We must be thankful to technology for making our lives easier, but the same technology often falls prey to technical faults. A 502 Bad Gateway is one such technical fault you might have come across. It indicates that one server was unable to get some valid responses from the other server. If you are wondering what exactly 502 Bad Gateway error is all about, keep reading.
What does 502 Bad Gateway mean?
It is simply an HTTP status code, resembling the inability of a particular server to receive the response from another server. The 502 Bad Gateway errors are at all dependant on your particular setup. You may end up experiencing them in any of your browsers, across any operating system, at any given time; irrespective of any device.
How a 502 Bad Gateway error appears?
Not all web servers describe this unique error in the same way. Here are the common appearances of a 502 Bad Gateway error that you may come across.
- HTTP 502
- 502 Proxy Error
- 502 Bad Gateway
- 502. That’s an error
- Error 502 Bad Gateway
- 502 Service Overloaded
- 502 Bad Gateway NGINX
- HTTP Error 502 – Bad Gateway
- Bad gateway: The proxy server received an invalid response from another server
- 502 Server Error: The server experienced a temporary error and unable to complete your request.
When we receive a bad gateway error during Windows update, generally a 0x80244021 error code or the following message is generated: WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_BAD_GATEWAY.
When we experience similar errors while using Google services, such as its search engine or Gmail, they often show on their screen, “Server Error” or just “502”.
Twitter’s “fail whale” error which says “Twitter is over capacity” is a type of 502 Bad Gateway error (however, experts tell it to be a 503 Error).
The 502 Bad Gateway error displays inside an individual browser window, just as regular web pages do.
Did you know?
Microsoft IIS servers often give more information about the causes of any particular bad gateway error simply by adding an extra digit after the initial 502, such as that in “HTTP Error 502.1”. In this scenario, the webserver is most likely to have received an inappropriate response while acting as a gateway.
An insight: The HTTP Error 502.1 – or similar errors resemble CGI application timeout problems and it’s troubleshooting procedure should be similar to that of a 504 Gateway timeout issue.
Why 502 Bad Gateway Error occurs?
- The origin server is overloaded or down.
- Server Crash.
- Domain Name not resolvable.
- A firewall is creating some issues.
In most cases, an HTTP error 502 bad gateway Cloudflare occurs when your origin server (for instance, your web host) returns this code, and in turn, Cloudflare returns this code to your web visitors. Whenever this happens, you would view an error with the branding of Cloudflare.
Errors similar to 502 Bad Gateway
The error messages mentioned below are relatives off to the bad gateway error, caused due to the specific website’s fault:
- 500 Internal Server Error
- 503 Service Unavailable
- 504 Gateway Timeout
There are lots of other client-side HTTP status codes, like the extremely common ‘404 Not Found error‘. In case you are facing such an error, it is necessary to contact the website or its host right away!
How to Fix 502 Bad Gateway errors as a web developer?
If you are facing the error 502 Bad Gateway as a web developer or an owner of the website, there can be some reasons behind this error on your origin server. Here I have listed some suggestions to fix this error such as:
- Use a ping test or traceroute to check that your server is reachable.
- Check your firewall logs if you see unusual drops history.
- If you are using Cloudflare, try to disable it. Because if you have reached a certain specified limit then Cloudflare will deliver a 502 Bad Gateway error to your visitors.
How to Fix 502 Bad Gateway error as a visitor?
Since the 502 error is a network error between servers on the internet, meaning the problem is not necessarily associated with your internet connection or computer. If you are experiencing a 502 bad gateway on Nginx, fix it right away. Here we have mentioned the steps to fix 502 bad gateway errors.
Refresh the Page
- Try reloading the URL by pressing either Ctril+R or F5 on your keyboard. You may also do it by clicking the refresh button.
- This kind of error indicates a networking error, not in your control and these can be temporary errors. Trying to load the page again would often sort the issue.
Start a new browser session
To fix this error you can start a new browser session by closing all the previously open browser windows that might prove helpful. Once you open up a new browser, it’s time to retry opening up the webpage you are looking for.
