OpenAI status page explained — how to read it

OpenAI's status page at status.openai.com looks simple, but most people misread it. You'll see "All Systems Operational" in green while ChatGPT times out on you, or you'll panic over a yellow "Degraded Performance" tag t

OpenAI status page explained — how to read it

OpenAI's status page at status.openai.com looks simple, but most people misread it. You'll see "All Systems Operational" in green while ChatGPT times out on you, or you'll panic over a yellow "Degraded Performance" tag that doesn't affect what you're doing. Here's how to actually read the thing so you know whether to wait five minutes or find a workaround.

How to check if OpenAI is actually down

Check the live OpenAI status monitor on this site first — it pulls directly from OpenAI's official feed and updates every 60 seconds. You'll see component-level status for ChatGPT, the API, Sora and other services without the marketing polish.

Status.openai.com breaks services into components. "ChatGPT" is the web interface at chatgpt.com. "API" covers platform.openai.com endpoints developers use. "Labs" includes Sora and experimental features. Each component shows one of four states: Operational (green), Degraded Performance (yellow), Partial Outage (orange), or Major Outage (red).

The top banner shows current status. Scroll down for "Incident History" — this is where you find the truth. An incident marked "Investigating" means engineers know something's wrong but haven't pinpointed it. "Identified" means they know the cause. "Monitoring" means they've deployed a fix and are watching to confirm it worked. "Resolved" means it's over. If you're having issues and there's no incident listed, it's probably on your end.

Check the live OpenAI status again if the main page says everything's fine but you're still stuck. Component status can update before incident reports appear.

Is it OpenAI or is it you

Run through these steps before you assume OpenAI is broken:

  • Test in incognito or private browsing. Open Chrome's incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows, Cmd+Shift+N on Mac) or Firefox's private window. Try ChatGPT there. If it works, your regular browser has corrupted cache or a bad extension.
  • Clear cache and cookies for chatgpt.com. In Chrome: click the three dots → Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data. Select "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files," change the time range to "All time," then manually type "chatgpt.com" in the advanced tab to delete only that site's data.
  • Disable all browser extensions. Extensions like ad blockers, VPNs or privacy tools can block WebSocket connections ChatGPT needs. Disable everything, reload chatgpt.com, test again. If it works, re-enable extensions one by one to find the culprit.
  • Test without your VPN. If you're using NordVPN, ExpressVPN or any proxy service, disconnect completely and try again. Some VPN exit nodes get flagged by OpenAI's fraud detection.
  • Try the mobile app vs browser. Download the official ChatGPT app (iOS or Android) and test there. If the app works but the browser doesn't, you've isolated a browser-specific problem. If neither works, it's more likely an OpenAI issue.

If none of this fixes it, check ChatGPT not working — troubleshooting for deeper solutions.

What to do during an outage

When OpenAI actually is down, here's your plan:

  • Check the incident updates every 15-30 minutes. Status.openai.com posts updates as engineers investigate. Don't refresh every 30 seconds — you won't get new information and you're just wasting time.
  • For API users: implement exponential backoff immediately. If you're getting 500 or 503 errors, don't retry instantly. Wait 1 second, then 2, then 4, then 8 before retrying. Set a retry budget of 5 attempts maximum. See OpenAI API error 429 and other API errors for specific error handling.
  • Queue your requests if you're in production. Don't drop user requests during an outage. Store them in Redis or a database queue and process them when service returns. Failing silently is better than spamming a dead API.
  • Don't delete your account or cancel Plus. People do this in frustration during outages. You'll lose your chat history and OpenAI doesn't prorate refunds for cancellations you initiate.
  • Don't spam support tickets. If there's an active incident on the status page, support already knows. Filing 20 tickets won't speed up the fix. Save support for account-specific problems after the outage ends.

Questions people actually ask

Q: Is ChatGPT down right now?

A: Check the live OpenAI status on this site — it updates every 60 seconds from OpenAI's official feed and shows you component-level status immediately.

Q: Why does the status page say "Operational" when ChatGPT won't load for me?

A: Status updates can lag 2-5 minutes behind actual issues, or you're hitting a regional problem that hasn't triggered the global status change. Scroll down to "Incident History" for recent reports.

Q: What does "Degraded Performance" actually mean?

A: Slower response times than usual, higher error rates (maybe 5-10% of requests fail), or some features work while others don't. Service is up but struggling.

Q: Should I contact support during an outage?

A: Only if your specific account has a unique problem after the outage resolves. During the outage itself, OpenAI support can't do anything except point you back to the status page.

What to remember

  • The status page has four states: green (operational), yellow (degraded), orange (partial outage), red (major outage) — yellow doesn't mean you'll definitely have issues
  • "Incident History" tells you more than the current status banner — read the timeline of updates to understand what's actually broken
  • If there's no incident posted and you're having trouble, run through browser troubleshooting before assuming OpenAI is down
  • API users should implement exponential backoff and request queuing before an outage happens, not during
  • Never delete your account or cancel subscriptions during an outage — wait until service is stable to make those decisions

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

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