How to fix Website Online but Isn't Responding to Connection Attempts?

This is a finding of Windows Network Diagnostics: it found the site's address, but the site did not answer on its web port (80 or 443). The block can sit on your PC, your router, your provider or the site itself. Test the site from a phone on mobile data first, then fix the side that fails.

Facts checked on 16 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 25H2 and Windows 10 22H2; the Diagnostics wording read from Microsoft Q&A reports; Test-NetConnection from Microsoft Learn.

What "website is online but isn't responding to connection attempts" means

Windows Network Diagnostics runs a short chain of tests against the site you tried to open. It looks up the site's name, checks that the address answers at all, and then tries to open a connection to the web port. This message means the first steps passed and the last one did not: the address is known, but nothing answered on port 80 or 443 in time.

Finding

website is online but isn't responding to connection attempts

Detail

The remote computer isn't responding to connections on port 443, possibly due to firewall or security policy settings, or because it might be temporarily unavailable.

Second detail

Windows couldn't find any problems with the firewall on your computer.

Browser page before it

This site can't be reached, "took too long to respond", with the Try list Checking the connection, Checking the proxy and the firewall, Running Windows Network Diagnostics and the code ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT.

• Port 80 or 443: 443 is HTTPS, which almost every site uses today. Port 80 means the browser or the troubleshooter tried plain HTTP first.
• Resource is online: the same test with a more general word. It appears when the troubleshooter was started from Settings rather than from a site.
• File and Print Sharing resource is online: the test was against a shared folder or printer on your network, which uses port 445. See Fix 9.
• French search "site web non responsive": that phrase means a site that does not adapt to phone screens, a different topic. A site that does not answer is covered here.

Why a website is online but not responding, ranked from most to least common

The reader's case above is typical: Discord and Spotify work, the browser does not. Apps like these keep their own connections and often ignore the browser's proxy. So the line works, and something between the browser and the site drops the request. The table ties each cause to its fix.

How to fix "website is online but isn't responding to connection attempts"

Fix 1 shows which side fails and takes two minutes. Fixes 2 to 5 solve most cases where only this PC is affected. Fixes 6 and 7 rebuild the network stack. Fixes 8 and 9 cover your own server and shared folders.

Fix 1. Find which side fails: test from another device, network and port

5 minutesNo riskEveryone, before changing settings, because the answer decides which fix applies.

Diagnostics only says the remote port did not answer. Testing the same site from a second device and a second network shows whether the block is on your PC, your network, or the site, so you do not reset things that were never broken.

1. Open the site on a phone with Wi-Fi turned off, so it uses mobile data. If it fails there too, the site is down or blocks your region.
2. Open the site on another device on the same Wi-Fi. If it fails there but works on mobile data, the router, your provider or an IP block is the cause.
3. Right-click Start and select Terminal. You do not need administrator rights for this test.
4. Type this, with the site's name instead of example.com, and press Enter:

   Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 443

5. Read the last line. TcpTestSucceeded : True means the port answers from this PC and the browser side is the problem (Fix 3). False means the connection never opens.
6. If the address in RemoteAddress differs from the one your phone gets for the same site, the DNS answer on this PC is wrong (Fix 2).

Fix 2. Flush the DNS cache and switch to another DNS server

5 minutesLow riskThe site opens on a phone on mobile data but not on this PC, in any browser.

A site that moved to a new server keeps answering on the new address. A PC that still holds the old address in its cache, or asks a DNS server with stale data, knocks on a door where nobody listens, which is exactly this finding.

1. Type cmd in the search box, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Clear the cached addresses:

   ipconfig /flushdns

3. Try the site. If it still fails, change the DNS server for your connection.
4. Windows 11: open Settings > Network & internet, select Wi-Fi and your network's properties (or Ethernet), then Edit next to DNS server assignment.
5. Windows 10: open Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Properties, then Edit under IP settings.
6. Choose Manual, turn on IPv4, and enter a public DNS service, for example 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare). Select Save.
7. Run ipconfig /flushdns once more, close the browser completely and open the site again.

Fix 3. Turn off the proxy and test the browser without extensions

5 minutesLow riskApps such as Discord, Spotify or games work, but web pages fail in one or more browsers.

Browsers use the Windows proxy, and extensions can set their own. If that proxy or VPN extension stopped answering, every page times out while apps that ignore the proxy keep working, which matches the reader's question.

