The target site, after waiting for a request you never finished sending.

408 — Request Timeout

The server opened a connection, waited for the rest of your request, and gave up. Note the direction: this is the server complaining that YOU were slow, which is the opposite of a 504 and the opposite of what most people assume when they see a timeout.

A proxy fixes part of this. Only by being faster. A datacenter or ISP exit removes the residential last-mile from an upload path, but no pool fixes a request that is malformed on the way out.

Why it happens

A Content-Length larger than the body actually sent, so the server waits for bytes that never arrive.

A slow upload through a residential exit, where the last-mile upstream is a fraction of the download speed.

An idle keep-alive connection reclaimed by the server and reported as 408 rather than closed silently.

A proxy that buffered the request and released it too slowly for the server's header timeout.

How to fix it

  1. Check that Content-Length matches the body — a mismatch is the single most common cause and produces exactly this.
  2. Use a faster pool for uploads. Residential upstream is the constraint far more often than download is.
  3. Do not retry a 408 on the same connection; open a new one.

FAQ

What does 408 mean?›
The server opened a connection, waited for the rest of your request, and gave up. Note the direction: this is the server complaining that YOU were slow, which is the opposite of a 504 and the opposite of what most people assume when they see a timeout. The target site, after waiting for a request you never finished sending.
Why am I getting 408?›
A Content-Length larger than the body actually sent, so the server waits for bytes that never arrive. A slow upload through a residential exit, where the last-mile upstream is a fraction of the download speed. An idle keep-alive connection reclaimed by the server and reported as 408 rather than closed silently. A proxy that buffered the request and released it too slowly for the server's header timeout.
How do I fix 408?›
Check that Content-Length matches the body — a mismatch is the single most common cause and produces exactly this. Use a faster pool for uploads. Residential upstream is the constraint far more often than download is. Do not retry a 408 on the same connection; open a new one.
Will a proxy fix 408?›
Only by being faster. A datacenter or ISP exit removes the residential last-mile from an upload path, but no pool fixes a request that is malformed on the way out.

Other errors

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