Character AI is one of the fastest-growing AI chat platforms.
As a result, the servers and login can sometimes go offline, leading many users to ask the question: is Character AI down?
In this post, I will explain why Character AI is often down, how to check if the app is now working, and the best way to get around these outages and be the first to know when the service is back online.
Let’s get started!
Why Is Character AI Down?
Character AI has experienced a massive surge in demand in recent months.
While Character AI is well funded, the company still struggles with scaling its services to a wider audience.
The platform is also undergoing several updates every week.
Some of these updates seem to require the server to temporarily go offline in order to take effect.
However, there are several ways to check if Character AI is down for everyone or not working for you.
How To Check If Character AI Is Down
The easiest way to check if Character AI is down is by checking the error message or screen displayed on the website.
The most common situation is the Cloudflare waiting room screen.
This appears when the character ai servers are under heavy load. As a result, a queue is formed to limit the number of concurrent users.
Alternatively, you may see a 500 internal server error.
This means the server is completely down rather than limited by bandwidth.
When this message appears, the Character AI team usually will make an announcement on Reddit or the official Discord server.
These outages can range anywhere from minutes to several hours.
Character AI Down Memes
The funniest way to check if Character AI is down is by visiting the official subreddit.
Server downtimes are when Reddit seems to be most active.
Without even visiting Character AI’s website or app, you can usually tell if the servers are down based on the number of active Reddit users.
I’m always amazed by the sheer creativity and beautiful weirdness of user memes.
Character AI Waiting Room
The Character AI waiting room is the queue that limits service access when too many users visit the website.
Not to be confused with Character AI rooms, the waiting room is a purgatory that can last anywhere from seconds to literal hours.
The longest wait time I have seen shared on Reddit is up to 40 minutes.
I haven’t found any tricks yet to make the wait time shorter.
My only recommendation is not to hit refresh, which causes you to lose your place in line.
If you’re curious about checking the most recent queue times, I suggest visiting the site on another desktop or mobile device.
When Will Character AI Be Back Up?
Character AI server outages generally do not last longer than 15-30 minutes.
However, there are times when access to Character AI is unavailable for even longer periods of time.
Longest Wait Times
Reading through user posts on Reddit and Discord, it appears that the longest wait times are about 30-40 minutes.
One user recently ran a poll asking about the most common wait times. I think my longest has been about 10 or 15 minutes.
How to Troubleshoot Character AI Issues
There is no surefire way to avoid the Character AI 500 internal server error.
The best advice I can give is to use the Chrome browser.
Chrome is the most popular browser worldwide, so developers often test their web apps with Chrome in mind first.
I have seen that the beta Character AI app may sometimes have access to the server when it’s down for everyone else.
However, app access is limited.
Only users who signed up for the initial waitlist and were accepted can access the official mobile app.
A new paid membership called Character AI Plus, or ca.i+, is also available.
One key feature of the subscription is priority access to Character AI by skipping the waiting room when the server is full for regular users.
Tips for Avoiding Character AI Outages
- Use Character AI during off-peak hours. Character AI is most likely to experience outages during periods of high demand, such as early morning or late at night.
- Check the Character AI status. Your best bet is to check Reddit, Discord, or Twitter.
- Use a Character AI alternative: If Character AI is down, try using a Character AI alternative like NovelAI, Open Assistant, or TavernAI.
FAQ
Why does Character.AI keep going down?
Character AI is experiencing significant growth in demand.
The website is estimated to receive more than 100 million visitors per month.
This causes strain on the servers and requires the service to sometimes go offline or implement a visitor queue.
Why isn’t Character.AI loading?
The most common reason Character AI is not loading is that the server is unable to keep up with user demand.
As a result, you will either see a waiting room screen or an internal server error if the app is entirely offline.
Alternatively, the problem could be caused by your device. So try restarting your browser or using a different device (i.e., mobile, desktop, laptop).
Why does Character.AI take so long to load?
Character AI is experiencing significant demand on its servers and is working to scale up its services to meet the rising number of users on the platform.
Also, Character AI is still in beta.
This means the app is not a final product and is still under development, including key features and architecture changes that could lead to temporary errors or bugs.
