408 Request Timeout Error:
If 408 Request Timeout appears, then it signifies that the server timed out waiting for the request. According to HTTP specifications, if a request you sent to the website server took longer than the website’s server, often something simple like a request to load a web page was prepared to wait for a while. In simple words, your connections with the website are timed out. If a request times out, the simple meaning would be that your computer did not receive a response at all. It’s the equivalent of calling someone and having the phone ring hundreds of times without someone picking it up until you decide to give up. The Destination Host Unreachable message indicates that a router sent you back an error message and is equivalent to or similar to a busy signal.
In this article, we’ll explain the 408 Request Timeout in greater depth by looking at what might cause this message to appear, including a few methods you can use to debug the appearance of this error.
How To Know If The Problem is 408 Request Timeout Error?
To solve the error, firstly you will have to identify the problem. Like any other HTTP status code, the 408 error can be customized by websites too, some of the websites chose to mention the 408 number whereas some of them don’t. You must be able to pinpoint the problem in either case. Instead of accessing the landing page of whichever website you are trying to access you will get one of the following error messages:
- 408 Request Time-Out.
- 408: Request Timeout.
- HTTP Error 408 – Request timeout.
- Request Timeout.
These were some of the examples of the error message. These are the most probable ones and you will still be able to spot a 408 error based on these examples.
Is the Request Timeout error client or server-side error?
The Request Timeout error is categorized as 4xx and all HTTP response status codes within the 4xx category are considered client error responses and that in the 5xx category as a server-side error (the “client”, in this case, is typically the web browser or device being used to access the application). That said, the appearance of a 4xx error doesn’t necessarily mean that the issue is on the client side. The server could be the root cause of the 408 error. In some cases, the server may be misconfigured and may be handling requests in an improper way, which can result in 408 code responses and other troublesome traffic routing problems.
How To Fix the 408 Request Timeout Error?
1) Refresh
Including the 408 error, many of these problems are fixed in this first step i.e: Refresh. In many cases, a slow connection can cause a delay that prompts the 408 Request Timeout error which is often only temporary. You can refresh by simply clicking on the refresh button, reload by pressing F5 or Ctrl+R, and also by re-entering the URL in the address bar.
2)Check other websites
Visit other websites and check if the pages load as fast as you’re used to seeing them load or not. If these pages load fast, the reason behind the 408 Request Timeout error is probably with the website.
3)Contact the Webmaster
In any type of problem and the cause, there is always the option of contacting the webmaster. if you want to reach the webmaster, then he can be reached via email at “webmaster@website.com“, replacing website.com with the actual website name. Inform them about your circumstances to which you could get an explanation.
4)Just wait…
Sometimes, a huge increase in traffic by visitors could be causing this error. On very popular sites with a lot of visitors, sometimes the numbers could overwhelm the servers. You trying to access the website could even worsen the condition (at a much smaller scale though) as you are increasing the traffic. In this case, you can’t do anything except leave the site, wait and come back later.