Как исправить ошибку 429 too many requests

При взаимодействии с веб-ресурсами можно столкнуться с различными проблемами. Одна их таких проблем – ошибка с кодом 429 Too Many Requests. Существует две самые распространенные причины возникновения этой ошибки сервера, с которыми нам предстоит разобраться самостоятельно. 

Причины появления ошибки сервера 429

DDoS-атаки

Начать следует с того, что чаще всего ошибка 429 сопровождается надписью «The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time», что означает превышение ограничений по запросам к сайту. Соответственно, именно так происходит предотвращение DDoS-атак, которые и являются основной причиной появления рассматриваемой проблемы. Помимо самого кода, вы увидите и несколько других параметров:

1. Общее количество запросов.

2. Запросы с конкретного IP-адреса в секунду.

3. Количество одновременных запросов.

4. Общее количество запросов с одного IP-адреса.

Если же сама ошибка появляется при использовании поисковых систем или сторонних онлайн-сервисов, которые запрашивают доступ к сайту, вполне возможно, что их блокировка осуществляется со стороны хостинга в связи с тем, что количество запросов превышает ограничение. Для ее решения вам потребуется обратиться напрямую в техническую поддержку с просьбой разрешить подобные запросы.

В случае, когда есть уверенность в том, что ошибка http 429 появилась именно из-за атак на ваш ресурс, советую ознакомиться с отдельным материалом, в котором вы узнаете, как обезопасить себя от DDoS эффективными инструментами и банальными мерами предосторожности.

Подробнее: Способы защиты от DDoS-атаки

Некорректная работа плагинов WordPress

Вторая распространенная причина, которая может быть связана с регулярным появлением неполадки 429, – некорректное функционирование плагинов под управлением CMS WordPress. Для решения этой проблемы потребуется выполнить несколько несложных действий. 

Для начала по очереди отключайте каждый установленный скрипт через меню управления этими компонентами. Параллельно проверяйте, появляется ли ошибка. Да, на выполнение этой задачи может уйти много времени, однако это самый эффективный метод выявления плагина, который является триггером. Отметим, что сразу несколько компонентов могут вызывать проблему, поэтому постарайтесь проверить их все.

Что касается использования плагинов, то тут всегда лучше подключать только проверенные и качественные решения. Со списком таких плагинов предлагаю ознакомиться в материале по следующей ссылке.

Если после проверки неполадка все еще не исчезла, переключитесь на стандартную тему WordPress, которая называется Twenty Seventeen. Это действие поможет понять, связана ли ошибка сервера 429 со скриптами, которые входят в пользовательский шаблон оформления сайта. В том случае, когда трудность действительно была связана с темой, придется переделать ее вручную или же подыскать новый вариант для своего веб-ресурса.

Действия со стороны обычного пользователя

Обычный пользователь, который сталкивается с неполадкой 429 при попытке просмотреть конкретный сайт, не сможет ничего предпринять самостоятельно, чтобы решить ее. Однако, если есть возможность, стоит обратиться напрямую к владельцу интернет-ресурса или администраторам, сообщив им о появившейся ошибке. Так вы дадите понять, что сайт работает не так, как это нужно, и ускорите процесс решения трудностей.

Ошибка HTTP с кодом 429 – неприятная ситуация, которая может коснуться каждого владельца сайта. Из приведенного выше материала вы поняли, что существует две основные причины, которые могут ее вызывать. Теперь остается только разобраться с каждой из них и провести проверочные работы, чтобы оперативно исправить сложившуюся ситуацию.

Web servers use HTTP status codes to communicate with clients when delivering website content. There are many variations, from 3xx status codes that identify redirection processes to 4xx codes that indicate client-side errors.

One of these HTTP codes is 429 Too Many Requests. As the name suggests, this code appears whenever someone repeatedly accesses a website and exceeds the rate limit. In most cases, this error will lock you out of your admin panel and make the site inaccessible.

With that in mind, this article will give you the six effective solutions to diagnose and resolve a 429 error on your website. First, let’s start with more detailed information about this HTTP error.

