Does Chrome display the “Err Connection Reset” message when you attempt to open a website? If so, this is because Chrome is having an issue establishing a connection to your website.

Luckily, there are some methods you can follow to potentially fix this issue in Chrome.

Reboot Your Router

Since this issue is related to your network, you should reboot your router and see if that fixes the problem. You can reboot most routers by pressing the power button on the router, letting the router turn off, and then pressing the power button again to turn the router back on.

Reboot the router

Use the power socket switch if your router doesn’t have a power button.

If that doesn’t help and Chrome continues to have this issue, reset your router to the default settings and see if that helps. Keep in mind that resetting your router deletes all your settings and custom configurations on the router.

Make Sure Your Internet Works

When the “Site can’t be reached because the connection was reset” error message appears, check to see if your internet connection works. It might be that your router works just fine, but you aren't connected to the internet.

Related: Got a Windows 10 Wi-Fi Problem? Here's How to Fix It

You can verify your internet connection’s status by opening a site in a different browser on your computer. If the site loads, everything is okay with your connection.

In case the site fails to load in the other browser, you might want to speak to your internet service provider (ISP) and seek its help.

Disable the Proxy Server

While a proxy server doesn’t normally cause any issues with your browsers, it’s a good idea to disable the proxy server, if any, on your computer and see if this fixes Chrome.

Follow these steps to turn a proxy server off in Windows 10:

  1. Open the Start menu, search for "Control Panel," and click the first result.
  2. Select Large icons from the View by menu in the Control Panel.
  3. Click Internet Options.
  4. Head to the Connections tab in the box that opens.
  5. Click the LAN settings button at the bottom.
  6. Untick the option that says Use a proxy server for your LAN, and then click OK.
    Disable proxy in Windows
  7. Click Apply followed by OK to save your changes.

Reset the Winsock Catalog

The Winsock catalog holds the entries for the connections established on your computer. It’s worth resetting this catalog to see if your issue gets resolved.

Resetting the Winsock catalog only requires running a command from the Command Prompt. Here’s how you do this:

  1. Open the Start menu, search for "Command Prompt." Click Run as administrator.
  2. Hit Yes in the prompt.
  3. Type the following command into the Command Prompt window and hit Enter. This resets the Winsock catalog.
    Reset Winsock catalog
            netsh winsock reset
        
  4. Reset the TCP/IP stack by entering the following command and pressing Enter.
            netsh int ip reset
        
  5. Release your current IP address using the following command:
            ipconfig /release
        
  6. Use the below command to renew your IP address:
            ipconfig /renew
        
  7. Lastly, run the following command to flush your DNS cache:
            ipconfig /flushdns
        

Open Chrome and, hopefully, it should run just fine.

Clear Your Browser Cache

A possible reason Chrome keeps saying “Checking the connection” is that you have some faulty cache files in Chrome. Cache files are supposed to speed up your browser sessions, but sometimes, these files are the reason your browser runs slowly.

Luckily, Chrome lets you easily clear your cache files, which can potentially fix your connection problem.

Here’s how to reset the Chrome cache:

  1. Open Google Chrome on your computer.
  2. Click the three dots in the top-right corner, and select More Tools > Clear Browsing Data.
  3. Click the Basic tab at the top.
  4. Tick the Cached images and files option.
  5. Hit Clear data at the bottom.
    Clear Chrome data

Disable Antivirus Programs

An antivirus program is supposed to help you block malicious items on your computer. However, sometimes it ends up recognizing good items as bad ones. This can cause issues with Chrome making connection requests to your sites.

In this case, your best bet is to turn the antivirus temporarily off and see if Chrome works. If it does, you either need to add Chrome to the exceptions list in your antivirus, or just get another antivirus program.

You can turn off Microsoft Defender, the default antivirus in Windows 10, by following these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app on your PC.
  2. Click Update & Security on the resulting screen.
  3. Select Windows Security on the left.
  4. Click Virus & threat protection on the right pane.
    Disable the Windows antivirus
  5. Select Manage settings from the Virus & threat protection settings section.
  6. Turn the toggle for Real-time protection to the Off position.

Disable the Firewall

Your firewall blocks suspicious network connections on your computer. It might be that your Chrome connections are considered suspicious by your firewall, and so Chrome is disabled from making any connection requests.

This can cause Chrome to display errors like "Err connection reset."

You can check if your firewall is indeed doing this by temporarily disabling the firewall on your Windows or Mac computer.

Disable the Firewall on Windows 10

  1. Launch the Control Panel.
  2. Assuming you’ve selected Large icons from the View by menu, click the Windows Defender Firewall option on your screen.
  3. Click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off on the left.
  4. Select Turn off Windows Defender Firewall in both sections, and click OK at the bottom.
    Disable the Windows firewall

Disable the Firewall on macOS

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and select System Preferences.
  2. Select Security & Privacy on the following screen.
  3. Click the Firewall tab.
  4. Click the Turn Off Firewall button.
    Disable the macOS firewall

Resolving the "Err Connection Reset" Message in Google Chrome

Chrome resets your connection for many reasons. If you ever come across a reset error in this browser, one of the methods above should help you rectify the problem.

Chrome isn’t without issues, and you’ll likely encounter issues with it from time to time. The good thing is that you can fix most of these issues by yourself using quick and easy solutions.