ERR_CONNECTION_RESET: What It Means and How to Fix It
The connection to the site was cut off mid-way. See whether your antivirus, VPN, network or the server is to blame, plus ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED and ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE.
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ERR_CONNECTION_RESET: what it means
Think of a phone call: the other person picks up, you start talking, and the line suddenly goes dead. Technically, someone sent a "reset" packet (TCP RST) that ends the connection at once. The browser doesn't know who sent it. It may be the server, but also a firewall along the way, a company network filter or your own antivirus. That is why the first check is: does it happen only to you, or to everyone?
ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED
"company.com unexpectedly closed the connection." The connection was closed normally (without a reset), but before the browser got what it was waiting for. Causes and checks are almost the same as for a reset.
ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE
"company.com didn't send any data." The server accepted the connection and the request, but closed it without any response. Usually the server is at fault: the site's application crashed mid-request or a security rule cut the request off.
How it looks in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari
| Browser | What the page says | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | "This site can't be reached" and below it "The connection was reset." | ERR_ |
| Chrome | "This site can't be reached" and "company.com unexpectedly closed the connection." | ERR_ |
| Chrome | "This page isn't working" and "company.com didn't send any data." | ERR_ |
| Edge | "Hmmm… can't reach this page" and "The connection was reset." | ERR_ |
| Firefox | "The connection was reset" or "The connection was interrupted" | — |
| Firefox | "Secure Connection Failed", when the connection is cut while https is being set up | PR_ |
| Safari | "Safari Can't Open the Page" and "… because the network connection was lost." or "… because the server unexpectedly dropped the connection." | — |
If you are a visitor
- Try another network. Open the site on your phone over mobile data. If it opens there, your network or something on your computer is the cause.
- Check your antivirus. Many antivirus products also inspect encrypted traffic ("HTTPS scanning" or "web protection") and, when they can't cope with a site, cut the connection. Pause that feature or add the site to the exceptions. If the error shows in every browser, something outside the browser is to blame.
- Turn off VPN and proxy and try a private window, where most extensions are disabled.
- Think about network filters. On a company, school or public Wi-Fi network, a content filter may be cutting certain sites. Ask the administrator.
- Reset networking on Windows. Open Command Prompt as administrator, run
ipconfig /flushdnsandnetsh winsock reset, and restart. VPN or firewall software may need to be set up again afterwards.
If you own the website: the usual causes
- A WAF, ModSecurity or fail2ban cuts specific requests. Classic symptom: the site opens, but a form (contact, checkout, saving in the admin area) or a URL with certain words gives a reset or an empty response. Security rules sometimes see "suspicious" text in an innocent request and, depending on the setup, answer with a 403 or simply close the connection; if an IP ban follows, even the home page won't open. Check the firewall log or ask your provider to find the rule and add an exception.
- The site's application crashes. If the process running the site (e.g. PHP) crashes mid-request, often because of a plugin or extension, the server closes the connection with no response: ERR_
EMPTY_ RESPONSE. Check the error log around the time of the error, as with 5xx errors. - Connection limits or rate limiting. The server drops new connections when one IP opens too many at once: an office with many users on one IP, a script or a crawler. Check the limits with your provider.
- A misconfigured proxy or CDN in front of the site. A fault in how a CDN, reverse proxy or load balancer connects to your server (wrong port, wrong https setting, short timeouts) can reach the visitor as a reset. The Security Headers Checker shows which layers sit in front. For Cloudflare see errors 521, 522, 525, 526.
- The connection is cut while https is being set up. If the reset happens before anything loads (in Firefox: PR_
CONNECT_ RESET_ ERROR), use the SSL Checker to confirm the TLS handshake completes and see which TLS versions the server accepts. See also ERR_ SSL_ .PROTOCOL_ ERROR
Check whether it fails for everyone
The Uptime Checker requests the site from our server, outside your network, and when it fails shows the exact error (e.g. "Connection reset by peer" or "Empty reply from server"). The Security Headers Checker shows which proxy and CDN layers sit in front of the site, and the SSL Checker whether the https connection completes:
→ Uptime Checker → Security Headers Checker → SSL CheckerIf it says Online there, the problem is on your side. The Uptime Checker only requests the address you give it and does not submit forms; a problem on a single form shows up in the server logs.
More: ERR_
Common mistakes
- Turning the antivirus off permanently. An exception for the site, or pausing only HTTPS scanning, is enough.
- As the owner, disabling the whole WAF instead of excluding the one rule that misfires.
- Ignoring that the problem only shows on one form: that is the strongest sign a security rule is to blame.