Error code	429 Too Many Requests Error
Error type	Client-side error
Error variations	429 Error HTTP 429 429 Too Many Requests Error 429 (Too Many Requests)
Error causes	Request overload to the server Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack Brute force attacks

What Is the Error 429 Too Many Requests?

HTTP error 429 is technically not an error but a response sent from either a web server or an application programming interface (API) whenever a user has sent too many requests to the server within a given amount of time.

Depending on the browser you’re using, the error message can appear in these variations:

• 429 Error
• HTTP 429
• 429 Too Many Requests
• Error 429 (Too Many Requests)

However, web servers have limits. When they don’t have enough memory to process the requests, the 429 error occurs.

Additionally, the HTTP error 429 can also appear as a response to security measures. Too many requests can indicate brute force or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

HTTP 429 will block the suspicious IP address or user to protect the website. This way, it can prevent hackers from getting into your login page and block bots from using your server’s resources.

What Causes the 429 Error?

As mentioned before, the HTTP 429 error happens when the server detects too many attempts within a short period of time. This can either be due to a user trying to log in with the wrong credentials or an attacker trying to sabotage your website.

Whenever this situation occurs, the system will activate a rate-limiting feature, triggering the HTTP 429 error.

Rate limiting is a strategy used by APIs to limit network traffic when it detects an excess of the maximum number of activities within a specific time frame. This feature helps prevent malicious activity from bots or hackers and reduces strain on the web server.

In addition to showing the HTTP code, the error message usually includes additional details along with the cause of the error, such as:

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-type: text/html
Retry-After: 3600

In the example above, the Retry-After header specifies the time limit during which the user is forced to stop sending requests.

Usually, the 429 error disappears after a while. However, if it’s caused by a malicious attack, the error can make your website unavailable and prevent you from accessing the WordPress admin area.

6 Ways to Fix the 429 Too Many Requests Error

In the following sections, we will walk you through the six methods of diagnosing the 429 error, its most common causes, and the steps to fix it.

1. Flush Cache

The browser cache stores website files and account information on the client side for a better browsing experience. With cached data, the browser can load the website faster the next time you visit.

However, when this data accumulates, it can trigger the 429 error.

Thus, the first step is to clear your browser cache. To illustrate, we will demonstrate how to do it on Google Chrome, though the process is similar with any other browser:

1. Click on the three dots symbol on the top right corner of Google Chrome, then select Settings.

1. Navigate to the Privacy and security settings and choose Clear browsing data.

1. From there, check the Cached images and files and the Cookies and other site data options. Then, open the dropdown menu to select the time range.

1. Click Clear data and restart Google Chrome to complete the process.

Note that clearing cached data will increase load time since the browser will need to download the website content again.

If you are using Hostinger, then you will be able to flush cache directly from the hPanel. Here are the steps to clear your website cache:

1. Head to your hPanel and select Advanced → Cache Manager.
2. Turn on the Automatic cache option and click on the Purge All button.

Additionally, deleting cache will also delete your website history and reset your personalized settings. To prevent this, be sure to export your data and import it back once the process is complete.

If your browser cache was causing the 429 error to happen, performing the steps above will solve the problem. However, if the error persists, try the following method.

2. Check Your Order Usage on hPanel

Order usage refers to the number of HTTP requests sent. Checking your website’s order usage helps monitor incoming traffic. This makes it easier to point out whenever an unusual traffic spike occurs.

Hostinger users can check HTTP requests by accessing the hPanel dashboard. Navigate to Hosting → Resource Usage.

In this section, you will find various metrics related to website usage, such as:

• CPU – the percentage of the central processing unit used up by your site.
• Memory – total memory used by your hosting account to process requests.
• Processes – the number of processes running on your hosting account.
• Entry processes – the number of processes used to comply with your website requests.
• Total requests – shows HTTP and HTTPS requests of all hosting accounts.
• Unique IP addresses – tracks distinct IP addresses that access your website.
• Bandwidth – data transferred within a specific period of time.

These metrics can help identify whether your website is at risk of cyber threats.

You can diagnose a possible DDoS attack whenever you see a significant increase in HTTP requests.

