“This Site Can’t Be Reached”: Causes and How to Fix It

“This site can’t be reached” is the general error screen that Chrome and Chromium-based browsers (Edge, Opera, Brave) show when they cannot connect to a website. The screen itself does not tell you the cause; the real clue is the error code written in small letters under the message (for example ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT). In this guide you will learn how to read the error code, what each code means, and the steps you can follow both as a visitor and as a site owner.

What Does “This Site Can’t Be Reached” Mean?

When a browser opens an address, it follows these steps in order: it turns the domain name into an IP address with DNS, connects to the server at that IP address, sets up the secure connection if HTTPS is used, and requests the page. If one of the first steps in this chain fails, the browser never receives the page and shows the “This site can’t be reached” screen. So the problem can be in DNS, in your network connection, in a firewall in between, or on the site’s server. The error code tells you which one.

Cause and Fix by Error Code

Find the code from the error screen in the table below and go to the related guide for the detailed fix:

Error code	What it means	Detailed guide
ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT / ERR_TIMED_OUT	The server did not answer within a set time; the screen says the server took too long to respond.	ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT
ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED	The server was reached, but the port refused the connection (service stopped or firewall).	ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
ERR_CONNECTION_RESET	After the connection was made, the other side or a device in between reset it.	ERR_CONNECTION_RESET
ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED / ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE	The server closed the connection without sending a response.	ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED
ERR_CONNECTION_ABORTED	The connection was cancelled midway, usually by security software or a network problem.	ERR_CONNECTION_ABORTED
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED	The domain name could not be turned into an IP address (a DNS problem).	ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN	DNS reported that no such domain exists.	DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE	No route to the target IP address could be found.	ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE
ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED	Your network connection changed while the page was loading (Wi-Fi, VPN, IP change).	ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED
ERR_QUIC_PROTOCOL_ERROR	A protocol error occurred on the QUIC/HTTP3 connection.	ERR_QUIC_PROTOCOL_ERROR
ERR_FAILED	The request failed for a general reason (cache, extension, CORS).	ERR_FAILED

Some errors come with a different screen instead of “This site can’t be reached” but belong to the same family: ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS and ERR_HTTP2_PROTOCOL_ERROR on the “This page isn’t working” screen, the 503 error that shows the server temporarily cannot serve requests, and the SSL errors seen with certificate problems (for example NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID).

Is the Problem on Your Side or the Site’s?

Separating the source of the problem before you start saves time:

• Do other sites open? If no site opens, the problem is your internet connection or your DNS setting.
• Does the site open from another network? Take your phone off Wi-Fi and try with mobile data. If it opens on mobile data, the problem is your home or office network, your router or your DNS.
• Does the site open on another device? If it fails on only one computer, check the browser, extensions, security software or proxy settings.
• If it opens from nowhere, the problem is most likely on the site’s server or in its domain settings; in that case only the site owner can fix it.

How to Fix “This Site Can’t Be Reached” as a Visitor

The steps below work for most error codes. Start with the simplest and go in order:

1. Check the Address and Reload the Page

Make sure there is no typo in the domain name and reload the page. With short network interruptions, a second try is often enough.

2. Restart the Router and the Computer

Turn off the router, wait 30 seconds and turn it back on. This clears the router’s connection table and DNS cache.

3. Try an Incognito Window and Turn Off Extensions

If the site opens in an incognito window, the problem is the browser cache or an extension. Clear the cache and turn extensions off one by one to find the one causing it.

4. Reset the DNS Cache and Network Settings

On Windows, open Command Prompt as administrator, run these commands, and then restart the computer:

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset

To clear Chrome’s own DNS cache, type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar and press the “Clear host cache” button.

5. Use a Different DNS Server

If your internet provider’s DNS server is slow or faulty, addresses cannot be resolved. In the network adapter settings, set a public DNS server such as Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8) and try again.

6. Check VPN, Proxy and Security Software

If a VPN or proxy is on, turn it off and try again; if it is off and the site fails only on your network, there may be an access block. The web protection in antivirus software and firewalls can block some sites; turn it off briefly to test, then turn it back on.

7. “This Site Can’t Be Reached” on a Phone

On Android and iPhone, switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data, turn airplane mode on and off, and clear the browser cache. On Android, if the “Private DNS” setting is on and points to a wrong server, addresses cannot be resolved; try the setting on “Automatic” or with a valid provider.

What to Check as a Site Owner

If your site does not open from any network, look for the problem on the server and domain side:

1. Domain and DNS records: Make sure the domain has not expired and that the A/AAAA records point to the right IP address. You can check with nslookup yourdomain.com or dig yourdomain.com.
2. Server and web service: Check that the server is up and the web service (Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed) is running.
3. Ports and firewall: Confirm that ports 80 and 443 are open to the outside. On Linux you can see listening ports with ss -tlnp.
4. Resource usage: When CPU, memory or disk is full, the server cannot answer connections and time-out errors start.
5. Error logs: The web server’s error logs often show the cause directly.

If you want full access to the server, your own firewall rules and the ability to read the logs, you can use a VDS server with root access.

Conclusion

“This site can’t be reached” is not a single error but a general screen showing that the connection could not be made. To find the cause, first read the error code under the message, then test with other networks and devices whether the problem is on your side or the site’s. Visitor-side problems are usually solved with DNS, browser or network settings; if the site opens from nowhere, the fix is in the site owner’s server and domain settings.