What does HTTP 521 mean?
Cloudflare could not connect to the origin server — the connection was refused. The origin is offline or actively refusing Cloudflare’s connections.
5xx Server error: The request looked valid, but the server failed to fulfil it. The fix is on the server side.
Common causes of a 521 error
- Web server not running.
- Origin firewall or security plugin blocking Cloudflare IPs.
How to fix 521 Web Server Is Down
- Start the web server and confirm it listens on ports 80/443.
- Allow Cloudflare IP ranges.
521 and SEO
Treated like a 5xx error.
Example response
HTTP/1.1 521 Web Server Is Down
Related status codes
- 520 Web Server Returned an Unknown Error — Cloudflare received an empty, unknown or unexpected response from the origin server.
- 522 Connection Timed Out — Cloudflare timed out while connecting to the origin server.
- 502 Bad Gateway — A gateway or proxy got an invalid response from the upstream server.
Check which status code a URL returns with the HTTP header checker.