Is ChatGPT down? Yes, but theres still a way to connect.
On November 18, 2025, OpenAI announced that its services had been fully restored after experiencing significant outages that began early that morning. Users attempting to access the ChatGPT website were met with error messages, notably one instructing them to “please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.” Reports of these issues surged on Downdetector starting around 6:30 a.m. ET, indicating a widespread disruption affecting many users. OpenAI quickly acknowledged the problem via its status page, stating that the incident stemmed from an issue with a third-party service provider, specifically related to a broader outage at Cloudflare. This incident had a cascading effect, impacting not only ChatGPT but also other popular platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Grindr, Canva, Spotify, and YouTube.
The situation highlighted the vulnerabilities of relying on cloud service providers for internet functionality. When a major platform like Cloudflare experiences issues, it can disrupt a wide range of services across the web, illustrating the interconnectedness of online applications. Fortunately, users of the ChatGPT iOS app reported that it was functioning normally, indicating that the problems were confined to the web interface. As of 10:18 a.m. ET, OpenAI confirmed that all impacted services had recovered, and they promised to provide a detailed Root Cause Analysis (RCA) within the next five business days. This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of robust infrastructure in maintaining the reliability of digital services, as well as the potential for widespread disruption when such infrastructures falter.
For users affected by the outage, the quick restoration of service was a relief, but the broader implications of such outages remain a concern for companies and users alike. As we await further details from OpenAI and Cloudflare regarding the root cause of the disruption, it is clear that the reliability of third-party service providers is critical in today’s digital landscape. The incident not only underscores the challenges faced by tech companies but also raises questions about how they can enhance their resilience against future outages.
UPDATE: Nov. 18, 2025, 10:21 a.m. EST
As of 10:18 a.m. ET, OpenAI reported that its services had been restored. The latest message on its status page reads: “All impacted services have now fully recovered. The detailed Root Cause Analysis (RCA) will be published in the next 5 business days.”
You can read our original story on the outage below.
Many users who attempted to log in to the ChatGPT website this morning were met with an error message: “Please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.”
At
Downdetector
, hundreds of users were similarly reporting problems, starting around 6:30 a.m. ET and then ramping up significantly throughout the morning. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.)
SEE ALSO:
Cloudflare outage list: X, OpenAI, Canva, Spotify, more impacted
And at 7:12 a.m. ET, OpenAI confirmed on
a status page
that it was investigating a problem with some of its websites. A later update on the OpenAI website reads, “We have confirmed that the incident is caused by an issue with one of our third-party service providers. We will provide updates as they become available.”
The issue is connected to the
ongoing Cloudflare outage
. ChatGPT is one of
many affected services
, which also include
X
,
Grindr
, Canva, Spotify, and YouTube. When a major cloud computing platform, such as AWS or Cloudflare, experiences a problem, it can cause ripple effects throughout the World Wide Web.
However, we do have some good news for ChatGPT users. The AI chatbot’s iOS app appears to be functioning normally, as of this writing. It’s specifically the ChatGPT website that appears to be suffering problems.
It’s too soon to say what caused the Cloudflare outage. The latest
update from Cloudflare
states that the cloud services platform was “working on restoring service for application services customers.”
This is a developing story…
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
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