How to Fix the “This site can’t be reached” Error in Google Chrome

How to Fix the “This site can’t be reached” Error in Google Chrome.

The Google Chrome “This site is not available” error can be frustrating as it prevents you from accessing any websites. This problem usually occurs when you have problems connecting to the Internet or your web browser is malfunctioning. We will look at several ways to solve the problem.

This is a common Chrome error that you may encounter at some point while using the browser. This problem is easy to work around as all you have to do is adjust a few settings here and there on your browser and on your system and your problem will be solved.

Restart Your Router

When you encounter a network related issue, the first thing you should do is to reboot your router. This disables all features of your router and resets them, fixing minor issues with the device.

You can reset most routers by pressing the power button on the device. If your router does not have this button, use the switch on the wall outlet to turn the router off and on again. Some routers allow you to complete the reboot process by visiting the device’s settings page in a web browser and selecting the reboot option.

After restarting your router, restart Chrome and try to access your sites.

Use Windows’ Internet Connections Troubleshooter

Microsoft Windows 10 and 11 operating systems include many troubleshooting tools. These tools allow you to find and fix various problems on your system. You can use one of them – the Internet Connection Troubleshooter – to detect and fix connection problems.

These tools work on their own for the most part, so you don’t have to do anything other than launch the tool and select a few options.

Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I. Select “Update & Security” in the settings. Select Troubleshoot on the left and Advanced Troubleshooters on the right. Select “Internet Connections” and select “Run the troubleshooter”.

Wait while the troubleshooter detects and fixes connection problems.

Turn Off Your Firewall

One of the reasons you’re getting the Chrome “This site is not available” error is because your firewall is blocking your connection to the site. This usually happens when the firewall detects a site as a malicious element.

You can disable your computer’s firewall to check if this is the case. Here’s how to disable the Microsoft Defender Firewall on Windows:

Open the Start Menu, search for “Windows Security” and open the app. Select Firewall and network protection on the app’s main screen. Select the network labeled (active).

Turn off the Microsoft Defender Firewall switch.

Select Yes in the User Account Control window. Open Chrome again and try loading your site.

Disable Your Antivirus

Your antivirus program may have detected the site as a potential threat and blocked you from accessing it. In this case, you can disable your antivirus protection and see if that solves the problem.

You can disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus protection as follows:

Launch the Windows Security app on your PC. Select Virus & Threat Protection in the main application window. Select Manage settings under Virus and threat protection settings.

Disable real-time protection.

Restart Chrome, load the site and see if the error occurs.

Clear Your Chrome Cache

Your Chrome browser caches various web content to improve your overall surfing experience. Sometimes this cached content gets corrupted, causing random browser issues.

Your “This site is not available” error could be the result of a bad Chrome cache. In this case, you can clear your browser cache and fix the problem. This will not affect your browsing history, login sessions, saved passwords, or other items.

Launch Chrome, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings. Select Privacy and security on the left and Clear browsing data on the right. Select All time from the Time range drop-down menu.

Select Cached images and files and deselect all other options. Select Clear Data at the bottom. Close and reopen Chrome and then try to access your sites.

Delete Your DNS Cache

Your computer stores a DNS cache to help your web browsers quickly resolve domain names to IP addresses. Sometimes this cache gets corrupted preventing your browsers from reaching the websites you want.

In this case, you can clear your system’s DNS cache and fix the problem.

Open the Start Menu, search for “Command Prompt” and open the tool. Type the following in the CMD window and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns

Your DNS cache is now cleared.

Use Alternate DNS Servers

A possible reason why Chrome is displaying the “This site is not available” error is because your current DNS servers are down. If this happens too often, it is recommended to switch to alternative DNS servers.

You can switch to Google’s public DNS servers or the free OpenDNS DNS servers. Here is how you can make this change on a Windows PC:

Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I. Select Network and Internet to access network settings. Select Wi-Fi on the left and Change adapter settings on the right. Right-click your network adapter and select Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list and select Properties.

Enable the Use the following DNS server addresses option. Enter 208.67.222.222 in the Preferred DNS Server field. Enter 208.67.220.220 in the Alternate DNS Server field.

Click OK at the bottom.

Update Chrome

Google frequently releases new updates to its Chrome browser to keep your browsing experience as error-free as possible. Your “This site is not available” error could be the result of an outdated Chrome app.

In this case, refresh your browser and your issue will most likely be resolved.

Launch Chrome, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Help > About Google Chrome.

Let Chrome automatically check for new updates. Allow Chrome to install available updates. Then select Restart to reopen Chrome and apply the updates.

Reset Chrome

If you still can’t get past your error message, reset your Chrome browser to factory settings and see if that solves the problem. The reset process erases all your user settings, correcting incorrectly specified configurations.

Please note that you will lose all your saved data in Chrome when you restart your browser.

Open Chrome, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings. Select Reset and clean up in the sidebar on the left.

Select Restore original defaults on the right. Select Reset settings in the tooltip.

Reach the Unreachable Sites in Google Chrome

Various factors can cause the “This site is not available” error in Google Chrome on your computer. If you encounter this error and don’t know how to fix it, make a few network and browser changes on your system as described above.

After that, your problem will be fixed and you will be able to resume your browsing sessions. Enjoy using Chrome!