How to Fix the “This Site Can’t Be Reached” Error

How to Fix the “This Site Can’t Be Reached” Error
Satyam Chaudhary
Web Development Aug 07, 2023

Website have become an integral part of our online experience. In todays digital landscape, website plays a crucial role in our daily lives. Whether we are shopping online, seeking information or connection with others.

However when we are exploring something we encounter the message, "This site can't be reached", it typically indicates that the webpage or website being accessed is currently inaccessible . This could occur due to various reasons. Understanding what those reasons are will help you to access the website you need.

In this article we'll talk about what causes, "This site can't be reached" error in both for computer and for android devices and what are those five ways to fix it.

What cause "This site can't be reached" Error ?

When encountered the message, This site can't be reached it typically denotes that webpage or website being accessed is currently inaccessible. This may occur due to various reasons such as

  • Network connectivity issue

  • Problem with the website server

  • website being typically down for maintenance

  • connection time out

In such cases it is recommended to check you internet connection refresh the webpage or try accessing the website at a later time

How to fix the "This site can't be reached" Error on your computer?

If your are encountering the error message "This site can't be reached" on your computer, there are 5 steps you can take to troubleshoot and to solve the issue

  1. Check your internet connection:

    Even if your internet connection is working fine, you may give a try by ensuring that your computer is properly connected to the internet. Check your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to make sure they are working fine and are stable.
  2. Clear your browser cache:

    When your are exploring the website , Chrome stores a lot of data and files from the website you visit. Cached files and cookies stored in your browser can sometime cause problem and prevent the website from loading properly. To solve this issue you'll need to clear your browser cache. Assuming that you’re using Chrome, you can do that by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data and selecting the Cached Images and Files option Click on Clear Data, and that’s it.
  3. Restart your router/modem:

    Sometimes, the issue can be fixed by simply restarting your router or modem. Unplug the power cable, wait for few seconds and then plug it back in. Allow the router/modem to fully restart and try accessing the website again.
  4. fig 1:Restart your router/modem
  5. Disable VPN or proxy settings:

    If you are using a VPN or proxy service try disabling it and accessing the site again. Sometime this services can interfere with the connection and prevent website from loading
  6. Flush Your DNS Cache:

    Your OS stores a lot of data from websites you visit. It also stores their IP addresses in what we call the “DNS cache.” That way, your browser doesn’t have to look up the same IPs through its DNS server whenever you want to establish a connection. So try flushing your DNS cache that could solve the problem. Launch the Start menu, find Command Prompt, and open the tool. Enter the following on the CMD window and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns Your DNS cache is now cleared.
    • Launch the Start menu, find Command Prompt, and open the tool.

    • Enter the following on the CMD window and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns

    • Your DNS cache is now cleared.
  7. fig 2:Flushing DNS Cache

How To Fix "This Site Can’t Be Reached" On Chrome Android

  1. Check your internet connection:

    Check the internet connection you are using, or refresh the internet network.
  2. Update your chrome Browser:

    Try updating your chrome browser, as this might be the issue behind this problem. You can update by following these steps
    • Open the Play Store app

    • Search Chrome

    • If its not updated, then Click on Update

  3. fig 3:Update your chrome Browser
  4. Change DNS Chrome

    Follow these steps to change DNS chrome
    • Click the top right three dots

    • Then go to Settings

    • Click use dns

    • Change to another DNS provider

  5. Reload page

    • Click the top right three dots in Chrome

    • click the round arrow icon

    • It will reload the page , you can also Close unused applications, then close tabs or pages in the browser that you no longer use and reload the tabs that were in error.
  6. fig 4:Reload page
  7. Clear Chrome cache

    • Click the three dots on the top right then go to Settings

    • fig 5:Go to settings
    • Tap on Privacy and security then on Clear browsing data .

    • fig 6:Go to Privacy and Security
      fig 7:Tap on clear browsing data
    • You will find an option “Time range,” select All time

    • fig 8:Tick mark all the options
    • Then go to advanced and only select the top three options as shown in the below figure

    • fig 8:Tick the top three options
    • There you will also find the option of “Time range,” select All time

    • Now simply Tap on Clear data.

Wait for Chrome to do its thing, and then try to reload the website that was giving you problems earlier.

Those were the 5 ways to fix "This site can't be reached" Error both for Windows and Android

Just to Wrap Up

  • It is important to check for potential network or connectivity issue

  • Websites are hosted on servers, which are powerful computers that store and serve website files to visitors when they access the site.

  • Sometimes, the issue can be fixed by simply restarting your router or modem.

  • Clearing the browser cache and cookies or trying the different web browser can also help resolving the issue

Although the “This site can’t be reached” error can be annoying, it’s not that difficult to troubleshoot.

Overall, by following those 5 ways you can increase the chance of resolving the issue of site being unreachable both for Windows and Android devices

How to Fix the “This Site Can’t Be Reached”
website not opening

Satyam Chaudhary


Satyam is a brilliant Engineering Undergraduate and proud Indian. He is passoinate towards web development and acquiring new skills.

He help students in understanding the concepts with a correct approach and solve their academic problems.

We are here to clear your doubts with an easy step by step approach.