ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
Networking
Medium severity
Chrome — ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
Nothing is accepting the connection on that host and port — the service is down, blocked by a firewall, or a bad proxy setting.
Last reviewed 2026-08-29 by the Tech Issue Guide team.
Symptoms
- “This site can’t be reached — ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED” in Chrome or Edge.
- One site fails everywhere on your machine, or all sites fail.
- It began after installing a VPN, proxy, or security tool.
What causes ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
- The web server or local dev server is not running or not listening on that port.
- A proxy is configured (manually or by an extension) and pointing nowhere.
- A firewall or antivirus web filter is blocking the connection.
- Corrupt DNS or browser network cache.
How to fix it — 3 steps
- Open the site on another device or network to tell whether the problem is local to your machine or on the server side.
- Disable any proxy or VPN, then flush DNS and reset Chrome’s network state at chrome://net-internals/#dns and #sockets (command below flushes OS DNS).
- Check firewall and antivirus web-filtering rules; if it is your own server, confirm the service is running and bound to the right address and port.
Terminal / CLI command
ipconfig /flushdnsWindows. On macOS/Linux: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder (macOS) or sudo resolvectl flush-caches (Linux).
How to confirm the fix: The site loads normally on the affected machine.
Prevent it from coming back
Review proxy settings after removing VPN software, and keep AV web-shield exclusions tidy.
Frequently asked questions
Refused vs timed out — what is the difference?
“Refused” means something answered and said no (nothing listening on that port, or a firewall reset). “Timed out” means nothing answered at all.
It is only localhost:3000 — what then?
Your local dev server is not running or is on a different port. Start it and confirm the port it prints.