3. Disable All WordPress Plugins

When troubleshooting the error 429 too many requests on a WordPress website, consider the possibility of conflicting plugins. This can shut down your website or cause a malfunction. In particular, pay attention to every plugin from third parties since it might not be reliable.

If the 429 error still persists after performing the previous two steps, try temporarily disabling all WordPress plugins.

To do this, open the wp_content folder in your root directory. You should see a folder called plugins. Proceed to rename the folder – for example, plugins-disable.

Try examining your website – if it’s back to normal without active plugins, this means a faulty plugin was causing the problem.

Continue by renaming the plugins directory back to its original name and proceed to activate the plugins one by one. This way, you will be able to detect the plugin causing the 429 error.

Once you have found the faulty plugin, try updating it and see if it solves the problem. Otherwise, you might need to deactivate it and install a new plugin.

4. Switch to a Default WordPress Theme

Poorly-coded WordPress themes can also cause conflicts. Although this is not a common cause, a theme can conflict with specific plugins and send too many requests to the web application, causing the 429 error.

The easiest way to solve this issue is to switch your current theme to a default WordPress theme. If you can’t access your WordPress dashboard, follow the steps below to change the theme via phpMyAdmin:

1. Go to your File Manager and open the wp-config.php file. Inside it, locate the name of your site’s database.

1. Close the file and open your phpMyAdmin. Select the appropriate database name and choose the wp_options table from the list.

1. From there, find the template and stylesheet rows – they are usually located on the second page.

1. Simply double-click on the option_value of each row and edit the value into the default theme name, for example, Twenty Nineteen.

Once you’re done, access your site to see if this solved the problem. Alternatively, delete the previously active theme and reinstall it. However, if the error persists, the best option is to delete the theme altogether.

5. Restore the Site From a Backup

Having a website backup can protect you from data loss, malware infections, and security breaches. By restoring a site backup, you can revert any changes that could cause HTTP 429 errors and return the website to normal.

The following are the steps to restore your website and resolve the HTTP error 429:

1. Access your hosting control panel – Hostinger users can access the hPanel dashboard and navigate to Files – Backups.

1. Clicking on it will display various types of backups saved on the server. For websites running on WordPress or other Content Management Systems (CMSs), you must restore both website files and the MySQL database.

1. Click on the Files backups button, then select the date and click on Next step. If you want to restore the entire site, choose the public_html folder and click Restore files.

1. Next, restore your database. Select the Database backups option, choose the database to restore, and click Show databases.

1. A list of available backup dates will appear – choose your desired date, and click Restore.

1. The system will start processing your request and notify you once it’s done.

After the restoration is complete, all changes made after your chosen restore date will be reverted. This will restore your site to a stable state and remove the HTTP 429 error.

6. Change the Default WordPress Login URL

Every WordPress website has a default login URL, such as wordpresswebsite.com/wp-admin or wordpresswebsite.com/wp-login.

However, due to its generic nature, this default URL is prone to malicious attacks, increasing the chances for your website to experience the 429 errors.

One easy way to change your login URL is by installing the WPS Hide Login plugin. The plugin creates an alternate login page to prevent hackers from getting into your website.

To install the plugin, navigate to your admin dashboard, choose Plugins – Add New, and type in the plugin name.

Once you have activated the plugin, go to Settings – WPS Hide Login and scroll down until you see the Login url field.

From there, feel free to customize your alternate login URL. Once done, be sure to click Save Changes.

Conclusion

The 429 error code is a client-side error that occurs whenever the server receives too many requests.

When left unsolved, the 429 errors can prevent third-party APIs from working properly and search engines from crawling your website. Hence, it is crucial to fix the 429 too many requests error as soon as possible.

Here is a recap of how to fix error 429 too many requests:

1. Flush your browser cache.
2. Monitor your hosting account’s order usage.
3. Temporarily disable WordPress plugins.
4. Switch to a default WordPress theme.
5. Restore a website backup.
6. Change your default login URL.

There you have it – six proven ways to fix 429 errors. If none of them work, contact your hosting provider. Be sure to give the support team complete details and mention the steps you have taken to troubleshoot the issue.

We hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

429 Too Many Requests Error FAQs

Learn more about 429 Too Many Requests error.

Sooner or later, every website runs into a bug or error that’s difficult to troubleshoot. Often, that’s because the error itself doesn’t give you many details. The 429 Too Many Requests error is one such example.

We know what its most common causes are, fortunately. Since there are several potential culprits, however, you’ll often need to try more than one fix before you can resolve it.

In this article, we’re going to talk about what causes the 429 Too Many Requests error and what it looks like. Then we’ll go over five ways you can troubleshoot your website if you ever run into this particular issue. Let’s get to work!

• What is the HTTP 429 Error
• What Causes the 429 Too Many Requests Error
• How to Fix the 429 Too Many Requests Error (5 Methods)

What is the HTTP 429 Error?

The HTTP 429 error is returned when a user has sent too many requests within a short period of time. The 429 status code is intended for use with rate-limiting schemes.

Check Out Our Video Guide to the 429 Too Many Requests Error

What Causes the HTTP 429 Too Many Requests Error

In some cases, when your server detects that a user agent is trying to access a specific page too often in a short period of time, it triggers a rate-limiting feature. The most common example of this is when a user (or an attacker) repeatedly tries to log into your site.

However, your server may also identify users with cookies, rather than by their login credentials. Requests may also be counted on a per-request basis, across your server, or across several servers. So there are a variety of situations that can result in you seeing an error like one of these:

• 429 Too Many Requests
• 429 Error
• HTTP 429
• Error 429 (Too Many Requests)

The error may also include additional details regarding the reason for the 429 status code, and how long the user must wait before attempting to log in again. Here’s an example of what that might look like:

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-type: text/html
Retry-After: 3600

<html>
<head>
<title>Too Many Requests</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Too Many Requests</h1>
<p>I only allow 50 requests per hour to this website per logged in user. Try again soon. </p>
</body>
</html>

Regardless of how the error appears, it always means the same thing – there’s a user or a snippet of code that’s overwhelming your server with too many requests. Sometimes, the problem can go away on its own. In other situations, such as those caused by issues with a plugin or Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, you’ll need to be proactive in order to resolve the error.

The problem is that the 429 error most often affects your login page, which can make it impossible for you to access your website’s dashboard. That can make fixing it a little tricky, but it’s still achievable if you know what to try.

How to Fix the 429 Too Many Requests Error (5 Methods)

As you might imagine, we deal with a lot of WordPress support requests due to the nature of the services we offer. That means we’re intimately familiar with the 429 error, and its many potential causes.

In the following sections, we’ll cover five of the most common causes we’ve seen for the 429 Too Many Requests error in WordPress. For each potential issue, we’ll also teach you how to go about fixing it, so you can get your site back up and running quickly.

1. Change Your WordPress Default Login URL

Brute-force login attempts are one of the leading causes of the 429 error on WordPress websites. One quick way to prevent attackers from trying to break through your WordPress login page is to change its URL from the default option, so they can’t find it in the first place.

By default, you can find your login page by navigating to yourwebsite.com/wp-admin. That’s pretty easy to remember, but it’s also downright insecure since everyone on the web will know exactly where to access it.

The easiest way to change your default WordPress URL is by using the free WPS Hide Login plugin:

Let’s walk through the process of using this particular tool. You’ll first want to install and activate the plugin just as you would any other, and then navigate to the Settings > WPS Hide Login tab in your WordPress dashboard:

Here, you can easily change your login URL by typing in whatever extension you’d like to use. Make sure to stay away from easy-to-guess options such as login, wp-login, and so on. This would defeat the purpose of changing your URL in the first place, so you’ll want to come up with something unique to your site.

Note that this plugin also enables you to redirect users who try to access your old login URL to another page. For example, the default option will show anyone who tries to visit /wp-admin a 404 error page, so they’ll know they’re looking in the wrong place. When you’re done, remember to save the changes to your settings, and you’ll be good to go.

