This site can't be reached: what the message means and how to fix it
"This site can't be reached" is Chrome's generic headline for a whole family of connection failures, not one specific error; the real cause is named in the error code underneath it, such as ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED or DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN.
What "This site can't be reached" means
Chrome shows this same headline for anything that stops a page from loading before it gets an HTTP response to render, whether that is a DNS lookup failure, a refused or timed-out connection, a broken TLS handshake, or too many redirects. The headline itself gives no diagnostic information. The error code printed below it, in smaller text, is the part that actually says what happened, and each code points at a different layer of the connection: DNS, TCP, TLS, or the HTTP exchange itself.
Chrome groups these under one headline because, from the browser's point of view, the visible result is the same either way: no page rendered. Other browsers follow the same general pattern with different wording; Firefox and Safari each show their own generic failure page and a shorter, less specific message, which makes Chrome's underlying error code, when you can see it, the most useful single piece of information for narrowing down the cause.
How the error appears
The page looks the same regardless of cause: a plain white screen, a dinosaur or similar icon depending on the Chrome version, the headline "This site can't be reached," and a line such as example.com refused to connect or example.com's server IP address could not be found, followed by the technical code in capital letters. That code is the one detail worth reading closely, since it determines which fix applies. From the command line, curl -v against the same URL reports the same underlying failure in more specific terms than the browser's generic page does.
What the sub-codes mean
| Error code | What it means |
|---|---|
| ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED | The target actively rejected the connection; see the ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED guide. |
| ERR_CONNECTION_RESET | A working connection was torn down abruptly; see the ERR_CONNECTION_RESET guide. |
| ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT | No answer arrived at all within the timeout; see the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT guide. |
| ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE | There is no route to the destination address; see the ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE guide. |
| ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED | DNS could not resolve the domain to an address; see the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED guide. |
| DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN | DNS confirmed the domain does not exist at all; see the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN guide. |
| ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE | The connection succeeded but the server sent back nothing; see the ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE guide. |
| ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS | The site sent the browser through a redirect loop; see the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS guide. |
| ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR | The TLS handshake failed before any certificate was judged; see the ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR guide. |
How to tell whose fault it is
The fastest way to split a local problem from a server-wide one is to check the site from somewhere else entirely: a phone on mobile data, a different Wi-Fi network, or a friend in another location. If it loads fine there, the cause is local to your device or network, a VPN, a proxy, a firewall rule, or a bad DNS cache entry. If it fails the same way everywhere you try it, the server or its DNS, TLS, or routing configuration is the cause. A website down checker does the same comparison in seconds by testing the site from multiple locations at once and reporting whether it is reachable from each one.
This split matters because the fix is completely different depending on which side of it the problem falls on. A local cause needs changes only on your own device or network and says nothing about whether anyone else can reach the site. A server-wide cause needs the site owner to act, and no amount of restarting your own router or clearing your own cache will resolve it.
How to fix "This site can't be reached"
If you are a visitor
- Read the error code beneath the headline and open the matching guide from the table above; the fix depends entirely on which specific code you see.
- Try a different network, such as mobile data, to check whether the problem is local to your current connection.
- Restart your router and flush your DNS cache, which resolves a meaningful share of connection and DNS-related failures on their own.
- Disable any VPN, proxy, or aggressive browser extension and reload, since all three commonly interfere with connections in ways that produce this generic message.
If you run the site
- Identify the exact error code visitors are reporting, since "the site is down" covers everything from a DNS misconfiguration to an expired certificate, and each needs a different fix.
- Run an HTTP check from several locations to confirm the scope: everywhere, one region, or one network, which narrows the cause before you start changing configuration.
- Check DNS, TLS, and the web server or application in that order, since a failure earlier in that chain, such as DNS, makes everything after it unreachable regardless of whether it is healthy.
- Follow the specific guide for the error code you found; each one in the table above covers its own causes and fix steps in detail.
How to prevent "This site can't be reached"
Because this message covers so many distinct failure modes, from DNS to TLS to the server itself, catching it quickly depends on checking every layer, not just one. Continuous monitoring that runs HTTP, SSL, and port checks on a schedule from 300+ checkpoints in 158 cities catches whichever layer fails first, before it reaches a large share of visitors, and sends an alert by email, SMS, voice call, Slack, Telegram and more the moment a check comes back with a matching error.
Related errors
Frequently asked questions
Does "This site can't be reached" always mean the website is down?
No. It can also mean a problem on your own device or network, a DNS issue, an expired certificate, or a misconfigured redirect. The error code underneath the headline tells you which.
Why does Chrome show the same message for so many different problems?
The headline describes the general outcome, a page that failed to load, while the specific code beneath it identifies the actual layer that failed: DNS, the TCP connection, TLS, or the HTTP exchange itself.
What is the fastest way to check if a site is down for everyone?
Run a check from several locations at once rather than asking one other person to try it; a single other test only rules out your own network, while a multi-location check also rules out regional routing or DNS propagation issues.
My site works on desktop but shows this on mobile. What does that mean?
This often points at an IPv6-related issue, a mobile carrier's DNS or proxy behavior, or a certificate chain that an older mobile browser does not trust, rather than the server itself being down.
Should I panic if I see this message on my own site?
Start by checking from a second network before assuming the worst; a meaningful share of these reports trace back to a local VPN, proxy, or DNS cache rather than the server. Confirm from outside checkpoints before treating it as a real outage.
Where do I find the exact error code Chrome is showing?
It appears in small text below the main headline, usually in the form ERR_SOMETHING or DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_SOMETHING. On a mobile device, you may need to scroll down slightly on the error page to see it below the retry button.