How to use it
- Read the live status above. It tests Cloudflare from outside your network.
- Open the official Cloudflare Status page for confirmed incidents.
- If Cloudflare is up, work through the fixes below, cheapest first.
- Press the report button if it still fails, so other visitors see it.
Is Cloudflare down for everyone or only for you?
Cloudflare sits in front of millions of websites as a proxy and content network. When you visit a protected site, you connect to Cloudflare first, then Cloudflare connects to that site's own origin server. A Cloudflare error page often means the origin failed, not Cloudflare. Cloudflare also runs a DNS resolver at 1.1.1.1, a dashboard and an API, each separately.
Our check requests the Cloudflare website and a public Cloudflare API endpoint from outside your network. Cloudflare publishes its status page at cloudflarestatus.com. If those answer and you still see an error page on one site, read the code. Cloudflare says visitors should report such errors to the site owner.
The live check on this page requests www.cloudflare.com and api.cloudflare.com from our servers every few minutes. A normal answer from those addresses means the service is reachable from outside your network. It does not prove that every feature inside Cloudflare works, which is why the problem reports and the fixes below matter.
What usually breaks with Cloudflare
Origin errors (520 to 524)
A site shows an error page branded Cloudflare. These codes describe a problem between Cloudflare and the site's own server.
Rate limiting and blocks
Error 1015 or 1020 appears. The site owner's rules blocked or slowed your requests.
DNS problems
Sites do not resolve or 1.1.1.1 fails. DNS is a separate system from the proxy.
Dashboard and API
Site owners cannot log in or change settings. These run apart from the traffic network.
Many sites down at once
A problem at Cloudflare itself would affect many unrelated sites together. The status page confirms this.
How to fix Cloudflare when it only fails for you
Start at the top. The first steps are the cheapest and fix most cases that are not a real outage.
- Read the error code. The code tells you where it broke. 520 to 524 are origin related and not fixable from your side.
- Check cloudflarestatus.com. If many sites fail, look for an incident for the proxy, DNS or dashboard.
- Wait and retry. For 1015 Cloudflare says to wait, then try again. Repeated refreshing can extend the block.
- Report to the site owner. Cloudflare says to send the owner the error code, the time with timezone and the URL.
- Switch networks. Try mobile data. A blocked IP address on a shared network can trigger errors like 1020.
- Test with 1.1.1.1. To check DNS, set your device DNS to 1.1.1.1 in network settings and reload. Switch back if there is no change.
- Flush your DNS cache. On Windows run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt. On Mac use the dscacheutil and mDNSResponder commands.
- Site owners: check origin and firewall. For 521 to 524, confirm the origin server is running, accepts Cloudflare's IP ranges and responds in time.
If none of this helps and the live check above shows the service as up, read our guide on why a website is not loading, or see how to flush DNS.
Common Cloudflare error messages
| Message or code | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Error 520 | Cloudflare lists this as the web server returns an unknown error. | Visitors cannot fix it. Report to the site owner with the Ray ID and time. |
| Error 521 | The web server is down, so Cloudflare could not connect to it. | Site owners should restart the origin and allow Cloudflare IPs. Visitors should report it. |
| Error 522 | Connection timed out between Cloudflare and the origin. | Owners check server load and firewall. Visitors wait and retry. |
| Error 523 | The origin is unreachable. | Owners verify the DNS record IP and routing. |
| Error 524 | A timeout occurred after the connection was made. | Owners check slow scripts or queries. Visitors retry later. |
| Error 1015 | You are being rate limited by rules set by the website owner. Cloudflare returns HTTP 429. | Wait, then retry. Avoid refreshing repeatedly. |
Official Cloudflare status and support
The company itself has the final word on outages. Check Cloudflare Status for confirmed incidents and use Cloudflare Support Docs if your account has a problem that is not an outage. We are not affiliated with Cloudflare.
Facts and menu names on this page were checked against the official sources below on October 25, 2026. Apps change their menus, so a setting may sit in a slightly different place in your version.
- www.cloudflarestatus.com
- developers.cloudflare.com/support/troubleshooting/http-status-codes/cloudflare-5xx-errors
- developers.cloudflare.com/support/troubleshooting/http-status-codes/cloudflare-1xxx-errors/error-1015
- developers.cloudflare.com/support/troubleshooting/http-status-codes/cloudflare-1xxx-errors/error-1020
Other services people check
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if Cloudflare is down or if it is just me?
Run the live check above and look at cloudflarestatus.com. If Cloudflare is fine and one site fails, the site or its origin is the cause.
Does an error page with the Cloudflare name mean Cloudflare is down?
Usually not. Codes 520 to 524 describe the site's own server. Cloudflare Support helps the domain owner, not visitors.
Where is the official Cloudflare status page?
At cloudflarestatus.com, covering the network, DNS, dashboard and API.
What does error 1020 mean?
A security rule set by the site owner blocked the request. Cloudflare returns HTTP 403. Send the owner a screenshot.
Why did 1.1.1.1 stop working for me?
Check the status page, then test another network. Local firewalls and routers can block DNS queries.