Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers today, however, its operation is not without its challenges. Often the error message doesn’t tell you much about what is really causing the problem (which might not even be related to Chrome itself), making troubleshooting difficult. In this article, we have compiled some tried-and-true methods that can help you fix the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED Chrome error.
What does the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error mean?
When you are accessing a website, your browser (Chrome in this case) is transferring data through a web server or proxy server. If this server interrupts the data transfer, you will encounter the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED message. This is not necessarily caused by an error on Chrome’s behalf.
The heading of the error message screen will either say “This site can’t be reached” or “This webpage is not available”.
How to fix the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error
Before you get into more complicated solutions, it is always worth checking your internet connection. You can do this in a number of ways, for example by clicking the network symbol on your System Tray. This shows you which network you are connected to, and also whether you are able to access the internet.
Also, you can try Down for Everyone or Just Me, a website that helps you check if your problem with that website is on your end at all. It is possible that it’s the website that’s down. By entering the address of the desired website, you can make sure that the site is actually accessible.
Restart your router
This is always an easy method worth trying. Unplug your router’s power cord, wait 30 seconds, then replug and check if this fixed the issue.
Wireless connections (wifi) are generally less stable than wired connections, so if you get the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error and you have the option to use a cabled connection instead, make the switch and check if that solved the problem.
Make sure your Chrome is up-to-date and the right version
Having an outdated version of Chrome can cause disconnection from sites. Fortunately it’s very easy and simple to find out if that is the issue. To check your Chrome version do the following:
- Click on the Menu button, then Help>About Google Chrome.
- This will automatically make Chrome check for updates. If there is an update to install, you will have to restart Chrome.
Check if this solved your problem. If it didn’t, you will need to make a few more tweaks.
Disable proxy settings
Proxy servers help you protect your privacy by acting as an intermediary between your browser and other web servers. They allow you to go online while keeping your IP address secret, and filtering communication between servers. This, however, means that they interfere with the data transfer, and might actually be the reason why the connection is interrupted.
Disabling the proxy temporarily will show you whether that’s the case.
Chrome has an easy way for you to access your computer’s settings.
- Click on Menu>Settings.
- Choose System under Advanced.
- Click Open proxy settings. This will take you to the settings of your computer.
- Toggle the Use a proxy server into Off.
Check if the error persists. If so, you will need to dig deeper into your computer’s settings.
Clear DNS cache
Domain Name System (DNS) is the mechanism that converts domain addresses into numerical IP addresses. When you visit a website, both your DNS server and your browser stores this information in the cache, which allows the site to load faster next time. However, DNS entries might become outdated, and the website might refuse to load, leading to the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error. You can solve this by flushing the DNS addresses from the cache. This needs to be done both in Chrome and on your computer.
To flush your DNS, follow these steps:
- Type „cmd” in the search bar at the bottom of the Windows screen. This brings up the Command Prompt as the best match, which is an application where you can give direct commands to your computer.
- Click „Run as administrator”.
- Type „netsh interface show interface” and hit Enter. This command shows you what the name of your connection is, which you will need in the next step.
- Type “netsh int ip set dns name=”Name” source=dhcp” and hit Enter. This command sets your connection interface to use a DHCP-assigned DNS address. Instead of “Name” use the name you saw above (eg. “Ethernet” or “Local Area Connection”).
- Type “netsh winsock reset” and hit Enter. This command resets the winsock catalog. This catalog contains your internet connection configurations.
- Then type “ipconfig/release” and hit Enter. This causes the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server to take away the IP address assigned to your computer. We will get it back in the next step.
- Now type “ipconfig/renew” and hit Enter. This makes the DHCP server assign your computer a new IP address (quite possibly the same as the old one).
- Type “ipconfig/flushdns” and hit Enter. This flushes the DNS cache and should then give you the message “Successfully flushed DNS Resolver Cache.“
- Type “ipconfig/registerdns” and hit Enter.
You can close the command prompt now. Try if the error has cleared. If this is not the case, you might have to change your DNS server, as it may have gone offline.
Then you need to do the same thing in Chrome. Take the following steps:
- Click on the Menu button, then select More tools> Clear browser data.
- From the drop-down menu, select All time.
- Check all 3 checkboxes, then click on Clear data.
