Last Updated On : Aug 19, 2022.

What is a 502 Gateway Error (And How Can I fix it ?)

We Explain How This Error Occurs For Network and Website Users!

You’re opening a website page but it shows errors. But because of poor communication between the servers, you get an invalid response from the other. This problem usually occurs when you have issues with the website. Also, there may be cases where there are issues found with your computer or equipment. So how’ll you get rid of 502 bad gateway errors? 

When you get a 502 bad gateway error, it means the primary server sent an invalid reply to the other server that ended up acting as a proxy or gateway. All the requests are forwarded through several gateways on the net, so it can be quite a task to find the root cause of this error. You have nothing to worry about.

 

What is a 502 Bad Gateway Error?

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a set of rules that regulate the web released by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), governs every internet transaction. In the HTTP system, problems have numbers.  It indicates that the server received an invalid response from an inbound server.

The 502 status code, per IETF, comprises the following things:

• Proxies: When receiving a bad gateway note, you’re either working with a gateway or proxy server.
• Connection: The proxy is connecting with the original server.
• Mistake: Receiving invalid response from the server.

The 502 Bad Gateway error is an HTTP server error response code. When you access a web page, you send a request to the server. Then, the server receives your request and processes it. After processing in response to your request, the server sends back the requested resource with an HTTP header and HTTP status code.

During the entire process, the server (acting as a proxy) waits for the other server’s response. But, when it does not receive the desired information, the 502 Gateway error occurs.

What Causes a 502 Bad Gateway Error?

Dealing with 502 Bad Gateway may not be a pleasing experience for users. It echoes a wrong impression of your browser as it may lead to a drift in traffic. Fixing the error will always be the top priority of users. And, 502 is not an exception either.

An issue usually occurs when there is an issue with website server communication through 502 Gateway occurs because:

• Domain names. Computers go through a quick lookup to resolve a numeric IP to a standard format. A bad gateway” warning appears if the system goes wrong ( while switching to a new hosting service).
• Traffic. Too many visitors can often confuse a server and make requests hard to resolve
• Connectivity. Setup problems with the firewall will lead to compromised proxy communication

Like 404 errors, website designers can customize—how does a 502 error look? So, you might see different-looking 502 pages on different websites. Websites might also use slightly different names for this error. For example, you might see things like:

• HTTP Error
• HTTP 502502 Bad Gateway
• Temporary  Error (502)
• 502 Service Temporarily Overloaded
• 502 Server Error: The server encountered a temporary error and can’t complete your request
• 502 Bad Gateway Nginx

In most cases, this is an error on the server-side you won’t be doing anything. In some cases, this can be a temporary error, and in a few cases, it may not. Still, there are some things you can try on your end of things.

So if you’re a developer, you can resolve such issues by:

• Assessing. Need to assess if DNS is causing the issue. Or if there is any overwhelming traffic. You should understand which vendor to follow
• Testing.  Try a ping or traceroute to determine when accessing the server
• Balancing. Scaling firewalls is good, but ensure that all traffic reaches you. But there can be security risks.

As a visitor, you can:  

• Reload. Minor traffic glitches may disappear if you hold on and try later
• Clear. The cache in the browser interferes with smooth surfing. Hence you can dump the data and try again.

What are the root causes of the 502 Bad Gateway error?

Server overload: An overloaded server often leads to 502 errors. That’s where the server is reaching its memory capacity. It usually occurs when the server exceeds its memory capacity. Activated by the unusually high number of visitors to the same website. It could lead to DDoS attacks.

The Firewall Blocked The Request: Cybercriminals often find ways to breach the corporate network. A firewall works as a shield. However, in separate cases, firewalls often mistreat legitimate users as frauds. It often leads to DDoS protection layers that block requests from content delivery systems and cause disruptions.

Faulty programming: Often enough, a glitch or coding error in a website’s code might result in requests not being answered correctly, sparking the 502 Bad Gateway error to show up.

Network errors: You may encounter potential issues with the network, including DNS issues, routing problems, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) related issues. And it may decide to block a particular web address.

Server software timeouts: Users may often experience this issue when the web server takes more than the expected time to return a request and caching tool when reaching time values. Slow queries often lead to this problem.

Routing the problem is the first step you look for. And it paves the way before you go ahead and find possible ways to get rid of the 502 Bad Gateway Error. Isn’t it?

Here are the Possible Solutions to Get Rid of 502 Bad Gateway Error

 

Even though the 502 bad gateway error is related to the issues arising from the server’s side. It can also occur due to misconfiguration or a problem from the client’s side. Therefore, we are sharing ways to fix it while keeping both possibilities in mind.

 

1. Refresh the Page

The most practical method is to check whether the error is complex or not. Wait for a few minutes and then refresh the page. In most cases, if the error is temporary, then fix it by refreshing. You can also see if the website is down or not.

 

2. Clear Cache and Cookies

This error could also be caused if you have a lot of clutter in the form of cookies and cookies. All you need to do is go to the browser settings and clear the cache and then see if the error persists or not.

 

3. Use a Different Browser

 

You can try a different browser or try the private window to see if you are facing the 502 bad gateway due to a browser-related issue or not. If it works properly in another browser or in the incognito tab, then there is a problem with your browser. You can update it and see it again.

 

4. Delete the DNS

You might be facing the 502 bad gateway error due to a DNS problem such as an incorrect IP address value. Then you flush the DNS and the error along with it. You can also temporarily switch your default DNS server to Google Public DNS. If you have recently changed the hosting of your WordPress site, then it can take up to a day to function.

 

5. Try on another Device

If you have tried various solutions to get rid of 502 bad gateway errors but failed to find a solution, Then, in that case, you can test the connection on a different device connected to a different network. It will clarify whether the problem is with the device or not.

 

6. Check the Themes and Plugins

An issue with a theme or a plugin will result in 502 bad gateway errors. Therefore, you must check them once if you have access to the WordPress dashboard, navigate to plugins and click on ‘Deactivate’ from ‘Bulk Actions. Enable the plugins and make it a point to refresh the page after every plugin activation.

If you come across the 502 bad gateway error after activating a specific plugin, then you should be wary of the problem. Another way to find out is by deactivating all the plugins for some time and if the website works, you can try to deactivate them simultaneously that are causing the problem.

 

7. Check CDNs

You might be facing the 502 Bad Gateway Error because of CDN (content delivery network) or DDoS (distributed denial of service) mitigation services. It indicates there is a problem on CloudFlare’s side, and you should resolve it. For that, you should get in touch with their customer support team. As an alternative measure, you can also disable Cloud Flare but keep in mind that the DNS propagation might take a few hours.

 

Takeaway:

We hope you longer have any issues to fix the 502 bad gateway errors. If you still face any issues, then always feel free to get in touch with WordPress Support. Our experts will always be there to help you.

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