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Proxy.
2. Write down anything filled in under Use a proxy server or Use setup script, so you can restore a work proxy later.
3. Select Set up next to Use a proxy server, turn it off and select Save. Do the same for Use setup script.
4. Open the browser's extensions page (chrome://extensions in Chrome, edge://extensions in Edge) and switch off every VPN, proxy, ad blocker and privacy extension.
5. Close the browser fully and open the site in a private window. If it loads, turn extensions back on one at a time to find the one at fault.
6. Clear the site's cached data if it still loads half a page: Clear the browser cache and cookies

For the details of a stuck proxy, including registry values and policies, see our guide on ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED.

Fix 4. Check the security app and firewall for a block on the browser

10 minutesLow riskThe problem started after a security app, VPN or firewall was installed or updated.

Diagnostics only checks Windows Defender Firewall. Third-party suites filter web traffic and inspect HTTPS, and when that layer fails it drops the connection to port 443 silently, which looks exactly like a site that does not answer.

1. Open Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall and select Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
2. Check that your browser is in the list and allowed on Private and Public. If you change anything, select Change settings first.
3. Open your third-party security app and look for its web protection, HTTPS scanning or firewall log. Look for a block entry with the site's name or address.
4. As a short test only, pause the protection, open the site, and turn protection back on right away. Step by step: Turn off Microsoft Defender protection for a moment
5. If the site opens while paused, add the site as an exception in that app, or update the app, instead of leaving protection off.

Fix 5. Test the connection with IPv6 turned off on the adapter

5 minutesLow riskOnly some sites fail, often large ones, and the same sites fail on other devices at home.

Many large sites publish an IPv6 address. If the router or provider has a broken IPv6 route, the name resolves but the connection to that address never completes. Turning IPv6 off for one test shows whether that path is to blame.

1. Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter. The Network Connections window opens.
2. Right-click your active Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter and select Properties.
3. Clear Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and select OK.
4. Open the site again in a new browser window.
5. Whatever the result, tick Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) again afterwards. Windows expects IPv6 to be on.

Fix 6. Reset Winsock, TCP/IP and the network settings

10 minutes plus a restartRead the warningMany sites fail on this PC only, often after a VPN or security app was removed.

A removed VPN or filter can leave entries in the Winsock catalog or a filter driver on the adapter. Resetting returns the network stack to defaults, so connections to port 443 stop being dropped by a component that no longer works.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Run these commands one at a time:

   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset
   ipconfig /flushdns

3. Restart Windows and test the site.
4. If it still fails, open Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset and select Reset now. Full steps: Reset the network and flush DNS

Fix 7. Reinstall the network adapter driver

10 minutesLow riskThis PC shows limited access warnings or drops the connection, and Fix 6 did not help.

A damaged adapter driver can pass small packets such as DNS and ping while larger connections stall. Removing the adapter makes Windows install its driver again from scratch on the next start.

1. Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Network adapters. Right-click your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter and select Uninstall device. Leave the option to delete the driver cleared.
3. Restart Windows. The adapter returns with its driver.
4. If the PC maker offers a newer network driver, install it. Step by step: Update, roll back or reinstall a driver

Fix 8. Your own website fails from inside its network: router loopback

15 minutesLow riskYou host the site or server yourself, it works from outside, and fails from the office or home network.

From inside the network, the site's public address points back at your own router. Routers that do not support NAT loopback, also called hairpinning, drop that connection, so Diagnostics sees a site that is online but never answers.

1. Open the site on a phone on mobile data. If it works there, the server and the host are fine.
2. In the router's settings, look for NAT loopback, NAT reflection or hairpin NAT and turn it on if the router has it. We could not confirm which routers offer it.
3. If your network has its own DNS server, add a record that points the site's name to the server's internal address.
4. For a single PC, ask whoever runs the network to add the internal address to the PC's hosts file instead.
5. If the site is hosted elsewhere, give the host the time, your public IP address and the port from the Diagnostics detail. Their firewall may block your office's address.

Fix 9. File and Print Sharing resource: turn on sharing and check port 445

10 minutesLow riskThe finding names a File and Print Sharing resource when you open a shared folder, NAS or printer.

Shared folders use SMB on port 445, not a web port. The other PC or NAS is visible on the network, but sharing is off, the network profile is Public, or its firewall blocks 445, so the share never answers.