If this did not clear the error, there might be a problem with your DNS server, such as a temporary outage or an overload. You can easily switch to a different DNS server.
Change DNS servers
Your Internet provider probably assigned a DNS server to you automatically. However, this server may be temporarily down, or it may be overloaded, causing the error ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED. If this is the case, you can fix the issue by switching to a more reliable DNS server.
Here’s how you can change your DNS server:
- Click Start>Settings>Network & Internet.
- Select the type of connection you have (if you are not sure, check the Status menu).
- Click „Change adapter options”.
- You might see several connections. Right-click the one you are using, then choose Properties.
- Choose the Internet Protocol Version you have (IPv4 or IPv6). After you made your choice, click Properties.
- Change the radio button selection to „Use the following DNS server addresses” then insert the address of your chosen DNS server and press OK.
Some good and free DNS options include Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4), OpenDNS (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1). If you have been using one of these and you still got this error, try reverting to your internet provider’s default server, as sometimes that might fix the issue.
You have changed your DNS server. Try accessing the desired website now. If it still doesn’t load, you can change some Chrome settings.
Disable antivirus software temporarily
Firewall and antivirus software will protect you from malware, but sometimes they run into errors, or faulty configurations. Make sure your antivirus is up to date, and check if the website you are trying to visit is blacklisted by the software.
If you trust the website, you can try disabling this protection temporarily. Here is how to do it in Windows 10:
- Type “firewall” in the search bar and click Open.
- Click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off.
- Uncheck Block all incoming connections under Windows Defender Firewall.
- Click OK. Check if you can access the website now. If this is not the case, repeat the steps, but instead of unblocking connections, disable the firewall entirely.
If you are using a third party antivirus, disable that too, then check if you can now access the desired website.
Try the Chrome Cleanup Tool
Even if your antivirus/firewall is functioning well, there is a possibility that your computer has some sort of malware, causing your connection to close unexpectedly. Chrome has a built-in tool that can help. To use this tool, take the following steps:
- Click the Menu button, then choose Settings.
- Find the Advanced options, then click Reset and clean up.
- Click Clean up computer.
- Click on Find to start the search for malware.
- Chrome will alert you of any malware, which you can then remove from your computer’s settings.
This might already fix your problem. If it doesn’t, keep trying with the options below.
Disable extensions
Chrome extensions are very useful add-ons that enhance the functionality of Chrome. However, they were not created by Google itself, and the creator may not update them to match the most up-to-date browser version. This means that your extensions might cause the ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED error.
Take the following steps to find out if that is the problem:
- Click on the Menu button, then choose More tools>Extensions.
Make sure all your extensions are up to date.
- Disable all of them, then check if the website loads. If it does, one of your extensions is to blame. Turn them on one by one to find the culprit, then remove that one.
If this didn’t solve your problem, you can try to reset Chrome to default. This will undo all changes you have made in the settings, so if the error was caused by an accidental faulty configuration, this should take care of that.
Reset Chrome to default
- Choose Menu then Settings.
- Click on Advanced.
- Choose Reset and clean-up.
- Click on Restore settings to their original default.
- A dialog box pops up. Confirm by clicking Reset settings.
This will reset the settings and restart Chrome. If the error persist, you might try reinstalling Chrome.
Reinstall Chrome
- In the search bar, type “task“, then click Open under Task Manager.
- In the list of processes, look for any process related to Chrome. If you find any, select it, then click End task.
- Click the Start button, then choose Settings>Apps.
- Find Chrome in the list, select it, then click Uninstall.
A window will pop up, where you have to confirm with the Uninstall button. This will uninstall Chrome, however, there will still be some lingering data. In the next steps, we will delete these.
- Press the Start button, then hit R, and click Open under the Run app.
- Type “ %appdata% “ and hit Enter.
- Select the Chrome folder in the window that pops up, select it, right-click, then choose Delete.
- In the Run window, type “ %localappdata% “ and hit Enter.
- Select the Chrome folder in the window that pops up, right click it, then choose Delete.
- Restart your computer.
- Go to Chrome’s download site and download the installation package.
Double-click the downloaded file, then follow the instructions to reinstall Chrome.
Conclusions
The ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED can be a particularly difficult error to fix, as it may have so many different causes. We hope these methods proved to be helpful for you.
