502 bad gateway registered endpoint failed to handle the request

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We explain what this networking error means for users and website owners

Out of all the browser errors that are displayed to users when they fail to properly connect to a website, the ‘Error 502 Bad Gateway’ message is among the most commonly encountered.

There is a good chance that if you have run into this error message while browsing, you’re not at fault. Typically, an Error 502 bad gateway indicates that there is an issue with the website’s server, rather than anything on your end. That means you don’t need to go and investigate your router or check if a mouse has chewed through an ethernet cable. If you’ve encountered it, then it’s likely other users trying to access the site are also seeing the same thing.

A good test to check if you’re connection is at fault is to simply visit a different website, or a few, and if you can connect to those then your connection is fine. If you visit another website that displays the same message and a third website that connects without issue, then the second website may either be experiencing similar issues, or even be running from the same infrastructure.

These types of problems rarely last any significant period of time and are easily fixed by the website’s administrators, usually. The ‘Error 502 Bad Gateway’ message has been around for a long time which means websites have become quite adept at fixing them in a timely manner.

However, if you’re feeling up to it and are curious to see if you can do something yourself, there are a number of different tactics that may work.

What causes a 502 Bad Gateway error?

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Server overload: An overloaded server is one of the most common causes of a 502 error. This is where the server has reached its memory capacity, often activated by an unusually high number of visitors trying to access the same website. This can just be a coincidence, or maybe driven by a big event, but it can also be a targeted DDoS attack.

Request blocked by a firewall: With cyber criminals finding more and more ways to breach corporate networks, firewalls continue to play a key role in stopping them in their tracks. However, a number of firewalls can often go further than you’d like and inadvertently treat a massive influx of legitimate users as an attempted cyber attack. This can often occur with DDoS protection layers, which block requests from content delivery systems and cause the network to grind to a halt.

Faulty programming: Often enough, a glitch or coding error in a website's code might result in requests not being answered correctly, sparking the 502 Bad Gateway error to show up.

Network errors: There is a multitude of potential networking errors that may occur, including potential DNS issues, routing problems, as well as issues relating to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). An ISP, for example, may have decided to block a certain web address.

Server software timeouts: The error can also show for users when a web server takes longer than expected to return a request, and the caching tool reaches its time values. Slower queries can also cause this problem.

How to fix a 502 Bad Gateway error

There are a number of key steps that users can take to attempt to fix a 502 Bad Gateway error.

1. Refresh your browser: It sounds too simple to be true, but in some cases where the server is overloaded with requests, sending a few more requests by refreshing the browser a few time scan sometimes help reset the connection between device and server, allowing you to resume browsing.
2. Clear your browser’s cache: If refreshing the browser a few times doesn’t work then clearing the browser’s cache may help. Major browsers will make this option easy to find within their respective settings menus and most will simply let you enter a query using a search field to find the option. The browser’s cache stores important information that can become corrupted over time, so clearing this and re-attempting to connect to the server may do the trick.
3. Temporarily disable your firewall: Not for the amateurs, this is one of the more controversial methods on this list. Firewalls should always be active since they help block malicious threats from reaching your device. But, if you’re absolutely sure the server is safe to visit, then successfully re-attempting to visit the site with the firewall disabled can indicate there is an issue with the firewall’s settings interfering with network connections. You can make adjustments to the settings in the admin console of the firewall provider.
4. Check with monitoring sites: There are a number of free websites you can use to determine if other users are also having the same issues as you. Sites such as Down Detector monitor most major websites and provide real-time reports as to whether other users are able to connect or not. If using one of these sites, it’s helpful to contribute by leaving a report of your own - most don’t even require a registered account to do so. Searching the website’s name on social media platforms such as Twitter can also indicate if others are struggling too.
5. Use a VPN: Choosing to re-route your internet traffic through a virtual private network (VPN) can be helpful in determining if your ISP is the issue with the connection to the site. Sometimes ISPs will block access to certain websites and if a VPN allows you to reach it, then it’s most likely being blocked by your provider. Contact their customer service team to remediate the problem in the long term.
6. Examine web server logs: If this error persists, it may require some further investigation to find a solution. Examining web server logs at the time of the error occurring will be a good place to start. If you are the owner of the website, you can check your FQDN (fully qualified domain name) is correctly resolving. You can also check a server is reachable via a ping text or traceroute.

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