.
1.ChatGPT Error Code 1020
This is the most common error code that users are experiencing with ChatGPT.
The reason behind “Error code 1020. Access denied” popping up is down to ChatGPT detecting something unusual in your internet connection configuration or your device.
Error code 1020 can also trigger if you’re using a VPN with misconfigured settings.
ChatGPT has rigorous security measures in place and if your device or settings don’t meet the criteria for entry, it’ll kick out a code to deny access.
In reality, it’s a good thing, in practice it’s annoying.
Assuming you’ve checked your configurations and everything seems legit, try flushing the DNS. Here’s how to flush your DNS on Windows:
- Go to the Start menu and open the Command Prompt window.
- Type the following command: “ipconfig /flushdns” then restart your PC.
- Fire up ChatGPT and try logging in again. This should resolve the problem.
- If you’re using macOS try this.
If this doesn’t work for you, try this next method: changing your DNS server to an alternative such as Google or Cloudflare.
- Open Windows settings and go to Network and Internet -> Hardware properties.
- Click on Edit next to DNS server assignment and change the DNS to manual mode.
- Add this: Preferred DNS 8.8.8.8, Alternative 8.8.4.4. Click to Save.
- Restart your computer and try to log into ChatGPT again.
If you’re still having some ChatGPT service disruption, try resetting your IP address:
1. Go to Windows settings and open the Command Prompt window.
2. Run these codes one by one:
- netsh winsock reset
- netsh int ip reset
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
- ipconfig /flushdns
3. Restart your computer and try to log into ChatGPT.
2. ChatGPT Error Code 429
This error message triggers if you try to submit too many requests to the server in a short space of time.
Basically, to promote fair usage and ensure everyone gets a shot at using ChatGPT, they’ll throw this error code 429 out to let users know they’re doing too much too soon!
As the server capacity is still limited, just be patient and dial back the requests.
3. ChatGPT Network Error on Long Responses
This means that ChatGPT has some server issues when trying to return a request to the user.
There are several reasons behind this temporary outage. Typically it’s due to internet connection issues such as firewall, server or network issues.
You may also receive this message “Network error on long responses” if the connection times out during ChatGPT’s response.
4. ChatGPT Login Error
This temporary downtime may occur simply because the user did not enter the correct username and password, so always double-check that you’re entering the correct information when logging into chatGPT.
Another cause is due to expired cookies which can be solved by following these steps:
- In your address bar, next to the web address openai.com, click the padlock icon and select Site Settings.
- Click on “Clear Data” and confirm your selection.
- Refresh the page and attempt to login into ChatGPT again.
5. ChatGPT Network is at Capacity Right Now
As the name suggests, this ChatGPT status appears when it is experiencing high volumes of user requests and the server capacity can’t physically handle any more!
There’s not a great deal you can do with this full capacity error other than wait and refresh your page until our AI-Based chatbot frees up some space.
If you’re not getting any joy with these solutions due to constant ChatGPT outages you can try a couple of other tricks to get you back chatting:
- Try alternatives to ChatGPT – since OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT on the world we’ve seen dozens of tech companies elbow their way into the action. Check out our guide on The Best ChatGPT Alternatives.
- Try a different search engine – you might be experiencing problems with logging into ChatGPT on one browser but by switching to another you might just fix it!
Try logging in on Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera or Firefox and give it a go!