7 Ways To Fix "Proxy Server Isn't Responding" Error

1. Re-check host, port and protocol

Most of these errors are a typo. Confirm the endpoint, the port, and whether the provider expects HTTP or SOCKS5 — pointing an HTTP client at a SOCKS port fails with exactly this message.

2. Verify authentication

If you're on username/password auth, make sure the credentials aren't URL-encoded incorrectly (a @ or : in a password breaks the standard user:pass@host:port form). If you're on IP whitelisting, confirm your current public address is still on the list — home connections change.

3. Test outside the browser

Run a direct request:

curl -x http://user:pass@endpoint:port https://api.ipify.org?format=json

If curl works and the browser doesn't, the problem is a browser or extension setting, not the proxy.

4. Turn off conflicting software

VPN clients, security suites and other proxy extensions all rewrite network settings. Two of them active at once produces this error reliably. Disable them one at a time.

5. Reset the system proxy settings

On Windows, an old or half-removed configuration lingers in Internet Options and in the LAN settings dialogue. Untick the manual proxy, apply, then re-enter it cleanly. On macOS do the same in Network → Proxies.

6. Flush DNS and clear the cache

ipconfig /flushdns on Windows, sudo dscacheutil -flushcache on macOS. Stale DNS for a rotating gateway hostname is a real and easily missed cause.

7. Check plan status and the exit itself

Out of bandwidth, an expired plan or a single dead exit all look identical from the client side. Try another port or session ID; if the second one works, the first exit was the problem and support can swap it.

Still failing?

Collect the exact error, the endpoint you used, your public IP and the timestamp before opening a ticket. That's usually enough for a provider to identify the cause on the first reply instead of the third.