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    Diagnostics

    How do I know if a website is really down or just down for me?

    Part of Uptime monitoring — the full answer, the facts and the alternatives in one place.

    Quick answer

    How do I know if a website is really down or just down for me?

    Compare the site from an independent network and an external monitor, recording the URL, time, status and error. Matching failures raise confidence of an external issue but do not establish its root cause.

    • A local DNS, network, browser, VPN or access-control issue can make a site appear unavailable to one person.
    • A traceroute reveals whether packets stop at your ISP, the transit provider, or the origin.
    • External checkers vary in their probe locations, request method and caching, so read their method before treating the result as definitive.
    • A successful DNS lookup followed by a timeout narrows the investigation but does not prove that the origin is available or that a firewall is the cause.

    Step-by-step

    1. 1
      Try a different network

      Load the site on cellular / a VPN. If it works, the problem is your ISP or local DNS.

    2. 2
      Run an external checker

      Use an external checker and record its location, request method, timestamp and error detail.

    3. 3
      Traceroute the hostname

      Run traceroute or mtr to see where packets stop: your ISP, transit, or the origin.

    4. 4
      Escalate with evidence

      Follow the incident policy with the observations gathered; a second independent result can help reduce ambiguity.

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