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How to Tell If a Website Is Down for Everyone or Just You

A site suddenly will not load? Work through this order before you assume the worst. Each step rules out one part of the path between you and the website, so you can tell quickly whether to fix something yourself or simply wait.

First: try a different device and network

Try loading the same site over cellular data instead of Wi-Fi, or on your phone instead of your computer. This narrows down the problem fast. If it loads over cellular but not on home Wi-Fi, the issue is very likely your router, your connection or your provider rather than the site. If it fails on every device and network you try, the problem is with the site itself or somewhere along the path to it. Also check whether other sites load, because a single dead site and a dead connection look very different.

Check a real-time outage tracking service

Services like Downdetector collect reports from users who say a specific site is not working and show them as a live graph. A sudden spike in reports means it is very likely a broad outage and not just you. Keep in mind these services rely on user reports, so a site with a small user base, a problem limited to one region or provider, or a very recent outage may not show up yet. A flat graph is a hint, not proof.

Search social media and forums in real time

Large outages usually generate posts within minutes. Searching the service's name together with words like down or not working on X or relevant forums often surfaces reports before any official statement. Keep an eye on timestamps, since older, unrelated posts can mix in, and treat single complaints with caution, because a lone post may be another person's local problem.

Check the official status page

Many tech services maintain a dedicated status page, often at an address such as status.servicename.com, that reports current incidents and which features are affected. Because the company runs it directly, it is usually more accurate and detailed than user-report sites, often including affected regions and estimated recovery times. Large platforms also post incident updates on their official social accounts. If the status page itself will not load, that is a hint that the issue may be widespread.

Rule out a problem on your end: browser and DNS cache

If it is not a broad outage, clearing your browser cache or flushing your DNS cache can fix it. If a site recently moved servers or changed domains, your computer may still be using stale DNS information or an old cached page. Try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R, or Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac), a private or incognito window, and a different browser. On Windows you can flush DNS with ipconfig /flushdns; on a Mac the command differs by macOS version. Disabling extensions such as ad blockers for a minute can also reveal whether one is blocking the page.

Diagnose directly with ping and traceroute

A ping test tells you whether a server answers at all, and traceroute (tracert on Windows) shows which hop along the path the connection stalls at. That helps you narrow the problem down to your home router, your ISP's network or somewhere near the destination. Remember that some servers are configured not to answer ping at all, so a lack of reply does not by itself prove the site is down. A reply, on the other hand, proves the server is reachable at the network level.

Try a different DNS resolver

Sometimes the site is fine but your provider's DNS server is not resolving it properly. Switching your device or router to a public resolver, such as Google's 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1, and trying again is a quick test. If the site loads right after the switch, the problem was your original DNS, not the website. You can switch back afterward, or keep the new one if it proves more reliable.

Rule out VPN, proxy, firewall and parental controls

A VPN, proxy, corporate firewall, security software or a router with content filtering can block a site that works perfectly for everyone else. Turn off the VPN and try again, or test on a different network such as your phone's hotspot. Some sites also block traffic from certain countries or from known VPN addresses, which shows up as an error only for you.

What a browser error code is actually telling you

Specific errors carry specific meanings. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN usually means the domain name could not be resolved, often a DNS problem or a typo. ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED means your device reached the server but the server rejected the connection, which often means the service is down and not the network path. ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT means nothing answered in time, which can mean a blocked or overloaded server or a network problem. An SSL or certificate error, on the other hand, points to an expired or misconfigured certificate, or to a wrong date on your device. Reading the exact message before you start usually gets you to the right fix much faster than guessing.

Reading HTTP status codes from the server

If a page loads but shows a number, the number says who is to blame. Codes starting with 4, such as 404 (not found) or 403 (forbidden), usually mean the request itself is the problem, such as a wrong address or a permission block. Codes starting with 5 mean the server failed: 500 is a generic server error, 502 and 504 usually mean a gateway or proxy could not get a good reply from the server behind it, and 503 means the service is temporarily unavailable or overloaded. Sites that use a content delivery network sometimes show their own error pages, which mean the CDN is working but the origin server behind it is not. Those 5xx codes are on the site's side, so waiting is the best option.

Getting more out of ping and traceroute

Ping response times that are consistently high, or that show packet loss, point to a shaky connection somewhere along the route and not a destination that is fully down. Traceroute breaks the route into individual hops. If responses stop at a hop still inside your ISP's network, the problem is on their end; if they make it most of the way and stop right near the destination, the problem is more likely the site's own server or hosting provider. Because some routers do not answer traceroute probes, a few starred lines in the middle are normal and not a fault, so look at the overall pattern.

What to do when it is the site that is down

If everything points to the site, there is usually little you can do except wait. Do not repeatedly refresh the page, which adds load to a server that is struggling. Check the status page or social account for updates, and try again every ten minutes or so. If the site is something you rely on for work or payment, contact the company through another channel, and make a note of the time, in case you need to explain a missed deadline. For your own website, check with your hosting provider and verify that your domain has not expired and that your DNS records are correct.

Frequently Asked Questions

An outage tracker shows nothing reported, but the site still will not load for me. What now?

Outage-tracking services depend on user reports, so problems limited to a small user base, a specific region or a specific ISP may never get reported there. Comparing access across different devices and networks and running your own ping and traceroute will give you a more reliable answer.

Only one site is down and everything else works fine. Is that still an outage?

If every other site loads normally, it is very unlikely to be a broad internet outage. It is more likely a problem with that site's server, its DNS or the path to it. Checking the site's status page or searching social media for it is usually the fastest way to confirm.

Does clearing my browser cache delete my passwords?

Not by default. Clearing cached images and files only removes stored page data. Cookies and saved passwords are separate choices in most browsers, so read the checkboxes before you confirm. Clearing cookies will log you out of sites.

The site works on my phone but not my computer. What does that mean?

If both are on the same network, the cause is on the computer: a browser extension, a stale cache, a VPN, security software or local DNS settings. Try another browser and a private window first.

How long do outages usually last?

It varies widely, from a few minutes for a restart to many hours for a major failure. Do not rely on a single figure; the status page and the company's own incident updates are the best guide for a given event.