> Error Messages
Check for errors in the URL, reload the page, or delete your browser's cache are just a few ways to fix this error
By
Tim Fisher
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Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
- Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on July 24, 2024
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
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Reviewed byRyan Perian
- Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
In This Article
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In This Article
- How to Fix the 401 Unauthorized Error
- Other Ways You Might See 401 Errors
- Errors Like 401 Unauthorized
- Frequently Asked Questions
The 401 Unauthorized error is anHTTP status codethat means the page you were trying to access cannot be loaded until you first log in with a valid user ID and password.
If you've just logged in and received the 401 Unauthorized error, it means that the credentials you entered were invalid for some reason.
How to Fix the 401 Unauthorized Error
Check for errors in the URL. It's possible that the 401 Unauthorized error appeared because the URL was typed incorrectly or the link that was selected points to the wrong URL—one that is for authorized users only.
If you're sure the URL is valid, visit the website's main page and look for a link that says Login or Secure Access. Enter your credentials here and then try the page again.
If you don't have credentials or have forgotten yours, follow the instructions provided on the website for setting up an account or resetting your password.
Do you usually struggle to remember your passwords? Consider keeping them in a password manager so that you only have to remember one password.
Reload the page. As simple as it might seem, closing down the page and reopening it might be enough to fix the 401 error, but only if it's caused by a misloaded page.
Delete your browser's cache. There might be invalid login information stored locally in your browser that's disrupting the login process and throwing the 401 error. Clearing the cache will remove any problems in those files and give the page an opportunity to download fresh files directly from the server.
If you're sure the page you're trying to reach shouldn't need authorization, the 401 Unauthorized error message may be a mistake. At that point, it's probably bestto contact the website owner or other website contact and inform them of the problem.
The web site owner of some websites can be reached via email at webmaster@website.com, replacing website.com with the actual website name. Otherwise, find a Contact page for specific contact instructions.
Other Ways You Might See 401 Errors
Web servers running Microsoft IIS might give more information about the 401 Unauthorized error, such as the following:
| Microsoft IIS 401 Error Codes | |
|---|---|
| Error | Explanation |
| 401.1 | Logon failed. |
| 401.2 | Logon failed due to server configuration. |
| 401.3 | Unauthorized due to ACL on resource. |
| 401.4 | Authorization failed by filter. |
| 401.5 | Authorization failed by ISAPI/CGI application. |
| 401.501 | Access Denied: Too many requests from the same client IP; Dynamic IP Restriction Concurrent request rate limit reached. |
| 401.502 | Forbidden: Too many requests from the same client IP; Dynamic IP RestrictionMaximum request rate limit reached. |
| 401.503 | Access Denied: the IP address is included in the Deny list of IP Restriction |
| 401.504 | Access Denied: the host name is included in the Deny list of IP Restriction |
401 Unauthorized error messages are often customized by each website, especially very large ones, so keep in mind that this error may present itself in more ways than these common ones:
- 401 Unauthorized
- Authorization Required
- HTTP Error 401 - Unauthorized
The 401 Unauthorized error displays inside the web browser window, just as web pages do. Like most errors like these, you can find them in all browsers that run on any operating system.
You can learn more about IIS-specific codes on Microsoft'sthe HTTP status code in IIS 7 and later versionspage.
Errors Like 401 Unauthorized
The following messages are also client-side errors and so are related to the 401 Unauthorized error:400 Bad Request,403 Forbidden,404 Not Found, and408 Request Timeout.
A number of server-side HTTP status codes also exist, like the often-seen 500 Internal Server Error.
FAQ
What do I do if I receive a http 401 error in Zoom?
Double-check the URL to make sure it's accurate, and if so reload the page. If that doesn't work, log out and log back in again, and if you're still having problems try turning off any themes or plugins that may be active. Clearing your browser cache might also fix the issue.
What's the difference between 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden?
A 401 Unauthorized code indicates some sort of issue tied to login credentials for a given web page, while 403 Forbidden errors mean the page has been blocked.
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