ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in Chrome: Is It Your Cookie or the Site? (Fix in 5 Steps)

ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in Chrome shows up as a grey page that says the site "redirected you too many times". It means Chrome was sent from one address to another, and another, until it gave up. The chain was a loop.

The fix depends on one question: is the loop caused by your browser's cookie for that site, or by the site's own settings? One quick test answers it. If it is your cookie, you can fix it in a minute without signing out of anything else. If it is the site, this guide shows the usual causes for site owners.

The short answer#

• Run the Incognito test. Loads in Incognito? Your cookie. Fails there too? The site.
• Your cookie: clear cookies for that site only, then reload.
• Still failing? Turn off extensions and VPNs, and check your clock.
• Your site: look for HTTPS fights, www rules and CDN SSL settings.

What the error actually means#

A redirect is a site saying "not here, go there". It is normal: http:// sends you to https://, example.com sends you to www.example.com. MDN's guide on HTTP redirections explains the codes behind it.

A redirect loop is when "there" sends you back "here". Chrome follows redirects for a while, but it caps the chain. Its networking code sets the limit at 20 redirects, then shows ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS rather than bouncing forever.

Cookies matter because many redirects depend on them. A site might send visitors with no session cookie to a sign-in page, and visitors with one to the dashboard. If your cookie is stale or contradicts itself, the site can bounce you between the two.

Step 1: The Incognito test#

Open an Incognito window with Ctrl+Shift+N, or Command+Shift+N on a Mac, and paste the same address.

• The page loads: Incognito starts with no cookies, so your normal profile's cookie for that site is the problem. Go to step 2.
• It still fails: the loop happens for everyone, or at least for every new visitor. The site is the problem. As a visitor, wait or contact them. As the owner, skip to the usual redirect loops.

This takes ten seconds and saves you from clearing data that was never the problem.

Step 2: Clear that site's cookies only#

You do not need to clear your whole browser. Clear the one site:

1. Open any page on the site, even the error page.
2. Click the View site information icon left of the address.
3. Choose Cookies and site data, then Manage on-device site data.
4. Delete the site's entries, then reload.

If the error page will not show the icon, paste chrome://settings/content/all, search the site, and click Delete data.

You will be signed out of that site, and only that site. Our one-site clearing guide covers every method in detail.

With Cleaner, our free Chrome extension, this is one click: open it on the broken tab and choose Sign out & reset. It clears that site's cookies, cache and storage, reloads the page, and shows what it removed. Your other sites stay signed in.

Step 3: Turn off extensions and VPNs#

If the page loads in Incognito but clearing cookies did not help, something in your normal profile is still interfering.

• Open chrome://extensions and turn extensions off. Redirect-rewriting tools, ad blockers and privacy extensions are the usual suspects.
• Turn off any VPN or proxy and reload.
• Check your computer's date and time. A wrong clock can make a fresh cookie look expired the instant it arrives.

Step 4: Check that cookies are allowed for the site#

A sneaky version of this error appears after deleting cookies or tightening privacy settings. The site tries to set a cookie, Chrome refuses, and the site redirects you to set it again, forever.

Go to Settings, then Privacy and security, then Site settings, then Additional content settings, then On-device site data. Make sure the site is not on a block list. If the redirect goes through a separate login domain, check that one too, and consider allowing third-party cookies for that site only.

Step 5: If every site shows the error#

That points away from cookies. Check your proxy settings, any security software that inspects web traffic, and your network. Try another network, such as your phone's hotspot. If the error disappears, the problem is on the original network.

If you own the site: the usual redirect loops#

When the Incognito test fails, the loop is in the site's configuration. These cause most of them:

Cloudflare's documentation on ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS describes the Flexible SSL case in detail. To trace any loop, run curl -sIL https://your-site.example and read the Location: lines. A loop shows the same two addresses repeating.

If you fix a loop for visitors who already have a bad cookie, a Clear-Site-Data: "cookies" response header on the sign-out or a fix-up page can clear it for them. MDN documents the header.

Prevent it next time#

• Visitors: if a site instead says its request header or cookie is too large, see that fix. Clear one site, not everything, and only after the Incognito test says it is your cookie. Related: our website login loop fix for loops that stay on the sign-in page.
• Site owners: keep each redirect rule in exactly one layer, and test in a private window after every change to HTTPS, domain or login settings.