1. On both PCs, open Settings > Network & internet, select your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, and set Network profile type to Private.
2. Open Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings. Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing.
3. From the PC that cannot connect, test the share's port in Terminal, with the other PC's name or address:

   Test-NetConnection NAS-NAME -CommonTCPPort SMB

4. If TcpTestSucceeded is False, check the firewall or security app on the PC or NAS that shares the folder.
5. Open the share by address, such as \\192.168.1.20\share, to rule out a name problem.

Still broken: read the Diagnostics details and collect what support needs

The short finding hides the useful part. In Windows Network Diagnostics select View detailed information. The report names the site, the port that did not answer and the tests that passed. Save it or take a screenshot.

• Port in the detail line: 443 or 80 is a web port. 445 is file sharing. Another number means an app or game server.
• Your result from Fix 1: which devices and networks fail. This alone tells the provider whether to look at your line.
• Test-NetConnection output: the RemoteAddress and TcpTestSucceeded lines for the site.
• The browser's error code, for example ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT or ERR_CONNECTION_RESET.
• When it is not your PC: if the site fails on every network, only its owner can fix it. If it fails only from your public IP, ask the site's owner whether their firewall blocks your address.

How to keep websites from going unresponsive again

After you uninstall a VPN or security suite, open Settings > Network & internet > Proxy and check that nothing is left. A leftover proxy or filter is the most common reason the message returns on one PC.

Frequently asked questions

What does "resource is online but isn't responding to connection attempts" mean?

It means Windows Network Diagnostics found the device or site you tried to reach, but nothing answered when it tried to open a connection to a specific port. The detail line names the port: 80 or 443 for websites, 445 for shared folders and printers. The device is there, but a firewall, a security app, a sharing setting or the remote service itself does not accept the connection. Fix 1 shows which side is at fault.

Why does a website say it took too long to respond?

"Took too long to respond" and the code ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT mean the browser sent a request and waited, but the server never answered. It is the browser's version of the same problem that Diagnostics reports as online but not responding. Causes range from a stale DNS answer or a proxy on your PC to a firewall at the site. If the site works on a phone on mobile data, start with Fix 2 on your PC.

Why do Discord and Spotify work but websites do not?

These apps open their own connections and often do not use the browser's proxy settings, while browsers follow the Windows proxy and their extensions. A dead proxy, a VPN extension or a web filter in a security app therefore stops pages but not apps. Windows may still show limited access, because its own connectivity check is a web request too. Start with Fix 3 and turn off the proxy and extensions.

How do I fix a website that is not responding only on my PC?

When a phone on mobile data opens the site and your PC does not, the cause is on the PC. Flush the DNS cache with ipconfig /flushdns and try a public DNS server (Fix 2). Then turn off the Windows proxy and browser extensions (Fix 3) and check the security app (Fix 4). If those do not help, reset Winsock and TCP/IP (Fix 6). Test the site after each step, not at the end.

Can a website block my IP address?

Yes. A site's firewall or its hosting service can block an address or a whole country, for example after many requests or for licensing reasons. The sign is that the site fails on every device at home but opens on mobile data or with a VPN. Nothing on your PC changes that. Contact the site's owner with your public IP address and the time of the error, or ask your provider for a new address.

Does the network troubleshooter fix this error?

No. The troubleshooter only reports the finding. It says it found no problems with the Windows firewall and has no action to take, because the missing answer comes from the remote side of the connection or from software it does not check. Use the troubleshooter's details to read the port, then follow Fix 1 to find which side is blocking it.

Is it safe to reset the network settings in Windows?

Yes, but know what it removes. The netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset commands return the network stack to defaults and keep your saved Wi-Fi networks. The Network reset button in Settings goes further: it removes and reinstalls every adapter and deletes saved Wi-Fi networks, VPN adapters and manual IP or DNS settings. Write down your Wi-Fi password and VPN details before you use it, and try the commands first.

What does File and Print Sharing resource is online but isn't responding mean?

It means the other PC, NAS or printer is on the network, but it did not accept a connection on port 445, which Windows uses for shared folders. Most often file and printer sharing is off, the network profile is set to Public, or a firewall on the sharing device blocks the port. Fix 9 shows how to turn sharing on for Private networks and how to test the port with Test-NetConnection.

Why can I not open my own website from my office network?

When your server sits behind the same router you are using, the site's public address points back to that router. Many routers do not pass such a connection back inside, a feature called NAT loopback or hairpinning. The site then works from outside and fails from inside. Turn on NAT loopback if the router has it, or point the site's name to the internal address with a local DNS record. Fix 8 has the steps.