ERR_CONNECTION_RESET
Last updated
Last updated
When employees receive the ERR_CONNECTION_RESET error message, it means that something has interrupted the connection to the page they were trying to visit. A stable network connection could not be correctly established with the destination site, and the browser could not open the web page and load a photo or video that has been requested. As a result, the connection has been reset. This problem can also be triggered as a false positive on your antivirus software or firewall software.
Browser cache corruption
Incompatible browser settings
Browser version
Network or ISP issue
Proxy server
DNS
Firewall
Anti-virus
The ERR_CONNECTION_RESET is a Chrome-specific error, but other browsers display similar messages such as “The connection was reset,” which indicates a connection problem. In contrast to HTTP error messages, the “ERR_CONNECTION_RESET” message does not directly indicate whether the problem is caused by the client, the server, or the network.
In most cases, this is an isolated incident concerning an individual device that happens to be accessing the Internet (or intranet) locations that have, for some reason, changed since the last visit. In this case, individual fixes can be applied as outlined below.
If this is a widespread incident, consider the following questions:
Has your browser been recently updated?
Has there been a change to the network resulting in a different route or path needed to be taken to the website’s destination?
Are the devices using a predefined proxy server to get to their destination?
Has the destination, usually a website, been altered or changed?
Read the suggestions below to find out how Nexthink can help solve these problems.
The first step is to scope the issue to understand how serious or widespread the problem is.
Using Applications Reliability dashboards, look at the various breakdowns and filter them to find correlations. For instance, specific errors could be present on:
In this instance, try to understand what has changed concerning a particular web application.
Has the OS or browser version changed? Has the browser been updated recently? Using Nexthink, investigate the performance of various browser versions to understand if a specific version is experiencing the problem.
If an infrastructure component such as a network change, a proxy server, or something similar is causing the problem, then it is likely to be shown by a specific area in the hierarchy containing a high quantity of errors.
Most likely, a change was made at the web app level. Contact the appropriate application support team and inform them of the problem.
Examine if it is a one-time event that must be investigated, or whether this is a recurring event where something on the network, e.g., corporate backup, may be altering the availability of the network.
Investigate the path used to access the website. This will show if the connection is affected by a company network component, i.e., proxy server or router. The employee can provide a valid business reason to request access or accept the limitation.
In this case, you can search for failed connections with the Applications console and start an investigation in Finder. By entering the web address as a criterion in Finder and checking all connections to that domain or website, Finder returns valuable insights into the scope of the issue.
If a proxy server is in question, then Nexthink Finder can help better understand if this is the root cause. Create an investigation targeted at the domain name of the application in question and note whether most of the device traffic is going through a particular proxy. It is also possible to make the proxy server the actual target of the investigation itself and then use it to show various analytics such as the number of failed requests or response times from the proxy. This approach will reveal any unexpected behaviors.
If available, reconfigure the device to an alternative proxy server. If the requested web page loads correctly, it is a good indication that the company’s proxy server may be the cause of the problem. Inform the teams responsible for the networking and proxy infrastructures within the organization of the issue and the scope of affected devices.
NOTICE: Consider the scoping procedures first, see the steps above.
Be aware of the scope of impact when running corrective actions using Nexthink. If you are dealing with a single device or just a few devices, the Remote Actions can be run in the background while providing help to the affected employees or they can even be performed silently.
Should the scoping reveal that the incident is widespread, the issue will require more attention. We recommend employing Engage Campaigns to ensure that the affected employees will get a visual notification of any changes being performed through remote actions at scale because employees may not be aware of the Remote Action taking place.
Refreshing the page can be a quick way to fix the problem because usually, the error is a temporary one. Press CTRL+F5, which works on most browsers, or refer to your documentation if needed.
If the cache hasn’t been cleared for a while, some of the files within it may be corrupt. Clearing the cache can help. Select the Basic data clearing option if the user does not want to lose saved passwords and other personalized data.
Use the remote actions to clear the browser cache on Edge or Chrome (‘Clear Edge / Chrome Settings’). Clearing of the cache can be carried out remotely to assist the employee.
Flushing the DNS on the device deletes the DNS cache, which then forces a new DNS lookup. If the website or page in question was recently moved to another IP address, deleting (or flushing) all DNS entries should resolve the error. Use the Remote Action Network Management.
Browser breakdown in the Applications reliability dashboard allows you to quickly check if the browser version is the root cause of the problem.
If it is a browser version issue, Chrome is updated regularly, so the latest version should always be installed at the earliest opportunity.
Nexthink can perform such actions with the Remote Actions to install or uninstall an application as long as the source binaries for Chrome are supplied.
Additionally, if SCCM is in use at your organization and if you have a task sequence for removing and installing your browser, then the Start Application or Task Sequence Remote Action can be used.
Firewalls and antivirus programs might block web applications or certain IP addresses as well. If the website you are trying to access is blocked, it can cause the “ERR_CONNECTION_RESET” error. In this case, try to access the website from an external device with a disabled firewall or antivirus program. Such a procedure should only be done with websites that are reliable and known to be secure. If an unreliable website is used, the system may be exposed to viruses.
If you can gain access after disabling either the security system or the antivirus program, you should consider passlisting the website in the security applications.
Use the Remote action Get Network Configuration to confirm that the DNS settings on the devices are correct. If they are not, ensure the correct DNS settings are used (see the step above), either by renewing the DHCP lease (ipconfig /renew) if on a DHCP enabled network or by simply entering the correct DNS server settings into the IP configuration settings of the client, if they are managed locally.
Resetting Chrome to its default settings may help with the issue. This is done within the Advanced settings of the browser.
IMPORTANT: by resetting the web browser, all saved configurations, bookmarks, passwords, autofill forms, and similar information will be lost.
This activity can be automated using the Google Chrome Remote Action for Clear Chrome Settings.
Sometimes, the internet connection provided by the company or ISP can experience problems, and as a result, devices will fail to establish a connection. A quick way to test this would be by trying to access a known, working website with another device on the same network and through a different connection, such as a mobile network. If the issue persists on the same network but not on your mobile device, then it is likely that the ISP or company has access issues.
If after completion of the previous steps the tests reveal that moving to another proxy server or different path resolved the issue, then the problem lies with the proxy or network's bandwidth capacity. Contact the appropriate infrastructure team to resolve the proxy issue or increase network bandwidth capacity.
