OpenAI outage history — how often does ChatGPT go down

ChatGPT goes down more often than you'd think for a service this critical. Over the past 18 months, OpenAI has logged partial or complete outages roughly every 2-3 weeks, with major incidents lasting anywhere from 15 min

OpenAI outage history — how often does ChatGPT go down

ChatGPT goes down more often than you'd think for a service this critical. Over the past 18 months, OpenAI has logged partial or complete outages roughly every 2-3 weeks, with major incidents lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. If you're trying to figure out whether today's problem is part of a pattern or just bad luck, you're in the right place.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

Start with the live OpenAI status monitor on this site — it updates every 60 seconds directly from OpenAI's official feed and shows exactly which components are affected. You'll see separate status indicators for ChatGPT web, the API, DALL·E, Sora, and other services.

Cross-check with status.openai.com for OpenAI's own incident reports. They post updates there within minutes of detecting an issue, usually with timestamps and affected regions. The detail matters: "elevated error rates" means some requests are failing but the service is partially available, while "service unavailable" means complete downtime.

Third-party monitoring sites like Downdetector or IsItDownRightNow can confirm whether other users are reporting problems, but they lag behind official sources by 5-10 minutes and don't distinguish between ChatGPT and API outages.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

Before assuming it's a widespread outage, run through these checks in order:

  • Open an incognito window and try logging into chatgpt.com fresh. This bypasses cached credentials and corrupted session data.
  • Clear your browser cache and cookies specifically for chatgpt.com. In Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data → select "Cookies and other site data" plus "Cached images and files," set time range to "All time," then restart your browser.
  • Disable all browser extensions temporarily. Ad blockers, privacy tools, and VPNs routinely interfere with ChatGPT's websocket connections. Test with extensions completely off.
  • Switch networks. If you're on corporate WiFi, try mobile data. Some workplace firewalls block the ports ChatGPT uses for real-time responses.
  • Test the mobile app vs browser. The iOS and Android apps connect differently than the web interface. If the app works but the browser doesn't, it's almost certainly a local issue.
  • Try a different device entirely. If ChatGPT loads fine on your phone but not your laptop, you've isolated the problem to that specific machine.

If none of these steps fix it and the live OpenAI status shows green across all components, check ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting for deeper diagnostic steps.

What to do during an outage

If you've confirmed it's a genuine OpenAI outage, here's your playbook:

  • For API users: implement exponential backoff immediately. Start with a 2-second delay after the first failed request, then 4 seconds, 8 seconds, up to a maximum of 64 seconds. This prevents hammering OpenAI's servers while they're recovering.
  • Set a retry budget. Don't retry indefinitely — cap it at 5 attempts, then queue the request for later or fail gracefully. Infinite retries during an outage will drain your rate limits the moment service resumes.
  • Don't delete your account or cancel your subscription. This won't fix anything and you'll lose your conversation history. Refunds for downtime are extremely rare and require documented business impact.
  • Don't spam OpenAI support with "is it down?" tickets. They're already aware. You can check how to contact OpenAI support for legitimate issues that need escalation after service is restored.
  • Monitor the status page actively. OpenAI usually posts incident updates every 30-60 minutes during major outages, including estimated restoration times.

Questions people actually ask

Q: Is ChatGPT down right now?

A: Check the live OpenAI status monitor at the top of this site — it pulls from OpenAI's official feed every 60 seconds and will show you current status for ChatGPT web, API, and other services. If all indicators are green, the issue is likely on your end.

Q: What's the longest ChatGPT outage on record?

A: The longest documented incident was roughly 6 hours in March 2023, affecting both ChatGPT and the API globally. Most outages resolve within 1-2 hours.

Q: Does OpenAI compensate for downtime?

A: Not routinely. API users on enterprise plans may have SLA credits available, but consumer ChatGPT Plus subscriptions don't come with downtime guarantees or automatic refunds.

Q: Why does ChatGPT go down so often?

A: OpenAI hasn't published detailed postmortems, but common causes include traffic spikes exceeding capacity, database issues, and third-party service dependencies. The API and ChatGPT web share some infrastructure but can fail independently.

What to remember

  • ChatGPT experiences partial or complete outages roughly every 2-3 weeks based on historical incident reports
  • Check the live status monitor and status.openai.com before troubleshooting locally
  • Clear cache, disable extensions, and test different networks to rule out browser or connection issues
  • API users should implement exponential backoff with retry limits to avoid compounding problems during recovery
  • Deleting your account or spamming support during an outage accomplishes nothing and may create new problems

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

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