Overview
When using proxy servers to access certain websites or APIs, customers may occasionally encounter connection timeouts. This error typically means that a request took too long to complete and the server did not respond within the expected time frame. This article explains what causes timeouts and how to resolve or reduce their frequency.
What Is a Timeout Error?
A timeout occurs when a request sent through a proxy server fails to receive a response from the destination server within a specified time limit.
Typical timeout error messages include:
"Connection timed out"
"504 Gateway Timeout"
"Request failed: timeout exceeded"
Why Do Timeouts Occur When Using Proxies?
Timeouts can happen due to a variety of network- or server-related factors. Common causes include:
1. Slow or Unstable Target Websites
If the destination site or API is experiencing high load or downtime, it may not respond quickly, causing a timeout.
2. Overloaded or Unresponsive Proxies
If the proxy server you're routing through is under heavy load or experiencing performance issues, it may delay or drop requests.
3. Blocked or Throttled Requests
Some websites may slow down or delay traffic from certain IPs, especially if rate limits are exceeded, resulting in a timeout on your end.
4. Improper Timeout Settings in Your Script or Tool
Your application or script might be using an aggressive (too short) timeout threshold, causing requests to be cut off prematurely.
5. Poor Network Connectivity
Intermittent network connectivity between your client, the proxy, or the destination server can also trigger timeouts.
How to Fix or Reduce Timeout Errors
To reduce or eliminate timeout issues, we recommend the following best practices:
✅ 1. Increase Timeout Values in Your Code
Set longer timeout thresholds in your HTTP client or scraping tool to allow more time for slow responses.
✅ 2. Retry on Timeout Failures
Implement retry logic in your script to automatically reattempt requests after a brief delay when a timeout occurs.
✅ 3. Reduce Request Frequency
Throttling requests or adding short delays between them can reduce load on the destination sites, minimizing the risk of timeout errors.
Example Timeout Error Messages
When to Contact Support
If you're seeing frequent timeouts across multiple proxies and destinations despite implementing retries and increasing timeouts, please contact our support team opening a support ticket. We’ll help assess your proxy usage and suggest optimizations.
Summary
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Destination server is slow | Increase timeout duration |
| Proxy is overloaded | Rotate to a different proxy |
| Too many requests too fast | Add delays between requests |
| Timeout not handled by script | Add retry logic and backoff |
| Timeout persists | Contact support |
