This site can't be reached

The short version: "This site can't be reached" is the generic message Chrome shows when it cannot open a connection to a website. The gray sub-code beneath it is the real clue, so read that first. More often than not it is a local DNS or network snag: restart your router, flush DNS, point at a public DNS like 8.8.8.8, and switch off any VPN.

Key takeaways

• This site can't be reached is just the umbrella. The gray sub-code beneath it (something like ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED or DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN) is what names the actual cause. Read that line first.
• DNS-family codes (NXDOMAIN, NAME_NOT_RESOLVED) mean the domain never turned into an address at all. Connection-family codes (TIMED_OUT, REFUSED, RESET) mean the address was found, but the connection to it fell apart.
• Want the quickest split test? Open the same website on a different network or device. Loads there: the problem is on your end. Fails everywhere: it is the website's.
• Most visitor-side fixes do not care which sub-code you have: flush DNS, restart the router, point at a public resolver like 1.1.1.1, and turn off any VPN, proxy, or firewall.
• Run the website yourself? Before you blame the browser, check three things: the web service is listening on port 443 or 80, the DNS records resolve to the right IP, and the firewall lets inbound traffic through.

Error type

Browser connection error (umbrella)

Whose side

Usually your side; sometimes the website

Fix difficulty

Easy

Common cause

DNS lookup or local network failure

What does This site can't be reached mean?

This site can't be reached is not a single fault. It is the page Chrome falls back to whenever it cannot finish a connection, and the line of capital letters underneath is the part that actually carries the information. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN and ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED mean the domain name never resolved to an address. ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT means the server stayed silent past the wait window. ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED means a server was reached but turned the connection away. ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE means there was no route to the address in the first place.

The cause can live on either side of the connection: your device, network, or DNS resolver, or the website's server, DNS records, or firewall. To find out which, try the same address from a different network or device. Loads elsewhere, and the problem is local to you. Fails everywhere, and the trouble is on the website's side, where only its operator can fix it.

6

Common Chrome sub-codes

8.8.8.8

Google public DNS

1.1.1.1

Cloudflare public DNS

How the This site can't be reached error appears

The wording changes depending on your browser, device, or server. Here is how this error commonly shows up:

example.com

This site can't be reached

Try checking the connection, the proxy, and the firewall.

• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN the domain does not resolve
• ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED DNS could not find the IP
• ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT the server did not answer in time
• ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED the server actively rejected the connection
• ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE the address could not be routed to
• ERR_CONNECTION_RESET the connection dropped mid-handshake

The sub-codes under "This site can't be reached"

Chrome shows the same headline for several distinct failures, and the gray sub-code underneath is what tells you which one you have.

Which side owns each sub-code, and how to confirm it

Each sub-code points to a different layer and a different owner. This narrows down whether to look at your network, your DNS, or the website itself.

What causes This site can't be reached?

• A DNS lookup failure, where the domain cannot be resolved to an IP address (DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN, ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED).
• A typo in the address, or a domain that expired or was never registered to begin with.
• The web server is down, swamped, or not listening on the expected port, so the connection times out (ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT).
• A service is reachable but turns the connection away because nothing is bound to that port, or it is blocked (ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED).
• A firewall, antivirus, VPN, or proxy on your device or network is sitting in the way of the request.
• A stale or corrupted local DNS cache still pointing the domain at an old or wrong address.
• Broken or missing DNS records on the website's side: a misconfigured A, AAAA, or CNAME record.

How to find the cause fast

1. Start with the sub-code under the message. NXDOMAIN or NAME_NOT_RESOLVED point at DNS; TIMED_OUT, REFUSED, or RESET point at reaching the server.
2. Pull up the same website on another device or network. If it loads, your computer is where the problem lives.
3. Open incognito and a second browser to rule out cache and extensions.
4. Run nslookup yourdomain.com, or check Is Website Down?, to see whether DNS resolves and whether the website is genuinely down.

Terminal

ping -c 4 example.comPING example.com (203.0.113.10): 56 data bytes4 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100.0% packet loss# the host is unreachable from your network

How This site can't be reached looks from the outside

The sub-code is the whole game, and it is also the part most people walk right past. To an outside observer, DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN and ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT are entirely different failures with entirely different owners, even as Chrome puts the same headline above both. A check that resolves DNS and opens the connection as two separate steps will tell you which half broke. Someone hammering the refresh button just gets the same gray screen, over and over, with no idea which one it is.

