ChatGPT not working: six causes and what to do

Symptoms

• chatgpt.com keeps loading or shows an error with no explanation
• The message "ChatGPT is not available in your country"
• An answer stops halfway or the chat stays silent for minutes
• Login fails in the phone app while the browser works

Causes and fixes

1. An outage on OpenAI's side: the service is down for everyone, not just you

What to do: Open status.openai.com. If the status is yellow or red, all you can do is wait; meanwhile work in Claude or Gemini

2. A VPN exiting in a country where the service is blocked, or from an IP address OpenAI has flagged as suspicious

What to do: Turn off the VPN if your country is supported. If you need a VPN for work, pick a server in a supported country and log in again

3. A corporate network or antivirus blocks the openai.com and oaistatic.com domains

What to do: Try mobile internet. If it works, ask the admin to allow openai.com, chatgpt.com, oaistatic.com and oaiusercontent.com

4. A browser extension (ad blocker, translator) breaks the page

What to do: Open the chat in an incognito window without extensions. If it works, disable extensions one by one until you find the culprit

5. An outdated app or browser

What to do: Update the app in the App Store or Google Play; in the browser, clear the cache and cookies for chatgpt.com

6. The account is suspended for a policy violation or suspicious activity from several countries

What to do: Check your email for a message from OpenAI. Appeal through help.openai.com, and meanwhile set up a separate account on your work email for urgent tasks

Common problems and fixes

• ChatGPT declines your card: what to check, step by step
• ChatGPT message limits: how much you get on Free, Plus and Pro and how not to burn through it in an hour
• ChatGPT will not open a PDF or reads it with errors: causes and workarounds
• How to delete your data from ChatGPT and turn off training on your chats
• ChatGPT for business: company invoices, VAT and billing for a sole trader
• ChatGPT will not upload an Excel file, Word document or image: what to do
• ChatGPT account suspended or deactivated: causes and how to get it back

About ChatGPT

All-purpose chat assistant with web search, file and spreadsheet analysis, voice and custom GPTs. Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available.

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