Clear the browser’s cache and Delete Cookies
Try to clear the cache in your browser to fix this error. Corrupted or outdated files stored in your browser can cause a bad gateway issue. Removing these cache files and cookies might often solve this problem. To do so follow these steps:
- Click on the three vertical dots on the top right side of the chrome browser and navigate to the Settings option.
- At the downside go to the Advanced option.
- Under the Privacy and Security tab navigate to the option Clear browsing data.
- Now navigate to the Advanced tab. Select a time range and check the boxes in front of the options available and lastly click on Clear data.
Launch your browser in Safe Mode
Rather than clearing all the cookies from your browser store, you may first remove only those cookies linked with the site you’re facing this 502 error with. However, if the problem still sustains, feel free to delete all cookies; even those belonging to other websites.
- It’s always recommended to launch your browser in safe mode, also known as Incognito mode, especially when facing this bad gateway issue. Running the browser in Safe Mode allows it to run without extensions and add-ons; as it follows its default setting.
- In case, the error no longer appears while running your browser in the safe mode, be sure that other browser extensions or faulty settings are causing such a problem. Manage your browser settings and choose default or disable the browser’s extensions selectively. This way, you shall understand the root cause of this problem, and hopefully a permanent fix for this problem.
- Your browser’s safe mode is quite similar to the safe mode found in Windows however they are not completely the same. You do not require starting Windows in Safe Mode in order to run your browser in “Safe Mode.”
Try another browser
If one browser isn’t working, try the other one. Don’t hesitate to launch Firefox or any other browser, if your Chrome is experiencing a bad gateway issue.
If the alternative browser doesn’t experience the bad gateway error, now you can be sure that the original issue is associated with your previous browser. We assume you’ve followed all the troubleshooting advice listed above, if you still have the gateway error, you may have to reinstall your browser and verify if the problems disappear.
In case you have MS Forefront TMG SP1, already installed and have been receiving the message “Error Code: 502 Proxy Error”, we recommend you download the Software Update 1 for Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010. You might also consider installing this software if your network login fails regularly.
However, you should keep in mind that this troubleshooting method is not a common solution for 502 Proxy Error messages and it is only applicable in the above-mentioned situation. Forefront TMG 2010 is a business software package, which you probably would have known by now.
Restart your computer
There are lots of temporary issues related to your computer and how it connects to the network can determine the cause of 502 errors, especially when this error is witnessed in the case of multiple websites. Restarting your computer often helps overcome this issue.
Restart your networking equipment
Unknown issues with your router, modem, switches, or other networking devices could also be causing 502 errors. Restarting those devices can help you overcome such an issue.
Fix DNS issues
This error can be occurred due to DNS issues also. To fix this error 502 Bad Gateway you need to fix the DNS issue. To do so follow these steps:
- Press Windows+X keys and open command prompt.
- Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
- As a result, it will show “Successfully flushed the DNS resolver cache”.
- Close the command prompt and check for the error.
If the error still exists, then changing your DNS servers, either on your computer or your router, can resolve this issue for you. Often, Bad Gateway errors are caused because of temporary DNS server issues.
Contact the Website Admin
In case you are still facing the bad gateway error, the issue doesn’t lie in your setup but might be rooted in that particular website you are looking for. In such a circumstance, contacting the website may prove to be a good idea. Assuming the website is the main culprit, its administrators may already have started working on rectifying the roots of their site’s Bad Gateway error. Confirming things from your end gives you the flexibility of understanding the issue’s characteristics. Once you have the knowledge of the cause of such a bad gateway error, you will have the opportunity to try new troubleshooting techniques.
Contact your ISP
Contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider). If your computer, browser, and network are all working smoothly and also the website admins report that the page or site is working fine, the 502 Bad Gateway issue could be caused by a network issue for which your ISP might be responsible.
Come Back Later
Whether it shows ‘come back later’, this particular bad gateway error message is most certainly a concern related to either your ISP or the web site’s host — any of the two parties may even confirm that in case you contact them directly.
If this is the case, the 502 error might take time to get solved, as the error is beyond your control.
Conclusion
These were effective solutions to fix the 502 Bad Gateway error. Let us know in the comment section which method worked for you? Wanna some more DeviceTricks? Stay tuned to this space to get the latest updates on errors related to Windows, Mac, and Android.
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