---
title: ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS: causes and how to fix it
description: When a page keeps redirecting to itself, the browser gives up with 'too many redirects'. Here's why redirect loops happen and the usual culprits behind them.
canonical: https://watchfor.io/blog/too-many-redirects
---

# ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS: causes and how to fix it

2026-02-28 · WatchFor Team · Performance · web, debugging, seo

When a page keeps redirecting to itself, the browser gives up with 'too many redirects'. Here's why redirect loops happen and the usual culprits behind them.

The page won't load. Instead: **"This page isn't working — ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS."** Your site was fine yesterday, and now it's stuck in some invisible loop. What happened?

You've got a **redirect loop** — page A sends visitors to B, and B sends them right back to A, forever. After a handful of hops, the browser throws its hands up and stops. Let's find the cycle.

## What's happening

A [redirect](/blog/301-vs-302-redirects) tells the browser "go here instead." A redirect *loop* is when those instructions form a circle:

```
A → B → A → B → A → …  (browser gives up)
```

Browsers follow only so many redirects (usually ~20) before bailing with this error, to avoid looping endlessly. So the message really means: *"I kept getting redirected and never arrived anywhere."*

## The usual culprits

| Cause | The loop it creates |
| --- | --- |
| **HTTP ↔ HTTPS misconfig** | http→https at one layer, https→http at another |
| **WWW ↔ non-WWW** | `example.com`→`www` and `www`→`example.com` |
| **Trailing slash rules** | `/page`→`/page/` and `/page/`→`/page` |
| **CDN + origin both redirecting** | Each forces a rule the other undoes |
| **Bad app/CMS redirect rule** | A redirect pointing (directly or indirectly) at itself |
| **Login/auth loop** | "Not logged in → login → not logged in" |

The classic is the **HTTPS or WWW** one: two layers (say your CDN and your app) each "fix" the URL in opposite directions, bouncing the visitor back and forth.

## How to diagnose it

1. **Open the network tab.** Watch the chain of 301/302s — you'll literally see it ping-pong between two URLs. That's your loop.
2. **Check each redirect layer.** CDN, load balancer, web server, and app can *each* add redirects. Two of them disagreeing is the usual cause.
3. **Look at recent changes.** A new HTTPS rule, a CDN setting, or a CMS plugin often starts it.
4. **Check cookies.** Auth loops can be cookie-related — a stale or blocked cookie that never lets login "stick."

## How to fix it

- **Pick one canonical form and enforce it once.** Decide on https + (www *or* non-www) + a trailing-slash rule, and apply each redirect in **one place only** — not at every layer.
- **Make sure the destination doesn't redirect back.** The end of a redirect should return a [200](/blog/http-status-codes-explained), not another redirect.
- **Coordinate CDN and origin.** If your CDN forces HTTPS, your origin shouldn't also be redirecting in a way that conflicts.

> **The core fix:** redirect loops come from *two rules fighting*. Find the two layers disagreeing, and let only one of them own the redirect.

## Catch it before users do

A redirect loop takes a page **completely** offline, and it often appears after an innocuous config change. Because it sits right at the entrance, monitoring your key URLs — and confirming they end on a 200, not an endless redirect — turns a silent, total outage into an instant alert.

## The bottom line

| | In one line |
| --- | --- |
| **What** | A redirect cycle the browser refuses to keep following. |
| **Usual cause** | Two layers (HTTPS/WWW/slash) redirecting against each other. |
| **Find it** | The network tab shows the ping-pong chain. |
| **Fix** | One canonical rule, enforced in one place. |

ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS looks scary but it's almost always two well-meaning rules in a tug-of-war. Pick one canonical URL form, enforce it once, and make sure the finish line is a real page.

More on redirects: [301 vs 302](/blog/301-vs-302-redirects); watch your URLs with [web monitoring](/docs/monitors/web).

---

Canonical page: https://watchfor.io/blog/too-many-redirects · All articles: https://watchfor.io/blog/all.md · Site guide: https://watchfor.io/llms.txt