When working on your website, or browsing the web, you can stumble upon various error messages that block you from accessing the resource you are trying to open. Such messages showcase that the communication between your Internet browser and the requested server is flawed and something needs to be done in order to fix the problem.
There are many error messages that along with blocking you from browsing online content, also give information about what the problem might be. One such error code is 401 Error Unauthorized. If you have seen such a message on your website, or anywhere on the web and search for ways of fixing it, this article is for you.
In the following paragraphs, you will read about what is 401 Error Unauthorized, what causes it, and various methods you can apply to get it fixed.
What is 401 Error
410 Error is a part of the HTTP status codes and occurs in the event of the web server not providing the requested information because there are no valid authentication credentials. 401 Unauthorized is a part of the 4xx status codes, indicating that the issue lies somewhere on the client side in the communication between a server and a client. Similar errors include:
- Error 400 Bad Request
- Error 402 Payment Required
- Error 404 Not Found
- Error 405 Method Not Allowed
- Error 406 Not Acceptable
If you are curious about the HTTP status codes, then you can check our article explaining what they are and how they affect your website: What are HTTP Status Codes When it comes to Error 401, there are various methods that you can use to fix it. In this article, you will read about 6 ways how to do so.
What Causes 401 Error Unauthorized
There are various client-side reasons why the Bad Request error message appears:
- Wrong URL address – similar to HTTP Error 400 Bad Request, sometimes mistyped URL address can prompt the requested server to display the error message.
- Too many/outdated/corrupted browser cache files – cache files make the overall web browsing experience more convenient to the end user, but there are times that such files can cause issues such as prompting Error 401 Unauthorized.
- Corrupted DNS cache files – sometimes, the DNS cache can be the reason behind the prompt of the error message.
- WordPress themes and plugin incompatibility – should the requested page that prompts the error message be built with WordPress, there is a chance that some of the active plugins or the selected theme are causing the technical problem.
How to Fix 401 Error
There are several methods that you can apply to fix HTTP Error 410.
Method 1: Double Check the URL Address
Sometimes 401 Error can be prompted by a wrongly typed URL. For example, there can be some special symbols, or illegal ones that can make the server search for data files that are non-existent. Also, if you are following a hyperlink from another website that leads to the error message, double-check whether the link contains any typos.
If you notice some, paste the URL in your search bar, fix the error, and try to acquire the resource one more time. If none of these fixes Error 410, then proceed with the next method.
Method 2: Delete Internet Browser Cache
Internet browser cache is a set of data files that contribute to faster webpage loading speeds. Although very convenient to the end-user, web browser cache can sometimes cause technical problems such as making the requested server display 401 Error. In such cases, you should delete your preferred Internet browser’s cache.
To see how to delete browser cache, read this article: How to Delete Browser Cache on Windows Once you flush cached files, try to access the requested data again. Should the web server display the Error 401 message again, then the problem is rooted somewhere else. Proceed with the next method.
Method 3: Flush DNS Cache
A DNS cache is a list of data files stored temporarily on your device when a website is accessed for the first time, so to make loading speeds faster when the same site is revisited. However, sometimes DNS cache can be the reason behind the displayed 401 Error message.
Should this be the case, it is advisable to flush the DNS cache and try to reload the requested web page. To flush the DNS cache, follow the instructions in this article: How to Flush DNS Cache on Windows. If this method doesn’t fix the problem, then proceed with the following suggestions.
Method 4: Deactivate Incompatible Website Extensions/Plugins/Addons
Should your website be a WordPress-based one, or based on another CMS, then a reason for HTTP error 401 might be an incompatible plugin. To find out whether this is the issue, the first thing you should do is deactivate all active extensions/add-ons/plugins on your website.
Then, try to open your website and see whether it displays the 401 Error. If it doesn’t, the issue is rooted in some of the deactivated plugins. If this is the case, here’s what to do:
- Open your library of installed extensions/add-ons/plugins and activate the first in the list. Leave the rest deactivated.
- While only one extension/add-on/plugin is activated, open your website – if you no longer see the error message, the problem is rooted in a different extension/add-on/plugin.
- Activate one more extension/add-on/plugin. Then try to open your website again.
- Repeat this process until you activate an extension/add-on/plugin that causes the 401 Error to appear on your website.
- Delete this extension/ad-on/plugin or contact developers for further assistance.
However, if deactivating your plugins doesn’t fix Error 401, then the issue is rooted elsewhere. Continue with the next method.
Method 5: Deactivate the Incompatible WordPress Theme
410 Error can be caused by an incompatible or badly coded WordPress theme.
If your website is based on WordPress, then check out whether the problem is not indeed rooted in your selected theme. To do so, enter your WordPress dashboard and activate any of the default WordPress themes, then, while this default theme is active, open your website.
If you no longer see 401 Error, then the problem lies indeed in the theme you just deactivated. Should this be the case, change your theme to another one to your liking or contact the developers of the faulty one for further technical assistance. However, if changing your preferred theme to a default one doesn’t fix Error 401, then proceed with the next method.
Method 6: Contact Your Hosting Provider’s Tech Support Team
If nothing else works, then the 401 Error might well be rooted on the server side. To know more about the issue, contact tech support and explain in detail your issue and the methods you applied to get the problem fixed, so the technicians know what steps to take in the further resolution of the problem.
Conclusion
When there are no valid authentication credentials, the requested server might sometimes display 401 Error message instead of the requested data. If this happens, you can try to fix the problem by applying these methods:
- Double-check the URL Address.
- Delete Internet Browser Cache.
- Flush DNS Cache.
- Deactivate the Incompatible WordPress Plugin.
- Deactivate the Incompatible WordPress Theme.
- Contact Your Hosting Provider’s Tech Support Team.
