Getting the ” This site can’t be reached error: connection timed out while browsing web pages in the Chrome browser? ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT is a common and nagging error in Google Chrome. It means the server is taking too long to respond. As a result, it fails to load well. Err_Connection_Timed_Out often happens with only one URL and sometimes with all websites. There are many reasons that may be causing this error connection timed out message while visiting a website, such as corrupted files, DNS cache corrupted or not responding, the connection might be blocked from the hosts file itself, etc.
Fix Err_Connection_Timed_Out on Chrome
As this error says, there is a fatal communication failure between the web browser and the internet server. Let’s perform the solutions below to get rid of this Connection timeout error.
- Open Google Chrome browser type chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in the address bar and hit the enter key.
- Select the Advanced tab, change the time range to all-time now tick on all the options and click on Clear Data as shown image below.
Again on chrome browser address bar type chrome://settings/resetProfileSettings?origin=userclick. Then click on the Reset button to reset the Google Chrome settings.
Now close Google Chrome completely.
- Press Windows + R type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ and then click on OK.
- It will open a new window, here find the folder “Default”.
- You can delete it, But we recommend you to rename it as default.backup or something else. It will allow you to restore your Chrome data when you need it.
This time, launch Chrome and try to visit the websites, you should no longer encounter ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT problem.
Change DNS Address (use Google Open DNS)
By default, you may be using your local ISP’s DNS address. So, You may try Google DNS or any other public DNS addresses to check if it fixes err_connection_timed_out.
To change DNS Address on your Windows 10 PC,
- Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl, and press the Enter key to open the Network Connections window.
- Here, right-click the active network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and select Properties.
- Then double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
- Select the Radio button Ise the following DNS server addresses and set Preferred DNS server 8.8.8.8, Alternate DNS server 8.8.4.4
- Also, check the Validate settings, then click Apply, and ok to save changes.
Disable proxy settings
Using proxies might sometimes have the worst impact on accessing favorite sites. Let us show you how to enable automatic detection settings in Internet Options.
- Press the Windows key + R, type inetcpl.cpl, and hit the Enter key.
- Then, in Internet Options, go to the Connections tab and click on LAN settings,
- Here, make sure Automatically detect settings are check-marked and uncheck use a proxy server your LAN as shown image below.
Edit Local Host file (To unblock IP if any)
- Type Notepad in the Start menu search, select it, right-click it in the search results, and click Run as administrator.
- When Notepad opens, click File -> Open and navigate to C Drive -> Windows -> System32 -> drivers -> etc -> hosts.
- Make sure that no IP address is present after “# 127.0.0.1 localhost # ::1 localhost”. If present, delete them and save the file.
Again, if you see some web addresses along with the IP address 127.0.0.1, delete those lines. But, don’t remove the lines with the text localhost.
Reset TCP/IP stack and Flush DNS
Reset the TCP/IP stack to release the current IP address, then request a new IP address via DHCP, which will most likely fix issues with IP or DNS addresses. Simply open the Command Prompt as administrator and perform the Commands below.
- netsh winsock reset
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
- ipconfig /flushdns
- ipconfig /registerdns
Now type exit to close the command prompt and restart Windows. Now that you have released, renewed and flushed DNS, you must be able to access the website without err connection timed out error.
Update Network Drivers
An outdated network adapter driver may also cause issues, including ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT. Therefore, it’s essential to update your network adapter driver to ensure it’s not causing the ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT error in Chrome.
- Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press ok to open Device Manager.
- Expand Network adapters and right-click on the installed network driver, select Update driver,
- Click Search automatically for updated driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest network driver from Windows Update.
Or you can head over to the device manufacturer’s website and download the latest available driver for your network adapter and save it to the local drive.
Then open Device Manager again -> expand Network adapters -> right-click and uninstall the currently installed network adapter driver.
Restart Windows and install the latest driver that you previously downloaded from the manufacturer’s website.
This will be fixed if the internet & network connection cause the err connection timed out on Windows.
