How to Fix 504 Gateway Timeout Error and Much More

The HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 504 Gateway Timeout error implies that the server while functioning as a gateway or a proxy failed to receive a response within the time from an upstream server that was required to carry out the request. 

It is an HTTP status code, which indicates that one server did not receive a response from another due to which the web page could not be loaded. Remember, the 504 gateway timeout can occur on any browser and any OS (operating system), and even on any device that you might be using. 

So, it implies that you can expect to get the error on your Android device, iPhone, tablet, or Mac, Chrome, and even on Windows. 

What are 504 gateway timeout and other facts?

Now that we know what HTTP 504 error is all about, let us find out more about the same under the following sub-heads-

1. Causes of error 504 Different ways you might encounter the error
2. Step-by-step to fix the 504 gateway timeout error

So, take a look at each one of them in the paragraphs that follow. 

Causes of error 504

The most common cause of this error in the majority of the instances is that the other server is not responding due to which the request is timing out since it is not working properly. This is mostly a network error that

occurs between servers. Alternatively, it might also be that the main server is not working and it is not that there is trouble between the two servers. Let us go through the scenario in brief. 

Whenever you land upon a website in your browser, a request is sent to the web server that hosts the website. Processing the request is the responsibility of the server and ideally, it must respond to the request. 

The response comprises one of the several HTTP status codes. This gives an idea of the status of the response that goes to the browser. But keep in mind that all these HTTP status codes may not be errors. 

The 5XX class of HTTP status codes reveals that not everything is okay with the server. The server understands this and is not being able to process the request of the client. As such, these errors are also known as Server Error 5XX status codes. 

You will find that there are 5 status codes under the 5XX class of status codes, namely, 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504. 

In simple words, the error occurs when everything is not all appropriate between two servers. There are many different forms in which this type of error can be manifested. We will see them under the next sub-head. 

Different ways you might encounter the error

The504 Gateway Timeout error is very much similar to the 502 Bad Gateway error. It indicates that an invalid response was received by the requesting server from the upstream or the second server, the one that was supposed to process the client request. 

There are multiple ways in which the error might get displayed. This usually happens because there are different operating systems, browsers, user agents, and web servers. As such, you can expect the following variations of the error-

• Error 504
• 504 Gateway Timeout
• NGINX 504 Gateway Timeout
• Gateway Timeout Error
• HTTP Error 504
• 504 Gateway Timeout NGINX
• HTTP Error 504- Gateway Timeout
• 504 Error
• HTTP 504
• This page isn’t working
• Gateway Timeout (504)
• A blank white screen
• 504 Gateway Timeout – Server did not respond

Although the above are written in different ways, the errors point to the same, 504 Gateway Timeout error. You can customize how you would like to see the error message. 

Let us go through the last part of the write-up below.

Step-by-step to fix the 504 gateway timeout error

Check out these procedures

1. Refresh/ reload- The first process by which you can see if the web page loads are by clicking the refresh button or then reloading it. You can also press F5 or paste the URL in the address bar once more and see whether it works. You never know it might start working as it might be a temporary problem that starts working on its own too. 
2. Check networking devices- There might be problems with routers, hardware, networking devices like modems, and switches. Problems related to them may cause the 504 Gateway Error. So, what you can do is restart all the devices that help you in networking. 
3. Check proxy server- Go to your settings and check the proxy server in the browser. Check for errors like incorrect settings for the proxy that leads to 504 error. It may be mentioned here that in the majority of computers you will not find proxy settings. So, in the event your computer does not have one, you will not be able to carry out this step. 
4. DNS server – Another step that you can take to fix the 504 Timeout Gateway is to change the DNS servers. Go for this step in the event you find that all your network devices are displaying the same error. DNS servers can be responsible for the HTTP 504 error too. 
5. Contact the website– Despite having tried the above fixes, if you still cannot get it right, it is time you contact the website. There are web admins that work on such problems and they are the right people to set things right. 

 In fact, with social media platforms, all the well-known websites have their accounts on these platforms and if you reach out to them, you can expect prompt support. 

 Connect with the ISP

It is quite likely that the error 504 might be due to a fault at the Internet Service Provider’s end. 

Last but not the least, you can always leave the scenario, complete other chores and then return to check whether or not the problem has resolved after a while.