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Avaloi

Connection errors: the site times out or refuses to load

Find out why visitors, or you, cannot connect to a site: DNS, IP deny rules, bot protection, or the environment being stopped. Then fix the one that applies.

A connection error means the browser never got a page. It is different from a server error, where the site answered with a failure. Start by finding out who can connect and who cannot. If you can reach the site and a visitor cannot, the cause is usually a rule. If nobody can reach it, the cause is usually DNS or the environment itself.

What you see

  • "This site can't be reached", "the connection timed out", or "connection refused" in the browser.
  • The site loads for you on the temporary address but not on the domain.
  • Only some visitors are blocked, often from one country, one network, or one set of addresses.
  • Your own address is blocked, so the site stops answering you too.

Check these first

  1. Try the temporary address. Open Site info and load the temporary hostname. If it loads, the environment is fine and the problem is the domain or a rule at the edge. If it does not load, check the environment's status on Environments and read the latest job on Jobs.
  2. Check the domain. Open Domains and confirm the domain is active and its DNS records match the ones Avaloi listed. See Troubleshooting: domain not resolving.
  3. Check IP deny. Open IP deny and look for a rule that covers your address or the visitor's. A block at the edge stops the connection before it reaches the site. Remove the rule or add an allow rule for the address you need.
  4. Check bot protection. Open Bot protection and look at the last 24 hours. In Challenge mode, a visitor the check stops cannot reach the page. Set the mode to Monitor for a while to see whether real visitors are being challenged, then decide.
  5. Check the environment status. A stopped or restarting environment answers nothing. Wait for the restart job to finish, then try again. If it stays down, open the latest job and read its last step.

Fix it

  • If an IP deny rule blocks visitors by mistake, delete it or narrow its range. Saving applies the rule at the edge through a job.
  • If bot protection challenges real people, lower the mode from Challenge suspicious to Monitor. Verified search engine crawlers always pass.
  • If DNS is wrong, correct the record at your DNS host or in Cloudflare DNS, then wait for the change to spread.
  • If the environment is stopped, restart PHP from Tools, and open Jobs if the restart does not finish.

Still stuck

Write to [email protected] with the domain, the time of the failed connection, the browser's error text, and the result of the temporary address check. Include the IP address you tested from, if you know it.

Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with your site name and what you tried, or send us a message.