You're not alone. Here's what's happening and what you can do.
Before troubleshooting, check if ChatGPT is down for everyone:
If you see "Elevated error rates" - it's them, not you. Wait it out.
What it means: ChatGPT's servers are overloaded. With 800 million weekly users, this happens constantly.
Fix: Refresh the page (Ctrl+R / Cmd+R), clear browser cache, or wait 5-10 minutes.
What it means: Your request failed to reach OpenAI's servers or timed out.
Fix: Check your internet connection. If using a VPN, disable it - ChatGPT blocks many VPN IPs.
What it means: Your prompt was too complex or long for ChatGPT to process.
Fix: Shorten your prompt. Keep it under 10,000 tokens. Break complex requests into smaller pieces.
What it means: Your IP address has been blocked by Cloudflare's security system.
Fix: Disable VPN, restart router to get new IP, or try mobile data instead of WiFi.
What it means: ChatGPT's universal "we have no idea" error. Could be anything.
Fix: Refresh page, try a different browser, clear cookies, or use the mobile app instead.
What it means: Too many users. Free users get kicked to make room for paying subscribers.
Fix: Wait and try again later, or upgrade to Plus ($20/month) for priority access.
If you're frustrated that ChatGPT isn't working, you're not alone. The service has become notoriously unreliable in 2025-2026.
That's 6+ incidents in 14 days. For a service charging $20-200/month, this level of unreliability is unacceptable.
ChatGPT went from 400 million to 800 million weekly users in less than a year. OpenAI's servers can't keep up with demand, leading to constant overloads and errors.
Running AI models is expensive. OpenAI may be throttling resources to reduce costs - resulting in slower responses, more errors, and degraded quality.
OpenAI pushes updates constantly. Each new feature (GPT-5, GPT-5.1, GPT-5.2) introduces bugs. Users become unpaid beta testers.
As the dominant AI chatbot, OpenAI has less incentive to prioritize reliability. Where else are you going to go? (Actually, there are options.)
If ChatGPT keeps breaking on you, maybe it's time to try something else.
Claude (by Anthropic) - More reliable, better at long conversations
Gemini (by Google) - Integrated with Google services
Perplexity - Better for research with real citations