When using ChatGPT, you may occasionally encounter issues like the login page spinning endlessly, “Something went wrong” prompts, or request timeouts. These problems are typically caused by network fluctuations, browser cache, or temporary server overload. This guide outlines several common error scenarios and their fixes to help you resume normal conversations.
Login Stage Errors: Verification Code Not Received or White Screen
If you’re not receiving the email verification code during login, first check your spam folder—some email providers automatically block verification messages. If nothing appears, try switching browsers or enabling incognito mode, as cached login data may interfere with the verification process. White screen issues are often linked to browser extension conflicts. Temporarily disable ad-blocking extensions, or clear cookies and revisit the official website.
Additionally, certain networks may restrict access to ChatGPT’s domain. Try switching to a mobile hotspot or using a reliable proxy connection. If none of these steps work, the delay might be due to server-side authentication issues; wait 15–30 minutes and try again.
Errors During Conversations: Request Timeouts & 500 Internal Errors
When your message gets no response for a long time, or you see “Request timed out,” it usually means high latency between your network and OpenAI’s servers. Refresh the page and retry, and check if background downloads are consuming bandwidth. Frequent “500 Internal Server Error” messages indicate that the ChatGPT backend is handling heavy traffic or undergoing maintenance—this usually resolves on its own without any action needed.
Another common error is “Too many requests” (429). This happens when you send messages too quickly in a short period, or when using the API heavily. Free users have limited messages per hour—slowing down your questions usually fixes it. For API developers, check if your request rate exceeds the plan’s limit and implement retry logic in your code.


