ChatGPT not responding to prompts

You type a prompt into ChatGPT and nothing happens — no response, no error message, just silence or an endless loading spinner. Check the [live OpenAI status](/status) monitor first. If all systems show green, the proble

ChatGPT not responding to prompts

You type a prompt into ChatGPT and nothing happens — no response, no error message, just silence or an endless loading spinner. Check the live OpenAI status monitor first. If all systems show green, the problem is almost certainly on your end and you can fix it in under five minutes.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

Start with this site's live OpenAI status page, which updates every 60 seconds directly from OpenAI's official status feed. You'll see component-level status for ChatGPT, the API, plugins and authentication systems. Green means operational, yellow means degraded performance, red means outage.

Cross-check with status.openai.com to see historical incident reports. If ChatGPT was down in the last hour, OpenAI usually posts a notice within 15 minutes. You can also check third-party monitoring sites like Downdetector, but these rely on user reports that often misdiagnose local network problems as global outages.

If the status page shows all green and you're still getting no response, the issue is local — your browser, account, network or a corrupted session state.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

Work through these steps in order to isolate the problem:

  • Open an incognito or private window (Ctrl+Shift+N in Chrome, Cmd+Shift+N on Mac). Go to chatgpt.com and try your prompt. If it works, your regular browser has corrupted cache or a broken extension.
  • Clear ChatGPT cache and cookies. In Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data > See all site data and permissions. Search for "chatgpt.com" and "openai.com", then click Remove for both. This forces a fresh login and clears any stuck session data.
  • Disable all browser extensions. Extensions like ad blockers, privacy tools and AI assistants frequently break ChatGPT's streaming response mechanism. Turn them all off, restart the browser and test again.
  • Check your network. Are you on a corporate VPN, public WiFi or university network? Many institutional firewalls block websocket connections that ChatGPT uses to stream responses. Try switching to mobile data or a personal hotspot.
  • Test the ChatGPT mobile app (iOS or Android). If it works but the browser doesn't, you've confirmed a browser-specific issue. If the app also fails to respond, check if you're on ChatGPT Plus and your subscription is active at chatgpt.com/settings.
  • Try a different browser entirely. Edge, Firefox, Safari — don't just switch tabs, switch browsers. This rules out browser-specific bugs or extension conflicts.

For comprehensive troubleshooting beyond these steps, see ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting.

What to do during an outage

If OpenAI confirms an outage on the live status monitor:

  • Wait 15-30 minutes before retrying. Outages typically resolve within this window. Refreshing every 30 seconds only adds load to already stressed servers.
  • Don't start a new conversation or clear your chat history. Your conversation context is preserved server-side. Creating new chats won't bypass the outage and you'll lose your thread.
  • For API users: implement exponential backoff in your code. Start with a 1-second delay, then 2, 4, 8, up to 60 seconds between retries. Queue requests locally rather than hammering the endpoint. See OpenAI API error 429 and other API errors for retry logic.
  • Don't cancel and re-subscribe to ChatGPT Plus. This is a common panic move that accomplishes nothing and can delay your access if payment processing is also affected.
  • Don't contact support about an acknowledged outage. OpenAI's engineering team already knows. Support can't make the servers come back faster and you'll clog the queue for people with account-specific issues. For legitimate account problems, see How to contact OpenAI support.

Questions people actually ask

Q: Is ChatGPT down right now?

A: Check the live OpenAI status page on this site — it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed and shows real-time status for ChatGPT, the API and authentication systems.

Q: Why does ChatGPT accept my prompt but never respond?

A: This usually means the model started processing your request but got stuck or timed out. Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+F5), start a new conversation and try a shorter version of the same prompt.

Q: Can I get a refund for ChatGPT Plus downtime?

A: OpenAI's Terms of Service don't guarantee uptime or refunds for service interruptions. Extended outages lasting multiple hours have occasionally resulted in prorated account credits, but these are handled case-by-case through support, not automatically.

What to remember

  • The live status monitor updates every 60 seconds — check it before troubleshooting
  • Incognito mode + cleared cache solves 60% of "not responding" issues
  • Browser extensions are the most common culprit after actual outages
  • Corporate networks and VPNs often block ChatGPT's streaming responses
  • Never cancel your subscription during an outage — it doesn't help and complicates account recovery

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

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