Understanding Internet Timeout and 5xx error messages
This document helps you understand what Internet Timeout messages are, and how to resolve them.
Document 9025 | Last updated: 09/14/2022 MC7
Our support technicians are unable to assist you with this process. If you feel uncomfortable proceeding with the steps in this document, contact a local technician or reach out to your ISP for further assistance.
As you use your computer, you may receive a “Connection Timeout” error or a 5xx HTTP error when attempting to browse a website, upload a file, send an email, etc. What this means is one or more servers your computer is trying to contact is taking too long to respond, so your computer gives up on the connection. This is to prevent the connection from running indefinitely, taking up valuable resources while waiting on a response that may never come.
Two of the most common timeout errors include 502 ‑ Bad Gateway and 504 ‑ Gateway Timeout. These errors often occur when a program — such as Microsoft Edge — attempts to connect to a server that takes too long to respond, or gives bad information. These errors typically occur on a server located on the way to your final destination, or from a sluggish Internet connection.
The quickest way to resolve a timeout error is to simply re‑try what you were doing. Oftentimes, a timeout is a one-off problem, which is quickly resolved. However, if you find yourself having multiple timeout errors, or the original problem doesn't go away, there are some basic troubleshooting steps you can do yourself to try and resolve the issue:
- Restart the program or web browser
- Try a different web browser
- Clear temporary internet files
- Test your Internet connection
- Restart your computer
- Try a different Internet connection, such as a hotspot
If the above steps fail and you're still receiving timeout errors, reach out to a local technician or your Internet Service Provider for more extensive troubleshooting steps.
