Close tabs streaming audio/video from the same site, then open chrome://net-internals/#sockets and click Flush socket pools. Disable extensions, clear cached files, and turn off VPN/proxy. Site developers should reduce long-held connections and use HTTP/2.

Why this happens

For HTTP/1.1 connections Chrome limits each host to six simultaneous connections. Media streams, long-polling and stuck requests can occupy all six, so new requests wait (“Waiting for available socket”) or appear “Stalled” in DevTools.

“Slow network is detected. Switching to fallback font” is a separate, informational console message: Chrome noticed a slow connection while loading web fonts. On its own it isn't an error.

How it shows up

  • Status bar: “Waiting for available socket…”.
  • DevTools Network: requests stuck in “Stalled”.
  • Console: “Slow network is detected”.

Common causes

  • Several tabs streaming media from one site.
  • Stuck connections from extensions, VPN or proxy.
  • Sites using HTTP/1.1 with many long-held requests.

How to fix it, step by step

  1. Close streaming tabsStop audio/video tabs on the same site.
  2. Flush socket poolsOpen chrome://net-internals/#sockets → Flush socket pools, then reload.
  3. Disable extensionsTest in Incognito; remove extensions that intercept traffic.
  4. Clear cacheCtrl+Shift+Delete → Cached images and files.
  5. Turn off VPN/proxyThen test again.
  6. For site ownersServe over HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 (no six-connection limit per host), close idle long-polling connections, and avoid many parallel media streams.
How to confirm the fix: Pages load without the 'Waiting for available socket' status.

Keeping it from coming back

Limit simultaneous media tabs on one site and keep extensions lean.