Reddit Midweek Meltdown: Over 50,000 Users Hit by Sudden Outage

Reddit, the go-to platform for social news and discussion, faced a major disruption on Wednesday night, leaving thousands of users in digital limbo. With more than 50,000 outage reports flooding DownDetector, frustrated users turned to other social media platforms to vent and seek answers.

The Outage at a Glance

The issue began around 1:30 AM IST (3 PM ET), with users encountering an unusual error message: “Upstream connect error or disconnect/reset before headers. Reset connection failure.” As complaints skyrocketed, Reddit quickly issued a statement acknowledging the issue and marked the platform’s performance as “degraded” on its status page.

By the early hours of Thursday, Reddit confirmed it had resolved the problem and assured users it was monitoring the platform’s stability.

What Went Wrong?

Such connection errors often point to server-related issues, such as:

  • Server overloads
  • Expired certificates
  • General connectivity failures

While Reddit has not disclosed the exact cause of this disruption, the widespread impact highlighted the platform’s central role in online communities.

How to Fix ‘Upstream Connect Errors’

If you encounter similar issues in the future, here are some quick troubleshooting tips:

  1. Check Your Connection: Ensure your internet is stable.
  2. Clear Cache and Cookies: Remove outdated browser data to eliminate potential conflicts.
  3. Monitor Official Channels: Stay updated via Reddit’s status page for announcements.
  4. Restart Your Browser or Device: This can resolve temporary system glitches.

Back Online—For Now

As of now, Reddit appears to be back up and running smoothly. However, the outage serves as a reminder of how dependent many users have become on the platform for everything from memes to meaningful discussions.

For now, Reddit fans can breathe a sigh of relief—but many are left wondering: what’s next for the platform’s reliability? Stay tuned for updates as they unfold.