Just a day after Microsoft Azure’s system hiccups caused disruptions across the web, OpenAI’s ChatGPT experienced a noticeable outage on October 30 that left thousands of free users temporarily unable to access the chatbot.
According to Down Detector, reports of issues with ChatGPT began spiking just before 3 PM ET, eventually crossing 2,600 complaints within the hour. Users trying to access the chatbot on both desktop and mobile were met with an “Error in message stream” message, leaving the free tier of ChatGPT essentially unusable for over an hour.
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OpenAI Confirms the Problem
OpenAI was quick to acknowledge the problem on its official status page, confirming “increased errors on ChatGPT conversations for free users.” This statement classified the situation as a partial outage, meaning paid, enterprise, and educational users were largely unaffected.
By 3:24 PM ET, OpenAI updated the status page again, noting that the root cause had been identified and that mitigation efforts were underway. Although the company didn’t specify the nature of the issue, it reassured users that engineering teams were actively deploying a solution.
Tracking the Outage
Down Detector’s data showed the first signs of improvement around 3:40 PM ET, when reports began to fall from over 2,600 to around 1,100. The drop aligned closely with OpenAI’s confirmation that a fix was in progress.
TechRadar and several other tech publications monitored the outage live, noting that while desktop functionality started to return first, the iOS and Android apps took a bit longer to stabilize.
The Fix Rolls Out
At 4:07 PM ET, OpenAI announced that it had “deployed a fix to restore functionality” and was monitoring the systems to confirm a full recovery. Reports on Down Detector quickly dropped to under 500 by 4:30 PM ET, and users began confirming that ChatGPT was once again responsive across platforms.
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By 5 PM ET, the number of reported problems had fallen below 100 — nearly back to normal levels. Users testing the chatbot noted slightly slower response times initially, but full stability returned within minutes.
What Caused It?
While OpenAI hasn’t released detailed technical explanations, early indications suggest that the issue was isolated to free-tier access systems, possibly tied to authentication or rate-limiting functions. Since paid and enterprise tiers were unaffected, the disruption likely stemmed from a temporary overload or misconfiguration within the free user infrastructure rather than a broader server outage.
The outage came just after Microsoft Azure — a cloud platform that powers parts of OpenAI’s operations — faced a significant downtime event affecting multiple global services. Although there’s no direct confirmation linking the two, the timing raised questions about whether residual infrastructure issues played a part.
User Reaction
As expected, the temporary blackout sent users flocking to X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and tech forums, tagging OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with questions and memes. “Even ChatGPT needs a nap sometimes,” one user joked, while another asked if “AI was finally becoming self-aware and refusing to work for free.”
Still, the response from OpenAI was relatively swift. The company managed to identify, address, and restore functionality in just over an hour — faster than many major tech platforms handle similar outages.
Everything’s Back to Normal
By around 5 PM ET, ChatGPT was confirmed to be fully operational again, with both free and paid users reporting normal performance. OpenAI’s final update on the status page noted that the fix had been successful and that monitoring would continue to ensure system stability.
For anyone still experiencing issues, refreshing the app or logging out and back in seemed to clear any lingering session problems.
While short-lived, the outage served as a reminder that even widely adopted AI tools like ChatGPT rely on complex infrastructure that can occasionally falter. Still, OpenAI’s quick acknowledgment and transparent updates helped limit frustration — and proved once again that good communication during downtime can make all the difference.
