Flash Sale:75% Off Hosting + Free DomainEnds in13h47m14sView Plans
Hostvento logoHostvento
Get Started

What Is ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED and How to Fix It

Find out why Chrome closes the connection to a website, and fix it from the visitor and the server side.

Fixing Errors3 min read25 steps1 screenshot

What is the error

ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED appears in Chrome when the connection to a website is closed before the page loads. The message says "This site can't be reached. The connection was closed unexpectedly."

The ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error in Chrome

It can come from:

  • Your internet connection.
  • Your browser.
  • The website or its server.

Causes

On the visitor's side

  1. Internet connection. A weak or unstable connection can close the link.
  2. Browser problems. A damaged cache, bad extensions or wrong settings.
  3. Proxy or VPN. A wrong proxy configuration blocks the connection.
  4. Antivirus or firewall that blocks the site.

On the server's side

  1. Server downtime. The server may be down or restarting.
  2. Overload. Too many requests make the server drop connections.
  3. Firewall rules. The server firewall or a security tool may block your IP.
  4. Wrong SSL or web server settings.

How to fix it as a visitor

  1. Check your internet. Open another website. Restart the router if needed.
  2. Reload the page, or try again a bit later.
  3. Clear the browser cache and cookies. In Chrome go to Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data.
  4. Disable the extensions. Test in an incognito window (Ctrl+Shift+N).
  5. Turn off the proxy or VPN. In Windows go to Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy and turn off the proxy. Disable the VPN for a test.
  6. Flush the DNS cache. On Windows run ipconfig /flushdns. On macOS and Linux use the command for your system.
  7. Change the DNS servers to a public service, such as 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 or 1.1.1.1.
  8. Pause your antivirus or firewall briefly to test.
  9. Reset the network settings (Windows): netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset, then restart.
  10. Try another browser or device.

How to fix it as a site owner

  1. Check that the server is up and not overloaded (CPU, memory, disk). Restart the web server if needed.
  2. Check the logs. Look at the web server error log and the system log for crashes.
  3. Check the firewall. Make sure the visitor's IP is not blocked by the firewall, Fail2Ban or a security plugin.
  4. Check the SSL certificate and the HTTPS settings. A bad configuration can close the connection.
  5. Check the web server limits such as worker processes, max_clients and timeouts.
  6. Check the CDN or proxy (for example Cloudflare) and its settings.
  7. Contact your host if the server problem is outside your control.

Quick recap

  • Visitors: check the internet, clear the cache, disable the proxy/VPN and change the DNS.
  • Owners: check the server load, firewall, logs and SSL.