ChatGPT down right now?

When ChatGPT stops responding mid-conversation or won't load at all, you need to know within 30 seconds whether it's OpenAI's problem or yours. Check the [live OpenAI status](/status) on this site first — it updates ever

ChatGPT down right now?

When ChatGPT stops responding mid-conversation or won't load at all, you need to know within 30 seconds whether it's OpenAI's problem or yours. Check the live OpenAI status on this site first — it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed and shows component-level status for ChatGPT, the API, and Sora.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

Start with this site's live status monitor, which pulls directly from status.openai.com and refreshes every minute. It breaks down service health by component: ChatGPT web interface, ChatGPT mobile apps, the API platform, and individual API models. If you see "Operational" across all components, the outage isn't widespread.

Next, visit status.openai.com directly. OpenAI posts incident reports there within minutes of detecting problems. You'll see timestamps, affected services, and updates as engineers work. During major outages in 2024, OpenAI typically acknowledged issues within 5-10 minutes and posted resolution updates every 15-30 minutes.

Check third-party monitoring sites like DownDetector or search Twitter for "ChatGPT down" to see real-time user reports. If thousands of reports spike in the last 15 minutes, you're likely dealing with a genuine outage. If reports are scattered or old, the problem is probably local to your setup.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

Before assuming ChatGPT is down for everyone, isolate whether the problem is on your end:

Test in incognito mode. Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac) in Chrome, then visit chatgpt.com. If ChatGPT works here but not in your regular browser, you've got a cache or extension problem.

Clear cookies and cache for chatgpt.com. In Chrome, click the lock icon in the address bar → Site settings → Clear data. In Firefox, click the lock icon → Clear cookies and site data. Sign back in and try again.

Disable browser extensions. Extensions that block scripts, modify headers, or inject content can break ChatGPT's interface. Turn off all extensions, refresh chatgpt.com, and test. If it works, re-enable extensions one by one to find the culprit.

Switch networks. If you're on VPN, disconnect and try again. Some VPN exit nodes get rate-limited by OpenAI's infrastructure. Corporate networks often block chatgpt.com — try your phone's mobile data as a control test.

Try the mobile app versus browser. Download the official ChatGPT app (iOS or Android) and see if it connects. The app uses different authentication paths than the web interface. If the app works but the browser doesn't, you've confirmed a browser-specific issue.

Test on a different device. Use your phone, tablet, or a different computer entirely. If ChatGPT works everywhere except one device, that device has configuration problems — check your system clock, antivirus software, or firewall rules.

For comprehensive browser troubleshooting, see ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting.

What to do during an outage

If you've confirmed ChatGPT is genuinely down, here's your action plan:

Don't refresh obsessively. You won't speed up OpenAI's recovery by hammering their servers. Reload once every 5-10 minutes at most.

For API users: implement exponential backoff. If you're hitting the API programmatically, back off using delays of 2^n seconds (1s, 2s, 4s, 8s). Don't retry failed requests more than 5 times. Queue requests locally instead of dropping them.

Check your rate limits and quotas. Visit platform.openai.com/account/limits to see if you've hit your usage ceiling. What looks like downtime might be quota exhaustion.

Don't make account changes during outages. Never delete your account, cancel your subscription, or modify billing settings while services are degraded. You could lose access permanently or trigger billing problems that take weeks to resolve.

Don't spam support. OpenAI's support team can't restore service faster during infrastructure outages. Save support contact for account-specific issues after service returns.

Questions people actually ask

Q: Is ChatGPT down right now?

A: Check the live OpenAI status on this site or visit status.openai.com directly. Both sources show real-time component status updated from OpenAI's official feed.

Q: How long do ChatGPT outages usually last?

A: Most degraded performance incidents resolve within 15-45 minutes. Complete outages affecting all users typically last 1-3 hours. OpenAI posts estimated resolution times on status.openai.com during major incidents.

Q: Can I get a refund if ChatGPT is down?

A: OpenAI doesn't offer automatic refunds for temporary downtime. For extended outages affecting paid subscriptions, contact help.openai.com with specific dates and impact details, but refunds aren't guaranteed.

What to remember

This site's live status monitor updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed
Test in incognito mode and on mobile data before assuming a widespread outage
Clear chatgpt.com cookies and cache before disabling all extensions
API users should implement exponential backoff, not rapid retries
Never delete your account or change billing during service degradation

Related help

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*openai-support.com is an independent resource, not affiliated with OpenAI Inc.*