How to fix This site can't be reached

If you are a visitor

1. Read the sub-code under the message first, then give the address bar a second look for a typo or a missing piece of the URL.
2. Check your own connection by opening another well-known website. Nothing loads at all? Then it is your internet, not the website.
3. Restart your router or modem. Unplug it, wait about thirty seconds, plug it back in.
4. Flush your DNS cache. Windows: run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt. macOS: run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder in Terminal.
5. Still failing on Windows? Renew your IP and reset the stack with ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew, then netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset, and reboot.
6. Move your device onto a public DNS resolver, Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), then reload the page.
7. Turn off any VPN, proxy, firewall, or antivirus for a moment and try again; any of these can single out a website and block it.
8. Open the website on another network (mobile data, say) or another device. If it works there, check Is Website Down? to see whether the website is down for everyone or only you.

If you run the website

1. Make sure the server is powered on and the web service is running and listening on the right port (usually 443 for HTTPS, 80 for HTTP). Test it locally with curl -I https://yourdomain.com.
2. Check that your DNS records resolve the way they should. Run dig yourdomain.com A (or nslookup yourdomain.com) and confirm the A, AAAA, or CNAME records hand back the IP your server actually uses.
3. Make sure your firewall or security group allows inbound traffic on the web ports and is not quietly dropping connections.
4. Confirm the domain is still registered and unexpired, and that its nameservers are set correctly at your registrar.
5. Once it is back, test from outside your own network. The server may answer for you while staying unreachable for the public internet, so a local-only check can fool you.

On Linux

1. Flush your resolver's DNS cache. On most systems that is sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches (sudo resolvectl flush-caches on newer ones), or sudo systemctl restart nscd if you run nscd.
2. Point at a public resolver. Edit the connection's DNS in NetworkManager, or set nameserver 1.1.1.1 in /etc/resolv.conf, then reload the page.
3. Open /etc/hosts with cat /etc/hosts and delete any leftover line that pins the domain to an old or wrong IP.
4. Settle whether DNS or the connection is the culprit by running dig yourdomain.com or nslookup yourdomain.com.

On iPhone or iPad

1. Flip Airplane mode on for a few seconds, then off again, to force a fresh network and DNS connection.
2. Swap the DNS for your Wi-Fi network: Settings, Wi-Fi, tap the (i) beside your network, Configure DNS, set it to Manual, and add 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1.
3. Still stuck? Forget the Wi-Fi network from that same screen and rejoin it, re-entering the password.
4. As a last resort, reset network settings under Settings, General, Transfer or Reset, Reset, Reset Network Settings. Note that this wipes saved Wi-Fi passwords.

On Android

1. Adjust Private DNS under Settings, Network and internet, Private DNS: set it to Off or Automatic, or type a provider hostname such as dns.google, then reload.
2. Forget the Wi-Fi network in Settings, Network and internet, Wi-Fi and reconnect, which clears a stale local network state.
3. Clear Chrome's cache: Settings, Apps, Chrome, Storage, Clear cache, or from within Chrome under History, Clear browsing data.
4. If the error sticks around, toggle Airplane mode on and off to rebuild the connection.

Still not fixed? Next steps

• Read the sub-code and match it to its layer. DNS codes send you to nslookup or a resolver switch. TIMED_OUT, REFUSED, and RESET tell a different story: the lookup worked fine, and the connection itself is what broke.
• Test the same address on a network that shares nothing with your current one, mobile data being the easy choice. That separates a local fault from an outage on the website's side.
• Running the website? Confirm three things: the web service is up and bound to port 443 or 80, the A, AAAA, or CNAME records resolve to the IP your server actually uses, and the firewall or security group allows inbound web traffic.
• Once it is back, test from outside your own network. A server can answer perfectly well for you locally and still be invisible to the rest of the internet.

Code & configuration

Copy-paste starting points. Replace example.com and the paths with your own, and test changes on staging before production.

Flush DNS, renew IP, reset the stack (Windows)

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
# then restart your computer

Confirm the domain resolves

nslookup example.com

How to prevent This site can't be reached

You cannot head off every outage, but you can stop being the last to hear about one. Pulsetic checks your website and endpoints from multiple locations every 30 seconds, using HTTP, TCP, ICMP, port, keyword, SSL, and domain checks, and the moment something stops responding it alerts you by email, SMS, voice call, Slack, Discord, Telegram, or webhook. Domain monitoring goes further, flagging DNS and expiry trouble before it ever becomes a "this website can't be reached" page. One caveat: Pulsetic gauges availability from the outside, so it will not report on server CPU, memory, or disk.

Learn how Pulsetic's uptime monitoring detects this from the outside, across 15+ locations.