2. Disable the Really Simple SSL Plugin and Replace Your Internal Links

These days, there’s no good reason you shouldn’t have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate set up for your website. Likewise, your entire website should load over HTTPS. This is far more secure than using the older HTTP protocol, and it can even have a positive effect on your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

When it comes to enforcing HTTPS use, you can either use the manual route – such as an .htaccess redirect – or a plugin. One of the most popular choices is Really Simple SSL:

This plugin’s appeal is that it forces your entire website to load over HTTPS with just a couple of clicks. However, in our experience, it can also lead to occasional bugs. For instance, under some circumstances, it can trigger the 429 error we’ve been talking about.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this plugin, but it’s definitely not the best way to implement HTTPS use. The problem is that, even if you implement HTTPS manually, you’re still left with the problem of what to do about internal links. Chances are there are a lot of internal links throughout your website, so you’ll need to find a way to replace all of them with their HTTPS versions after disabling the plugin.

First, you’ll want to take care of the plugin itself. If you have access to the WordPress admin area, disabling Really Simple SSL shouldn’t be an issue – just hit Deactivate and you’re done:

However since the 429 Too Many Requests Error often blocks you from accessing your dashboard, you might have to take the manual route and disable the plugin using an FTP client.

Either way, once the Really Simple SSL plugin is gone, the 429 error should be resolved. That means you can access your dashboard to set up a new plugin, which will help you replace all of your internal links in one swoop. That plugin is called Search and Replace:

Go ahead and activate the plugin, then navigate to the Tools > Search & Replace tab in WordPress. Inside, select the wp_postmeta table, and then enter the following parameters alongside the Search for and Replace with fields respectively:

If your site uses a non-www domain:

http://yourwebsiteurl.com
https://yourwebsiteurl.com

In some cases, there may be www instances of your domain in the database as well, so we also recommend running another search and replace with the settings below.

http://www.yourwebsiteurl.com
https://yourwebsiteurl.com

If your site uses a www domain:

http://www.yourwebsiteurl.com
https://www.yourwebsiteurl.com

To replace non-www instances of your domain in the database, run another search and replace with the settings below:

http://www.yourwebsiteurl.com
https://yourwebsiteurl.com

Then select the dry run option, which will let you know how many instances of your HTTP URLs the plugin will replace within your database. After that dry run, execute the plugin for real and it will replace all the necessary links.

Keep in mind that after disabling the Really Simple SSL plugin, you’ll also need to set up a site-wide HTTPS redirect using your .htaccess file. This will enable you to implement HTTPS effectively, without the risk of further 429 errors.

3. Temporarily Deactivate All of Your WordPress Plugins

So far, we’ve focused on a single plugin that may cause the 429 error. However, in practice, any plugin could cause this issue if it makes too many external requests. If neither of the above methods leads to a solution in your case, it may be time to try disabling all of your plugins at once, to ensure that they aren’t the problem.

For this section, we’ll assume you don’t have access to your dashboard and can’t disable plugins the usual way. In that case, you’ll need to access your website via FTP using a client such as Filezilla, and navigate to the public_html/wp-content/ directory.

Inside, there should be several folders, one of which is called plugins:

Right click on that folder, and change its name to something else, such as plugins.deactivated. Once you do that, WordPress won’t be able to ‘find’ any of the plugins, and it will automatically deactivate all of them. However, before you try to access your site again, go ahead and create a new empty folder called plugins, so WordPress will still function as normal.

If the 429 error is gone when you next visit your site, you can assume that one of the plugins you turned off was the culprit. That means you need to narrow down which one caused the problem. To do that, you’ll want to:

1. Delete the empty plugins directory you set up a minute ago, and restore the previous folder to its original name.
2. Access the plugins directory.
3. Rename one of the plugin folders within to anything else, which will deactivate only that specific plugin.
4. Try to access your website, and see if the 429 error is gone.
5. If the error persists, return that plugin folder to its original name and repeat steps 3 and 4 with the next one.

By moving down your list of active plugins one by one, you should eventually discover which one is the culprit. Once you figure out which plugin is behind the 429 Too Many Requests error, you can delete it altogether, which should fix the issue.

