How to Fix ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT Quickly

The error ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT in Chrome or Edge indicates that the website that you are trying to visit didn’t respond. So to solve the error quickly we will need to find out why the website isn’t loading.

There can be many different reasons why a website is unable to load. So in this article, we are first going to narrow down the cause of the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT error and then look at the possible solutions for it.

What causes the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT error?

Before we take a look at the different solutions to fix the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT it’s good to understand what the error means. When you visit a website there are a couple of steps that your browser takes.

First, the domain name that you have typed needs to be translated to the correct IP Addresses. For this, the browser will look up the DNS record. If the browser is unable to resolve the IP Address of the server, then you get one of the two following errors:

• ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

After looking up the IP Address, the browser will try the load the webpage from the server. It will try this for 30 seconds after which you get the error ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT. This basically means that the server didn’t respond to the browser.

Now the problem can be related to your computer, network, or even to the website itself. So before we are going to try all kinds of possible solutions, we first need to narrow down the cause of the error.

Step 1 – Single website or multiple websites not loading?

Is it only a single website that is not loading or are multiple websites not loading? When it’s only a single website then just continue reading, otherwise, follow the steps described here.

When only a single website is not loading, we first need to be sure that the website is available at all. There are two easy ways to do this:

• Turn off the Wifi on your mobile phone, and try to open the website on your mobile. This way your phone will be using the cellular network. If the websites doesn’t open on your
• Check if the website is available through https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

If can’t open the website on your mobile phone as well, then the problem is probably related to the server of the website. Just try to visit the website at a later moment.

Steps to Fix ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT Error

So the problem seems to be related to your computer or local network. We are going to start with the most common solutions. If a solution didn’t work for you or you have already tried it, then just go to the next step.

Step 2 – Check your local network connections

As explained, the error message indicates that the website isn’t loading (quickly enough). So the first step that we need to do is to restart your modem/router.

If you are working on a wireless network, then make sure that your wireless network signal is strong enough. A weak wireless network signal can also cause problems with loading websites.

1. Restart your modem/router by removing the power plug and leaving it out for 10 seconds.
2. After 10 sec plug the power back in and wait for the modem/router to start

Slow network connections can also occur when somebody is downloading or uploading large amounts of data. So make sure that nobody is using the full bandwidth of your internet connection.

After the router is restarted, try to load the website in question.

Step 3 – Flush your local network caches

Your computer keeps a local DNS cache with all the domain names that you have visited recently. This cache can be outdated, which can result in your browser trying to connect to the wrong server. So we are going to flush the DNS and Network cache and also reset your network settings.

This only takes a few seconds with the commands below:

1. Right-click on the start menu and choose PowerShell (admin) or Terminal (admin)
2. Enter each command below. Hit enter after each one. If a command fails, just continue with the next one:
   • ipconfig /flushdns
   • ipconfig /release
   • ipconfig /renew
   • netsh winsock reset
   • netsh int ip reset
3. Reboot your computer and check if the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT error is solved.

Step 4 – Test the website in Incognito or InPrivate mode

Browser settings, extensions, or even your browser cache can also cause issues with loading webpages. A quick way to test this is to open the webpage using Incognito or InPrivate mode.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + N to open Incognito mode in Chrome or InPrivate mode in Edge
2. Try to open the webpage

If the webpage loads successfully then you can first try to disable any extensions that you might have in your browser:

1. Open the browser
2. Navigate to the following url: chrome://extensions/ (works also in Edge)
3. Disable all the extensions

If disabling the extensions solved the issue, then turn them on one at a time and test each time if the issue is resolved.

When the problem still exists with the extensions disabled, and the website still loads successfully in Incognito mode, then try to clear your browser cache:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Del
2. Change the Time Range to All Time
3. Select the following options
   • Browsing history
   • Cookies and other site data
   • Cached images and files
4. Click Clear data

Step 5 – Disable Proxy Settings

Proxy servers are not needed in a normal home network. But I have seen cases where a proxy server was configured by malware. When a proxy server is configured, all your internet traffic will be sent to that server first.

So let’s check your LAN settings and remove any proxy server that is configured:

1. Right-click on start or press Windows key + R
2. Type inetcpl.cpl, 4 and press enter

3. Click on LAN Settings (under the Connections tab)
4. Make sure that Use a Proxy Server is unchecked

4. You can leave Automatically detect settings turned on
5. Click ok twice and reload the webpage

If there was a proxy server configured then it’s a good idea to run a malware scanner on your computer. Otherwise, there is a chance that the proxy server is reconfigured after you reboot your computer.

Step 6 – Change the DNS server

When you still get the error ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT then you can try to change your DNS server. By default, you are using the DNS server from your internet provider. This is most of the time not the best DNS server. They are slower and don’t update their records as often as other DNS servers.

I recommend using the DNS server from Cloudflare, 1.1.1.1. This is one of the fastest servers and it even respects your privacy (they don’t sell the sites that you visit to marketing companies).

If you are still unable to open a website, then the problem might be related to the DNS server that you are using. By default, you are using the DNS server from your provider. But that is most of the time not the best DNS server.

Steps for Windows 10 (scroll down for the steps in Windows 11)

1. Press Windows key + X or Right-click your startmenu
2. Open Network Connections
3. Click Change adapter options
4. Double-click on your (wireless) network adapter

5. Choose Properties
6. Double-click on Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
7. Select Use the following DNS servers addresses
8. Enter 1.1.1.1 for preferred and 1.0.0.1 for alternate DNS Server

9. Click Ok to apply the settings and close the windows.

Steps for Windows 11

1. Right-click the start menu or press Windows key + X
2. Choose network connections
3. Click on Ethernet

4. Scroll a bit down and click Edit behind DNS server assignment

5. Change the setting to Manual
6. Enable IPv4
7. Enter 1.1.1.1 as preferred DNS and 1.0.0.1 as alternate DNS

Try to visit the webpage again, you should now be able to visit the website. If this didn’t help, you can safely leave the DNS configured to 1.1.1.1.

Step 7 – Disable Anti-Virus and Internet Security Software

Sometimes you can get the error message ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT when your Anti-Virus software is blocking a website. When your AV is blocking a website, it’s most of the time for a good reason.

But we want to be sure that the error is caused by the AV software. So what you can do is temporarily disable your anti-virus, or internet security software and try to reload the webpage.

If the websites loads successfully, then turn the AV back on and check for any events in the Anti-virus software why it’s blocking the webpage.

Step 8 – Check your Host file

If you have only a single website page that won’t load then it might be related to your host file. The host file on your computer, is a static list with domain names and corresponding IP addresses. This file is often used by developers so they can access a new website before the domainname is active.

1. Open your start menu and search for notepad
2. Right-click on Notepad and choose open as administrator

3. In Notepad click File > Open and Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
4. Select All files
5. Open the file hosts

6. Remove any line without a # for it

7. Save the host file

Reload the webpage and check if the error is resolved.

Wrapping Up

Corrupte DNS caches, malware or a bad internet connection are the most common causes for the error ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT. If none of the steps above worked, then double-check if you can visit the website from a different network (for example a hotspot) or from a different device.

When you have this issues with multiple websites and multiple devices, then the issues must be related to your internet connection.

If you have any questions, then just drop a comment below.