Is ChatGPT down right now

You're staring at a blank ChatGPT screen, and you need to know — right now — whether it's OpenAI's problem or yours. Check the [live OpenAI status](/status) on this page (it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's officia

Is ChatGPT down right now

You're staring at a blank ChatGPT screen, and you need to know — right now — whether it's OpenAI's problem or yours. Check the live OpenAI status on this page (it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed), or visit status.openai.com directly. If all systems show green and you're still locked out, the issue's on your end.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

The fastest way to verify an outage is this site's live OpenAI status monitor at the top of the page. It pulls directly from OpenAI's status API every 60 seconds and shows the real-time state of ChatGPT (web and mobile), the API, DALL·E, Sora and other services. Green means operational. Yellow means degraded performance. Red means down.

If you want the source directly, go to status.openai.com. OpenAI breaks down its infrastructure into specific components — ChatGPT web interface, ChatGPT mobile apps, API endpoints, authentication systems. An outage might hit only one piece. You could see "API experiencing elevated error rates" while the ChatGPT interface works fine, or vice versa.

Third-party outage trackers like DownDetector or IsItDownRightNow collect user reports, but they lag behind official status pages and can't distinguish between localised network issues and actual OpenAI downtime. Use them as a secondary check, not your first stop.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

If status.openai.com shows green but ChatGPT won't load for you, isolate the problem with these steps:

  • Open an incognito or private window in your browser and try chatgpt.com there. No extensions, no cached data. If it works, you've got a local issue.
  • Clear your browser cache and cookies for chatgpt.com specifically. In Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data > choose "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files", set the time range to "All time", click Clear data. In Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Manage Data, search for "chatgpt.com", remove it.
  • Disable browser extensions one by one, especially VPNs, ad blockers and privacy tools. Some aggressively block scripts that ChatGPT needs. Test after disabling each one.
  • Switch networks. If you're on corporate Wi-Fi or a university network, try mobile data. Some organisations block OpenAI services at the firewall level. Same goes for VPNs — disconnect and test on your raw ISP connection.
  • Try the ChatGPT mobile app if you're on desktop, or the web interface at chatgpt.com if you're on mobile. If one works and the other doesn't, you've narrowed it down.
  • Test on a different device entirely. If your phone works but your laptop doesn't, the problem's device-specific — think DNS cache, hosts file modifications, outdated OS.

For more detailed troubleshooting, see ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting.

What to do during an outage

If OpenAI confirms an outage, here's what actually helps:

  • Wait it out. OpenAI's engineering team is already on it. Outages typically resolve within 30 minutes to 2 hours. Refreshing the page 50 times won't speed this up.
  • For API users: implement exponential backoff in your retry logic. Start with a 1-second delay, double it with each failed attempt, cap at 60 seconds. Don't hammer the API with instant retries — you'll just amplify the load. Queue your requests locally and process them when service restores.
  • Don't panic-delete your account or cancel your subscription. You won't get priority restoration by re-subscribing, and you might lose your conversation history or API quota.
  • Don't flood OpenAI support. During major outages, they're triaging infrastructure, not answering individual "is it down?" tickets. For legitimate support needs, see How to contact OpenAI support.
  • Check status.openai.com for incident updates. When OpenAI posts an incident, they usually update it every 15-30 minutes with progress details.

Questions people actually ask

Q: Is ChatGPT down right now?

A: Check the live OpenAI status at the top of this page. It updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official status feed. Green means operational, yellow means degraded, red means down.

Q: Why does ChatGPT say "ChatGPT is at capacity right now"?

A: That's not an outage — it means too many users are online simultaneously. ChatGPT Plus subscribers get priority access during high traffic. Free users have to wait or try again later.

Q: Are API outages the same as ChatGPT outages?

A: No. The API and the ChatGPT web interface run on separate infrastructure. One can fail while the other stays online. Check status.openai.com for component-level details.

Q: How long do OpenAI outages usually last?

A: Most resolve within 30 minutes to 2 hours. Major incidents occasionally stretch to 4-6 hours, but OpenAI posts regular updates at status.openai.com.

What to remember

  • This site's live status monitor updates every 60 seconds — fastest way to check
  • Test in incognito mode and on a different network before assuming it's OpenAI's fault
  • API users: implement exponential backoff, don't retry instantly
  • Don't cancel your subscription during an outage — it won't help
  • Status.openai.com is the authoritative source for incident details and ETAs

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

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