4. Switch to a Default WordPress Theme

If it turns out that a plugin isn’t the cause of your 429 error, it’s possible that your active theme might be at fault. To figure out if that’s the case, you can disable your active theme manually, forcing WordPress to switch to one of the default templates that ships with the CMS.

This process works much the same as disabling plugins manually. You’ll want to launch your trusty FTP client once more, and this time navigate to the public_html/wp-content/themes directory. Once there, look for the folder that corresponds to your active theme and rename it to anything else you want.

If you try to access your website after that, the 429 Too Many Requests error should be gone. You’ll also notice that everything looks quite a bit different. Don’t panic, though, your theme and all of its customizations are still there.

All you need to do is return the theme folder to its original name and activate it once more. If the 429 error returns afterward, then you might need to contact the theme’s developers or consider changing your site’s theme and delete it eventually.

5. Contact Your Host If You Still Can’t Resolve the Error

In some instances, it’s possible that the cause behind the 429 error originated with your server, rather than with your website itself. If this is the case for you, no amount of work on your part will be able to fully resolve the problem.

For example, some web hosts will block requests from specific third-party services or platforms. These can include search engines, crawlers, and other apps (such as Google Search Console) that make large numbers of requests to your website.

Contacting your hosting provider and asking them to allow these requests can solve the issue. Additionally, even if limitations placed on your server by your host aren’t the cause of the problem, they may be able to provide valuable insight and advice that can help you find the correct solution.

Getting the 429 Too Many Requests error message? That’s a bummer but don’t despair, we’ve got you covered with our guide!😭🤗Click to Tweet

Summary

Encountering an error on your website is always frustrating. However, as far as errors go, those with number codes at least give you enough information to start fixing them. If you run into the 429 Too Many Requests error, you’ll know that something is overwhelming your server with too many requests, so it’s only a matter of identifying what the source of the problem is.

If you do happen to experience the 429 error, here are five ways you can go about troubleshooting it:

1. Change your default WordPress login URL.
2. Disable the Really Simple SSL plugin.
3. Temporarily deactivate all of your WordPress plugins.
4. Switch to a default WordPress theme.
5. Contact your host if you still can’t resolve the error.

Do you have any questions about how to fix the 429 Too Many Requests error in WordPress? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!

When browsing the internet, you might run into various unexpected errors: HTTP 500, HTTP 503, HTTP 403, and — of course — HTTP error 429.

HTTP error codes such as 429 are a challenge because they often block you from accessing a website. To make sure you understand and can fix this problem, we’ll go over what “HTTP error 429: Too many requests” means and how to fix it.

As a website owner, you’ll run into an error message from time to time. Some of these errors will be relatively simple to solve, while others will be more intricate. Take the HTTP error 429 for example.

Image Source

Troubleshooting this error is complicated because it provides few details on what it is or how to solve it. You know something’s wrong and you need to fix it — but you’re not exactly sure what happened or why.

Causes of HTTP Error 429: Too Many Requests

A 429 response is not technically an error — it’s a response from a server, application programming interface (API), or plugin that tells the client application to stop sending requests because they simply don’t have enough resources to accept it at this time.

The client application usually refers to a website or app, but can also refer to individual users like the site admin or a site visitor or hacker.

A 429 error may appear the following ways, with or without the phrase “too many requests”:

• HTTP error 429

• HTTP code 429

• HTTP error code 429

• HTTP status code 429

• HTTP response code 429

• Response code 429

• 429. That’s an error.

• 429 server error

• There was a problem with the server 429

• Problem with the server 429

Here are some of the potential causes:

Repeated Requests to the Server

A 429 is often triggered by repeated requests. For instance, if a user is trying to access a page on your website too often in a short period of time, your server may send a 429 error.

Any website or app could experience this error, including Facebook, Etsy, Doordash, Venmo, YouTube, PayPal, Airbnb, Google Search Console, and — of course — WordPress websites (more on how to fix WordPress 429 errors below).

