If you’re looking to protect your website or online service from DDoS attacks, Cloudflare is one of the best services. However, as good as their offerings are, Cloudflare isn’t perfect and runs into issues from time to time.
In this article, we’re talking about how to fix Cloudflare error reference number 524 as well as the reasons that might cause it in the first place.
Also read: How to fix Cloudflare error 1015?
What causes Cloudflare error 524?
The 524 error is a Cloudflare-specific timeout error that indicates that the connection to the server has been closed due to, you guessed it, a timeout. According to Cloudflare’s support website:
Error 524 indicates that Cloudflare successfully connected to the origin web server, but the origin did not provide an HTTP response before the default 100 second connection timed out. Enterprise customers can increase the 524 timeout up to 600 seconds.
This can be caused by internet connectivity issues, Cloudflare or your hosting provider being down or firewalls that might be blocking your connection.
How to fix Cloudflare error 524 as a user?
If you’re trying to visit a website and seeing Cloudflare error 524, there are five fixes you can try out.
Restart your computer
Restarting your PC can magically fix issues that have no apparent reason to exist. Rebooting any device should be the number one thing on your troubleshooting checklist.
Check internet connection
This is a good time to check whether or not you have an active internet connection. If you’re on WiFi, make sure you’ve got an active link and that there are no signal issues. On cellular data, ensure that it’s enabled and that you’re getting good network coverage.
Disable extensions
Corrupt or malfunctioning extensions often cause a lot of problems, including this one.
Head over to chrome://extensions and try disabling all your extensions to check if the browser starts functioning as normal again; if it does, enable them one by one until you have all the essential extensions working again.
Clear your browser’s data
Corrupt files in your cache or otherwise can cause this error as well. Clear them out to see if you can get teh website to work.
Step 1: Type in chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in your browser’s address bar and hit Enter.
Step 2: Select the cache and cookies options and make sure the Time range is set to All time. Click on the Clear now button to clear out all the data.
Reinstall the application
If nothing else works, try reinstalling your browser (or any other program facing the issue) to see if that resolves your problem.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + X to open the Quick Access menu and click on Apps & Features.
Step 2: Find Chrome in the list of apps and use the Uninstall button to remove the browser.
Now you can redownload the program and try installing it again to check if that resolves the issue.
How to fix Cloudflare error 524 as a developer?
If you’re seeing Cloudflare error 524 on a website you developed, here are seven fixes you can try out.
Check your origin domain
The first thing you need to do is make sure your origin domain’s hostname and IP address are resolving. Check with the domain registrar to see if it’s still active and if it is, crosscheck the IP address with your Cloudflare settings to ensure it’s pinging the right domain.
Disable rate limiting
While disabling rate limiting isn’t recommended as it leaves you open to DDoS attacks and general slowdowns caused by heavy traffic, this will allow an IP (or user) trying to access your site to do so without any problems. It would help if you used this as a temporary method in case error 524 is hampering your website’s user experience.
Delete rate limiting configurations
You can also try deleting your old rate-limiting configurations. In some cases, rate-limiting continues to work even after the setting has been disabled if the rate-limiting rules aren’t deleted.
Reduce the time restrictions
Another setting you can change to eliminate error 524 is to reduce the time it takes for the server to block a suspicious user. After rate limiting is enabled, there’s a set amount of time before a user can access the site again. If you reduce this time restriction, the error will go away quicker for the end-user.
Consider a bandwidth upgrade
If your website is growing at a fast rate, you can overwhelm the bandwidth limits set by Cloudflare on your particular protection plan. Getting a plan upgrade with a greater bandwidth can help you get around error 524.
Optimise your website
Another reason a user might have too many requests coming in from your site is the lack of optimisation. Using cookies or similar technologies, you can reduce how much data a user has to pull from the site on each visit, reducing the number of requests and the possibility of a 524 error.
Contact Cloudflare support
If nothing else works, the best option is to contact Cloudflare support and have them fix the problem for you. Alternatively, you can ask a question on Cloudflare’s community forum to see if someone experienced the same problems as you before and the steps they took to fix them.
Also read: How to fix Cloudflare error 1016?
