What does "down" actually mean?
A website is down when its server either doesn't respond at all or responds with an error that means it's broken (a 5xx error like 500, 502 or 503). If we get a normal response, the site is up for everyone, and the problem is probably at your end.
The site is up, but it won't load for me. What now?
- Refresh hard. Press Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) to skip your browser's cache.
- Try another network. Switch your phone from Wi-Fi to mobile data. If it loads, your home network or ISP is the issue.
- Restart your router. Unplug it for 30 seconds. This clears a lot of DNS and connection glitches.
- Turn off VPNs and ad blockers for a moment. Some sites block them.
- Clear your DNS cache. On Windows, run
ipconfig /flushdns; on a Mac, restarting usually does it.
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What the status codes mean
- 200–299: All good. The site answered normally.
- 300–399: Redirect. The site sent us somewhere else (we follow it).
- 401 / 403: The server is working but blocked our check, often a login wall or bot protection. It's almost certainly up.
- 404: The server works, but that particular page doesn't exist.
- 429: Too many requests. The server is up but rate-limiting.
- 500–599: Server error. The site is genuinely having problems.
- No response / timeout: The server didn't answer at all. That usually means it's down, or the address is wrong.
How our check works
When you press Check, our server (not your browser) contacts the website, follows any redirects, and records the status code and how long it took. Because the check runs from a different network to yours, it tells you whether the problem is the site or your connection. Results are cached for about 30 seconds.