Brute-Force Login Attempts

In the case of a brute-force login attempt, in which a hacker repeatedly tries to log into your site, the 429 error code is an important security measure. It sets a rate limit for additional requests, preventing the brute-force attacker from being successful.

Server Resource Limits

You might also get a 429 error if your website is using up too many resources on a shared hosting server or service. If, for example, more than 50 requests are received from an IP address within one minute, PayPal Sandbox will block that IP for the next five minutes.

While the 429 response may seem punitive, it’s actually a protective measure against users intentionally or accidentally abusing server resources (or an API, plugin, or another service). It’s designed to prevent a backup or overflow of requests that would strain a server, or other service, that is meant to be shared and consumed by many websites and apps. So, by controlling the number and timing of requests, rate limits prevent problems before they arise.

If you are seeing the HTTP 429 error on your site for other reasons, you may need to reduce the number of server requests or API calls you’re making.

Most of the steps below focus on avoiding, rather than retroactively fixing, an HTTP 429 error. Take a look.

1. Wait to send another request.

The simplest way to fix an HTTP 429 error is to wait to send another request. Often, this status code is sent with a “Retry-after” header that specifies a period of time to wait before sending another request. It may specify only a few seconds or minutes.

Here’s an example that asks the client to wait an hour before sending another request.

 
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-Type: text/html
Retry-After: 3600
<html>
<head>
<title>Too Many Requests</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Too Many Requests</h1>
<p>Only 100 requests per hour per logged in user is allowed on this website. Try again soon.</p>
</body>
</html>

2. Clear your browser’s cache.

If waiting doesn’t work, try clearing your browser’s cache, which stores your browsing data as well as requests. If you no longer have this data stored in your browser, your next request may go through.

To do so in Chrome:

• Click CMD + Shift + Delete on Mac or Control + Shift + Delete on Windows.

• The “Clear browsing data” analog pop up.

• Click on the Advanced tab.

• Select the time range and the data you’d like to delete.

• Click Clear data.

To find instructions for your specific browser, click here.

3. Flush your DNS cache.

Flushing your DNS cache is another option if clearing your browser’s cache doesn’t work. Your computer’s DNS cache saves your domain name server requests so that it can load websites more quickly the next time you access them. Unfortunately, this may result in HTTP error 429 if you’ve made numerous requests before the DNS cache’s time-to-live naturally expires.

To clear your DNS cache on Mac, take the following steps:

• “Open Finder.

• Click Applications.

• Scroll down to the Utilities folder and click it.

• Open Terminal.

• In the Terminal window, enter the following command string: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

• Click enter, then input your admin password.

• Click enter again.”

Find instructions for more operating systems here.

4. Implement exponential backoff.

If waiting, clearing your cache, or flushing your DNS cache don’t work, look for a “Retry-after” header again. If one is not sent and you don’t know how long to wait before trying, you should implement retries with exponential backoff.

Using this approach, you will not immediately repeat a failed request; instead, you will perform a series of retries with progressively longer wait times between each attempt. When the request is finally accepted, then you will know what wait time or rate is acceptable.

You can do this manually by using an exponential backoff calculator. Here’s how:

• Access a calculator such as exponentialbackoffcalculator.com.

• Input a time interval, such as 2 seconds.

• Input the maximum number of retries or requests you’d like to make.

• Input an exponential for subsequent requests.

• Use a manual alarm or timekeeper to make new requests at the resulting timestamps.

Alternatively, if you’re a developer or advanced user, you can add code to implement this approach. For instance, you can use a framework like Celery that comes with a built-in exponential backoff module.

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The steps discussed above are general fixes for the 429 “Too Many Requests” Error. If you have a WordPress site, then you may need a WordPress-specific solution.

How to Fix HTTP 429 Error on WordPress

If you’re getting an HTTP 429 error on your website, this can pose an issue to you as a WordPress administrator and also hamper your website’s user experience. Here are some tips you can follow:

1. Wait before re-accessing your website.

Your WordPress hosting provider may be receiving too many requests to load your website, resulting in an HTTP 429 error. This is especially likely if you use shared hosting, where your website is only allotted a limited number of resources on the host’s server.

