The Cloudflare error 522 is one of the most common problems beginners face when starting out their blogging career.
If you have a blog, you already know that it’s not always just sunshine and rainbows. If you don’t already have one and plan on building a new website, you should know that sometimes there are technical errors that you need to fix.
When you’re searching for answers, it’s important to describe those errors as good as possible, so that you can find the best solutions.
Who doesn’t hate errors? They are incredibly time consuming and sometimes you need to spend hours solving them. Why? Because you can’t find the solution on the internet!(1)
One of the most common errors bloggers face, is the infamous “CloudFlare 552” error. If you are wondering what the causes of this errors are, here are the most common ones:
- Server Overload
- Server Settings
- IP Block
Don’t worry too much about the reasons. If you are here in order to find out how to fix this specific error, you’re in the right place! In this article, we will go over how to fix it and make sure you don’t ever see it again!
Let’s jump straight into it:
If you are not a technical person, the errors that start with “5” are usually server side errors. Cloudflare requests resources from your server. Very fast.
Meaning that if the server doesn’t provide resources fast enough, then the 522 error shows up. If you see the error, don’t get angry or frustrated (even if it’s hard). Cloudflare is probably the best CDN on the market and you shouldn’t replace it.
Another reason why you should stay calm is that the problem is not with Cloudflare itself, but with the server. Because the server was the one that didn’t provide it with the resources.(2)
In my experience, the Cloudflare 522 error usually shows up when your website is on a shared hosting plan. Why? Because the resources of the server are shared between more people. So, when the CDN doesn’t receive the needed resources as fast as possible, this specific error pops on your screen:
For that matter, I suggest investing in Bluehost, as it’s the hosting service that I use. Since I started using it, I haven’t seen the 522 error anymore.
My guess is that Bluehost does a very good job at sharing the resources whenever they are needed most, so that all the people on the hosting plan have their websites up and running.
If you are a technical person and want to learn more about why this error might be showing up, here are a couple of additional reasons:
- Problems with WordPress plugins
- Web servers are offline
- “keepalive” is disabled (from the origin web server)
- cPanel firewall might be blocking your connection
- The IP address doesn’t match in the Cloudflare DNS
- Problems in the .htaccess file.
HOW TO FIX CLOUDFLARE 522 ERROR?
Now that we got that out of the way, it’s time to have a look at how you can solve the problem. In my experience, there are multiple ways to solve the Cloudflare 522 error.
We will now take a look at what has worked for me and for some of my friends. You can be quite certain that if you follow these steps, you will solve the problem.(3,4)
Let’s jump into it:
- Unblock the Cloudflare IP: this is the main reason why the error might be showing up. The first thing you need to do is to unblock the IP. Check the “.htaccess” file in order to see if everything is unblocked.
- WordPress Plugins: another very common cause for the 522 error. First of all, remove all the plugins that you don’t use. This will also help with your website speed, therefore you will also get higher rankings in Google.
- Mismatch in DNS servers: you should also check the IP from the DNS settings. If it’s not correct, then you should immediately switch it. If it’s the right IP, then the problem is somewhere else.
- cPanel Firewall: check if all the settings from the control panel are in order. This is very unlikely, as if you didn’t previously messed with the cPanel, there is no reason why you would have problems here. Although it’s worth giving it a quick glimpse.
- Overloaded web server: If there are too many people on the shared hosting plan, the server will obviously crash. That’s why you need to check with your customer support and find out if this is the case. If yes, then they should fix the problem as soon as possible for your website to be live.
CONCLUSION
The Cloudflare 522 error is a very common problem for many website owners. If you follow all the steps, you should be able to get rid of the error.
In case that it doesn’t go away, I suggest switching to Bluehost, as you will most likely not see this error again. Web hosting is very important. You should get a good one.
