It can be annoying to see ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT pop-up on your computer, just when you are trying to access an interesting website. Luckily, it is easy to Fix Err Connection Timed Out Error in Chrome browser on a Windows computer.
Err Connection Timed Out Error in Chrome
Connection Timed Out Error in Chrome browser appears with an Error code ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT and an error message reading “Unable to access the network”.
Going by the wordings of the error code, this could simply be a case of the webpage that you are trying to access being unavailable, the website being offline or not responding.
However, if you are getting the same error message for almost every website that you are trying to access, the problem could be due to other reasons, ranging from network connectivity issues to problems with your device or the browser itself.
So, let us go ahead and take a look at some of the methods that are known to Fix Err Connection Timed Out Error in Chrome Browser.
1. Clear Browsing Data
Starting with a simple fix, clear Chrome browsing data and Cache on your computer, in order to rule out the possibility of the problem being due to cached error pages.
Click on the 3-dots Chrome menu icon and click on More Tools > Clear Browsing Data… option in the drop-down menu.
On the next screen, clear Browsing History, Cookies/Site Data and Cached Images/Files by clicking on the Clear Data button.
Now, try to access the same webpage and see if you are still getting ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT Error in Chrome browser.
2. Check If Hosts File Has been Modified
Sometimes the Hosts File located at C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc gets modified and blocks you from accessing certain websites.
Right-click on the Start button and click on Run in the menu that appears.
In the Run Command Window, type C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc and click on OK.
Next, double-click on the Hosts File and open the File using Notepad.
In the Hosts File, delete all the entries containing names of websites that you are trying to access and Save the file.
Basically delete all the entries without the # sign and you will be fine.
3. Disable Proxy Servers
Click on the Start button > Settings Icon.
On the settings screen, click on Network and Internet option.
On the next screen, click on Proxy in the side menu and disable the option for Automatically detect settings under Automatic Proxy Setup.
On the same screen, scroll down and disable Use a Proxy server option under manual proxy section.
4. Run Network Troubleshooting Commands
The next step is to run Network Troubleshooting Commands, in order to Reset TCP/IP Stack, Release/Renew IP Address, Flush and Reset the DNS cache.
Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (Admin) in the menu that appears.
In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands (in the same order) and hit the enter key after each of these commands.
- netsh winsock reset
- netsh int ip reset
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
- ipconfig /flushdns
Note: There needs to be a space after ipconfig in commands 3, 4 and 5 above.
Once the above commands have been executed, type Exit and hit the enter Key to get out of the Command Prompt window.
Restart your computer for the changes to take affect and see if you are still coming across ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT Error in Chrome browser.
5. Reset Chrome Browser
Change in browser settings can also cause network connectivity issues on a Windows computer. To rule out this possibility, you can reset the Chrome browser to its default settings.
Click the 3-dots Menu icon located at the top right corner of your screen and click on Settings in the drop-down menu.
On the Settings screen, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Advanced.
Scroll down again and click on Reset Settings.
On the confirmation pop-up, click on the Reset button.
Note: Reset will remove cookies and Chrome extensions.
6. Disable IPv6
Some users have reported fixing Err Connection Timed Out Error in Chrome by disabling IPv6 protocol on their Windows computer.
Click on the Start button > Settings > Network and Internet.
On the next screen, scroll down and click on Network and Sharing Center.
On the Network and Sharing Center screen, click on your Current Network.
On the next screen, click on the Properties button.
On the Network properties screen, uncheck the option for Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and click on OK to save the setting.
Restart your Computer for the changes to apply.
7. Switch DNS Servers
If you are frequently encountering ERR Network Timed Out Error in Chrome, you can consider switching to Google’s fast and free DNS service using steps as mentioned in this article: How to Change DNS Servers in Windows 10