OpenAI status page explained — how to read it

The status page at status.openai.com looks simple until something breaks and you need to figure out which service is actually affected. Here's what each indicator means and how to tell within 30 seconds if your specific

OpenAI status page explained — how to read it

The status page at status.openai.com looks simple until something breaks and you need to figure out which service is actually affected. Here's what each indicator means and how to tell within 30 seconds if your specific problem is an OpenAI-wide outage or something on your end.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

Start with the live OpenAI status monitor on this site — it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed and shows you the current state of every component without clicking through multiple pages. You'll see operational, degraded performance, partial outage, or major outage for each service.

On status.openai.com itself, the top banner shows overall system status. Green "All Systems Operational" means everything's running normally. Yellow or red means at least one component has issues. Scroll down to see individual services: ChatGPT, API, Sora, Labs, and platform authentication. Each component shows its own status indicator and timestamp.

When OpenAI reports "Investigating" or "Identified" under an incident, they've confirmed a problem but haven't fixed it yet. "Monitoring" means they've deployed a fix and are watching to ensure it holds. "Resolved" means it's done. These status labels appear under the incident description with timestamps showing when each update was posted.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

If status.openai.com shows green for your service but you're still having problems, isolate whether it's a local issue:

  • Check the specific component. ChatGPT Web showing operational doesn't mean the API is working. API operational doesn't mean ChatGPT mobile app is fine. Match your exact service to the component list.
  • Open an incognito window and try chatgpt.com fresh. Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac). If it works there, clear your cache and cookies: Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data > Cached images and files + Cookies.
  • Disable all browser extensions. One rogue extension can block ChatGPT completely. Test with extensions off: three dots menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions > toggle all off.
  • Try a different network. Switch from WiFi to mobile data or vice versa. If you're on a corporate or school network, their firewall might block chatgpt.com even when OpenAI services are operational.
  • Test the mobile app versus browser. Download the official ChatGPT app if you haven't. A working app but broken browser usually means browser-specific settings or extensions.

If none of these steps fix it but status.openai.com still shows green, check the ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting guide for account-specific issues like expired Plus subscriptions or regional restrictions.

What to do during an outage

When status.openai.com confirms an outage for your service, here's what actually helps:

  • Check incident updates every 10-15 minutes. OpenAI posts progress updates on the status page. The live OpenAI status monitor here refreshes automatically every 60 seconds so you don't need to manually reload.
  • For API users: implement exponential backoff immediately. Start with a 1-second wait after the first failed request, then 2 seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds. Cap at 60 seconds between retries. Queue requests instead of dropping them.
  • Don't delete and recreate your account. This doesn't fix outages and you'll lose your chat history. Don't cancel and re-subscribe to Plus — you'll lose money and still face the same outage.
  • Don't contact support during major incidents. OpenAI's support team can't respond faster than the engineers already fixing the problem. Check how to contact OpenAI support only for account-specific issues unrelated to the outage.
  • Watch for API error patterns. If you're seeing error 429 repeatedly but the status page shows operational, you've hit rate limits, not an outage. See OpenAI API error 429 and other API errors for quota troubleshooting.

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 and shows current status for ChatGPT web, mobile, API, and other services. Green means operational, yellow or red means confirmed issues.

Q: What's the difference between degraded performance and partial outage?

A: Degraded performance means the service is slow but still working. Partial outage means some users can't access it at all while others can. Major outage means nobody can use it.

Q: Why does status.openai.com show operational when ChatGPT isn't working for me?

A: Status updates can lag 2-5 minutes behind actual issues, or you're experiencing a local problem like browser cache, extensions, or network restrictions. Try the isolation steps above.

Q: Do I get refunded for downtime on my Plus subscription?

A: OpenAI doesn't automatically refund for outages. You can request a refund through your account settings, but approval isn't guaranteed for brief incidents.

What to remember

  • Status.openai.com shows component-level detail — match your exact service to the list
  • Green doesn't always mean working for you — local issues can look like outages
  • During confirmed outages, exponential backoff and request queuing prevent data loss
  • Incident updates appear every 10-30 minutes under the active incident description
  • Don't make account changes during outages — you'll complicate recovery without speeding it up

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

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