Err_connection_timed_out is an error message that appears when your web browser cannot establish a connection with a website you want to navigate within a certain time limit.
When you visit a website, the browser usually gives you around 30 seconds before disconnecting. This is the default value of maximum_exection_time in PHP. If the loading process takes too long to exceed that time, the notification “err_connection_timed_out” will appear, which indicates a problem with your local system, although it’s not always the case.
The error message displayed with this code usually contains different information depending on the browser and operating system.
What causes the err_connection_timed_out?
Many things can cause the err_connection_timed_out error message. Here are some reasons:
Typically, there is an issue with your local network connection. This is mostly caused by a dropped connection, which temporarily disconnects you from the internet.
The issue can also be on the server side. The server where the websites are hosted is having difficulties serving your requests.
The device or router blocks the destination website. You will not be able to open a website if the host file or firewall blocks the website you want to access.
The problem is with the website itself. If you don’t find any errors on your side, perhaps the website you want to access is the reason behind the appearance of err_connection_timed_out. It could be that the website is experiencing problems that prevent the browser from connecting to the website.
How to Fix the err_connection_timed_out
There are several ways to get this issue solved.
Check network connection
Make sure your internet connection is working properly and you can ping the website you are trying to access. At some point, you would want to restart your home router or access point.
Turn off VPN or Proxy
Check your web browser configuration and make sure to turn off your proxy and use the system-provided configuration instead. When your proxy server is unreachable, then you will get this err_connection_timed_out error message when accessing the internet.
If you are using a VPN, try to reproduce the issue by turning off the VPN. Your VPN server may be down or your firewall is blocking the connection. Turning off the VPN should help you with this.
Change DNS Server
Your internet service provider may be setting up their own internal DNS server for your internet connection settings. If the DNS server is down, then you will likely not be able to access the internet. For many reasons, people prefer to use the DNS server from other providers. For example, you can use the DNS server from Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 or 1.0.0.1) or Google (8.8.8.8 or 8.4.4.8) which are free and quite stable in terms of performance.
Flush DNS
Another option is to clear your local DNS cache. The issue might be that the website you are trying to access is not resolving to the correct IP address. If you have recently migrated your website to a different hosting provider, it is crucial to allow some time for the DNS changes to propagate fully. The propagation may require up to 24 hours, but in some cases, it could be completed in just a few minutes or hours. The duration varies based on your DNS provider and the TTL value of your DNS records.
Check the website
If you are the website owner, you can check your webserver configuration. If your website is built on the PHP framework, the first thing you want to check is the PHP maximum_execution_time variable. By default, this PHP variable value is set to 30 seconds. You can increase the value and then restart the web server.
That’s it! You have learned about the err_connection_timed_out error message and how to fix it. After reading the article above, you no longer need to worry if the err_connection_timed_out error message reappears. Now, after knowing what the causes are and how to solve them, you can easily resolve the err_connection_timed_out error. If you still have an issue with this and your server is hosted with us, you can simply contact us through chat or submit a ticket. Our expert administrators are available 24×7 and will respond to your request immediately.