In that case, be patient — the error will resolve on its own. If it keeps happening, however, you might want to upgrade to a dedicated hosting or VPS hosting plan.

You can also try clearing you cache, flushing your DNS cache, and trying exponential backoff during this step.

2. Hide or move your default WordPress login page.

Sometimes, HTTP 429 errors can arise due to cybersecurity attacks such as brute-force attacks on your WordPress login page. You can determine whether you’re under a cybersecurity attack in several ways:

• Check your traffic sources using a WordPress traffic plugin or a tool such as Google Analytics. If you’re seeing a spike in traffic without a valid reason (such as a marketing or advertising campaign), then you may be under attack.

• If the traffic source is from an unfamiliar country, that may also be a sign that someone from that location is trying to hack you.

• If the traffic source is from one specific IP address, that may a sign that a single attacker is trying to login to your backend.

To move your default login page, you only need to change its URL. That can be easily done using the WPS Hide Login plugin.

Here’s how to use it:

• Install the plugin through your WordPress admin dashboard.

• Access the plugin’s Settings page.

• Next to Login URL, add the new slug for your login page.

• Click Save Changes.

Save the new URL somewhere for safekeeping — the last thing you want is to forget where to login!

3. Deactivate your plugins one-by-one.

If you’re still getting HTTP error 429 after waiting, clearing your cache, and checking for brute force attacks, it’s time to look at the next likely culprit: WordPress plugins.

WordPress plugins offer a wealth of functionality to WordPress website owners, but they can also cause performance issues, including HTTP errors such as 429.

Rather than deactivating them all at once, do so one-by-one so that you can isolate the culprit. Here’s how:

• On your WordPress dashboard’s sidebar, tap Plugins > Installed Plugins.

• Click Deactivate on the first plugin.

• Check to see if this resolves the issue by accessing your website through an incognito window.

• If not, deactivate the next one until all plugins are deactivated.

• Activate them one-by-one once you’re finished.

4. Uninstall your custom theme.

If you’re using a custom WordPress theme from a marketplace such as ThemeForest or Envato, that may be the culprit. Make sure you save a backup of your website prior to deactivating the custom theme and temporarily installing a default WordPress theme.

5. Set your own throttling limit for any APIs.

An advanced technique you can try is to set a throttling limit if you’re using APIs on your website. Throttling is the process of limiting the number of requests an application can submit in a given amount of time. If this limit is exceeded, the server or API requests will typically be dropped or fulfilled with cached data.

While this approach is most often used by third-party APIs or platforms to prevent client apps from exceeding their limits, it can also be useful for restricting your own consumption of third-party APIs or server resources.

In fact, you can implement a stricter throttling limit for yourself to prevent going over the limits of a server, API, or other service you’re using. This is an especially good idea if you’re using a costly API, like the Twitter API, and don’t want to exceed your usage policy.

6. Contact your hosting provider.

Contacting your hosting provider is always an option for any error on your website, but it should be one of the last options you try.

If you’ve tried the steps above and are still seeing the 429 error, it’s possible that the cause originated from your server and not your website. It’s also possible that your host blocks requests from specific third-party services or platforms, like Google Search Console, which makes lots of requests to websites. By reaching out to your provider, they may be able to solve the issue or provide valuable insight.

How to Avoid an HTTP 429 Error

The most simple way to avoid this error is to reduce the number of requests made in a short period of time. The server is keeping track of how many requests per time unit you make and will enforce it — leading to a temporary block if exceeded. Some servers send this information in the header, on rare occasions.

And remember, receiving a 429 is not necessarily an error, it’s the server’s way of telling you your rate of requests is too high and not willing to accept those actions.

Though in some instances, the reason for the error may be your server rather than with your website. If that’s the case, nothing you will do from your side will help and you should contact your hosting provider for a resolution.

Resolving the HTTP 429 Error

An HTTP 429 error is common, but can be avoided by paying attention to rate limits set by your server, API, plugin, or more. If you exceed those limits, there are steps you can take to resolve a 429 error. By doing so, you’ll continue to provide visitors with a seamless user experience on your site.

This article was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.