HTTP status code starting with 4XX is the client-side error code and 408 request timeout error is one of the client-side errors. In this, we will learn how to fix a 408 request timeout error. Before we dive into the solution let’s understand what does this error actually mean and how does it differ from the 504 bad gateway timeout error.
What does 408 Request Timeout
mean?
A 408 Request Timeout
error is an HTTP status code that is returned at the client-side when a server takes a longer time to process any particular request than the allocated timeout. So when this happens, the server terminates the connection and thus returns 408 Request Timeout
error.
It is also possible that the server could be misconfigured and result in improper request handling which may also return a 408 Request Timeout
error.
408 Request Timeout Indication
- 408 Request Timeout is displayed
- It crashes the active browser window
- Browser may respond to the request slowly
Different Ways to See a 408 Request Timeout Error
There are several different ways that you might see a 408 Request Timeout
error. These errors may appear differently on different web servers or hosting. Although they show different error message, each one means the same.
- “408 Request Time-out”
- “408: Request Timeout”
- “Request Timeout”
- “The Request Has Timed Out”
- “HTTP Error 408 – Request Timeout”
How is a 408 Request Timeout
error different from a 504 Gateway Timeout
error?
You may have come across a similar error i.e. 504 Gateway Timeout
error. Since these two errors are quite similar, you might be wondering that how it is different from one another.
The 504 Gateway Timeout
error occurs while acting as a gateway or proxy. On the other hand, a 408
error is returned when a request to load the web page takes longer than the server was prepared to wait.
Learn how to fix 504 Gateway Timeout error.
According to RFC 2068, the 504 Gateway Timeout and 408 Request Timeout error are defined as follows:
:
504 Gateway Timeout
The server, while acting as a gateway or proxy, did not receive a timely response from the upstream server it accessed in attempting to complete the request.
408 Request Timeout
:
The client did not produce a request within the time that the server was prepared to wait. The client MAY repeat the request without modifications at any later time.
How to Fix a 408 Request Timeout Error
In certain cases, it can be difficult to immediately determine the source of an HTTP error. Although 4xx
errors are known to be client-side errors, this doesn’t mean that the server should be completely ruled out as the culprit. Below are a few things you can check, both on the client and server-side in order to try and resolve a 408
error.
Fix a 408 Request Timeout error at client-side
Reload the Web Page
There are instances when this error occurs temporarily at the client-side because of the browser. You can try to reload the web page or even reopen the browser to see if the error gets resolved.
Double check URL
Depending upon the configuration of your web server, the requested URL might throw a 408 request timeout error. Suppose, if you are requesting a URL that requires certain permissions or credentials to get the access, this might trigger a 408 error.
Check your internet connection
If there is any issue with your internet connection or it is running slow then the request made can take too long to complete. As a result, the server’s timeout exceeds and becomes idle that results in 408 request timeout error.
Fix a 408 Request Timeout error at server-side
Check your web server’s timeout settings
Most of the web servers like Apache and Nginx allow website developers to set certain timeout values in the configuration file which enables you to control the time required to certain requests.
So if you are receiving the 408 timeout error, the configured timeout value might be too low. You increase the timeout value and restart the server to see if the issue is resolved.
Apache
If you’re using the Apache web server, you need to check both the .htaccess
file and the Apache server config file. Inside these files look for the KeepAliveTimeout
or RequestReadTimeout
directives. If either of these directives is defined, increase it’s value and reload the webserver.
If you don’t find these directives inside the configuration file, you can add them along with their values and test a few requests by reloading the web server.
NGINX
If you’re using Nginx as a web server, open the nginx.conf
file and check for directives like client_body_timeout
, client_header_timeout
and keepalive_timeout
and then increase their values.
If you don’t find these directives, add them inside the http
or server
block aongwith their values.
You can test a few requests by increasing their values and reloading the web server.
Check the logs
While investigating any kind of a server error, it’s a good idea to check the error logs. It provides you with a whole lot of information about the error.
Other Fixes
- How to Fix 403 Forbidden Error in NGINX Ubuntu
- Fix 413 Request Entity Too Large Error on Nginx & Apache
- Fix 502 Bad Gateway Nginx Error in Ubuntu – 4 Simple Steps
- PHP5-FPM 502 Bad Gateway Error (connect() to unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock failed (2: No such file or directory)
- Fix 504 Gateway Timeout Nginx Error – 5 Simple Steps
Conclusion
A 408 Request Timeout
error is fairly common and can be fixed quite easily most of the time. It simply passes the message on the client-side that the request timed out for the website and that the server has terminated the connection.
I hope you will find the solution on how to fix a 408 Request Timeout Error useful. Do put your views in the comment section below.
Great article! Thank you so much for saving my time.
I’m glad to know that you found this article useful.