Reddit is one of the most popular sites on the internet, but in recent years, users have been complaining about error codes like 503, 405, 403, 504 etc.
They are all similar in what they do to you, so today I’m going to show you how to fix them. There will be some general tips that can work for everyone and some details.
Basically, they’re all telling you that you can’t log into their server for some reason, which can be extremely annoying, especially if you’re a die-hard Redditor like me. So if you need help fixing these errors, you’ve come to the right place.
About Reddit
Reddit is personally one of my favorite websites for all that it has to offer. Their motto is “the front page of the Internet” and it is certainly true.
It has information on all the topics you can think of. When I say something, I mean it. News, Humor, Job Specific Pages, Skills, DIY Projects, Fan Theories, the list goes on. If you want to learn more about the most interesting subreddits written by you, check out this article .
Each of these topics has their own “subreddits” as they are called and anyone can post there. This is what makes this site so unique. Once you post to a page, people may like it, dislike it, or leave a comment, which can lead to a long thread of interesting comments and discussions.
It is basically the most massive forum online, with interesting discussions all the time on interesting topics.
It started in 2005 as a desktop-only site, but has since evolved to include an iOS app and an Android app on the Google Play Store. I mention this to emphasize that these errors are not specific to any of these versions, but can occur whether you are using your desktop or mobile device.
It’s pretty funny, but I actually have a lot of these solutions that I’ll come back to later on Reddit. They have subreddits on Reddit and these solutions are the ones that other users recommended because they said it worked for them.
What is Reddit error: 503, 405, 403, 504
All of these errors are similar in nature and there are some small details that separate them that can be difficult to see. Here is a brief summary of what these common errors really mean and what exactly they tell you.
503 and 504
503 and 504 are so similar that the difference between them is technical and beyond the comprehension of the average user, so I will include them together in this article.
Probably the most common error on this list, and as you can see from the screenshot above, these errors tell you that your servers are busy. I really wouldn’t expect this to be common for a website as massive as Reddit but sadly it is all too common.
The worst part is that there’s not much you can do to fix it except try again in a few minutes.
405
405 occurs when you try to post something to a page. It won’t let you post and you’ll get this error which can be very annoying if you come up with a great idea. It’s not too bad on 503 or 504 though, because at least you can still access and view the site.
403
This also happens when you try to post to a subreddit, but for a different reason. The message will state that you are “prohibited” from doing so, and that usually means that it is prohibited. So it’s not so much an error message as telling you that you’ve been banned for some reason.
How To Fix Reddit error: 503, 405, 403, 504
We have already mentioned that there are some solutions that you should try first for all these solutions as they are all similar errors.
If you try these and still get this error, continue with the more general solutions for the individual error.
Method 1: Reinstall the app
Obviously, this is only relevant if you use the app, and if so, it may do the trick. Just delete the app from your smartphone and then download it again. You’ll be surprised how effective this step is, which only takes a few minutes.
Method 2: Try accessing it with a different web browser
This is basically the desktop version of the previous step. Many of these errors are web browser specific, so get out there and try all your other web browsers to see if it works.
Error Solutions For 503, 405, 403, 504 etc
Many times, the above two general solutions will fix the problem. However, if not, consider trying these specific steps for each error.
Error 503 and 504
Again, these codes are so identical that I’m including them together. The honest truth is that the error is on your server because it is overloaded with traffic.
Unfortunately, this means there’s not much you can do about it. I know that’s not what you want to hear at all, I bet your best bet is to wait a few minutes, refreshing your browser.
Error 405
The most important thing that usually eliminates this error message is to use Reddit in Chrome, as it happens most often when using Firefox or Safari. This goes hand in hand with solution number 2 above. It also affects mobile fluently, so if you’re getting this error while using the mobile app, consider trying to access Reddit on your phone’s browser.
Error 403
So, as you can see from the description of this error, it tells you that you can’t post to any subdirectories.
It’s not so much an error, but it gives you information. If you have any idea why you might get banned, like posting inappropriate or vulgar content or posting false information, those are all reasons a subreddit moderator might ban you. If that’s the case, there’s really nothing you can do about it because it’s your fault you got banned in the first place.
However, if you have no idea why you were banned, consider contacting the moderator and asking. It may be a mistake, or they may have done it by mistake.
Also, a feature that most people are not familiar with is an auto-ban feature that is allowed by some subreddit. It works like this.
If you post something to one subreddit that is considered offensive, you will automatically be banned from the other subreddit. Not many people have it and I wasn’t even aware of it and it can confuse people as to the reasons for its ban. Check if this subreddit has it; It’s usually in the description.
To wrap up this section, here is the worst but honest truth about these mistakes. Sometimes you just can’t do anything to fix them and calling customer support of any kind won’t do you any good. Reddit is a simple but extremely popular site, and sometimes their servers are simply overloaded.
If you have followed all of these solutions and are still getting this error, my best recommendation would be to leave and come back in an hour. It should be operational again by then.
End Liner
Often the errors we are talking about here are not that common and you will probably never encounter them when using any system.
For example, we have detailed many Windows codes, but you may never have gotten one, even if you are a lifelong PC user.
Unfortunately, this is simply not the case with Reddit. Users reported that several of these errors occur very frequently, like 50% of the time they log in.
These reports are mostly from about a year ago and it looks like Reddit has done a pretty decent job of fixing them. However, if you use Reddit a lot, there’s a good chance you’ll get one of these errors at least at some point.
Due to all the error codes on this site, you may be the one using this article the most. It’s important that you know how to do this quickly so that you don’t waste all your time trying to fix these annoying problems. You can also see that these are pretty simple solutions that anyone with basic computer skills can do.
The worst part is that a lot of them just can’t be fixed, as you’ll have to wait for the ones to do with overloaded servers.
This article should give you everything you need to know about Reddit Error Codes 503, 405, 403, 504 etc.
They really are very similar, as are the methods to solve them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article and good luck solving these problems. If you want to read more articles I’ve written on this site, check out my page.
