How to Fix "Page isn‘t Available Right Now" on Facebook

Seeing the "Page isn‘t Available Right Now" error when trying to access Facebook can be incredibly frustrating. But with the right troubleshooting techniques, you can get Facebook back up and running in no time.

In this comprehensive 4500+ word guide, I‘ll dig deep into why you‘re seeing this error, the most effective fixes, and additional tips to prevent Facebook outages going forward.

Why "Page isn‘t Available Right Now" Happens on Facebook

Before jumping into solutions, it helps to understand exactly why this error occurs in the first place. There are 5 primary culprits:

1. Facebook Server Outages

The most common trigger for the "Page isn‘t Available" error is downtime of Facebook‘s servers. Facebook runs on thousands of servers around the world, and any disruptions can ripple across the platform.

According to Facebook‘s public outage data, the average outage lasts around 20 minutes, during which users get served various errors including "Page isn‘t Available." More severe incidents like the October 2021 outage can cause 6+ hours of disruption.

During an outage, there‘s unfortunately nothing you can do except wait for Facebook‘s engineers to resolve the underlying server issues. But knowing this upfront prevents you from wasting time troubleshooting other things when the cause is a larger systemic failure.

2. Connectivity Issues on Your End

While less likely than a Facebook server outage, problems with your local network can also lead to a "Page not Available" error:

• WiFi Issues: An unstable WiFi connection, congested network, or interference can prevent your device from properly reaching Facebook‘s servers. This often manifests as pages loading indefinitely.

• ISP Outages: Some ISPs have more reliability issues than others. Any downtime of your internet service prevents Facebook access.

• Router Problems: Faulty routers, misconfigurations, or congested router traffic can disrupt connectivity. Facebook relies on DNS records, so DNS issues on your router often cause page loading failures.

• VPN Conflicts: VPNs encrypt and route your traffic through remote servers. This can conflict with Facebook‘s servers and cause pages to fail loading.

• Firewall Blocking: If you use firewall apps or firewall settings on a router, they may block Facebook‘s servers – preventing access. Video calling features are particularly prone to firewall conflicts.

Basically any form of local network disruption between your device and Facebook‘s servers can lead to "page not available" errors.

3. Corrupted App Cache/Data

The Facebook app stores temporary data like images, page assets, and cookies on your smartphone to improve performance. If this cached data becomes corrupted, it can cause blank or endlessly loading screens.

Corrupted app data is a common cause of errors specific to the Facebook app on mobile, while having no issues accessing Facebook through a browser on the same device.

4. Buggy Facebook App Update

As a constantly evolving platform, Facebook pushes app updates to fix bugs and add new features regularly. But sometimes these updates have unintended consequences:

• New code bugs can inadvertently break existing functionality. For example, the June 2022 iOS update caused widespread crashing for many users.
• Updates may add new requirements that older devices struggle with, causing app freezing or slow loading.
• Updates can introduce conflicts with changes on Facebook‘s backend. So the app update coupled with backend tweaks results in errors.

Buggy updates tend to get reported quickly and fixed with a follow-up update. But during the brief window of incompatibility, users can get hit with "Page not Available" errors.

5. Restrictive App Settings

If you use ad blockers, tracker blockers, VPNs, or privacy apps they can sometimes interfere with Facebook‘s loading and cause blank screens. The restrictive settings block resources required by Facebook. Examples include:

• Ad blockers hiding sponsored content slots, disrupting page layout.
• Tracker blockers preventing page view analytics from loading properly.
• VPN routing delaying resource calls back to Facebook‘s servers.
• Privacy apps restricting cookies, local storage, and other permissions needed for proper function.

So in summary, the vast majority of "Page not Available" errors stem from either Facebook outages or local network and device issues on your end. Understanding the exact cause helps apply the right troubleshooting approach…

How to Fix "Page isn‘t Available Right Now" on Facebook

With a better understanding of what triggers that dreaded "Page not available" message, let‘s walk through the top ways to get Facebook working again:

1. Check Facebook Server Status

Since server outages are the most common reason for Facebook access issues, it‘s wise to check their status first.

The easiest way is to visit Downdetector‘s Facebook Status Page. This provides a real-time view of user-reported problems across Facebook‘s suite of apps:

Major outages will show a large red spike in reports. But even smaller blips likely correlate to whatever error you‘re seeing.

You can also search "Facebook down" on Twitter to crowdsource reports – but Downdetector provides more structured outage data.

If it‘s clearly a widespread outage, all you can do is sit tight until Facebook‘s engineers get their servers back online. Persistent minor issues throughout a day often indicate backend problems too.

But minimal reports suggest the problem could be more isolated to your device or network.

2. Restart Your Device and Router

Before diving deeper, simple restarts can surprisingly resolve transient errors:

Restart your device

• On an iPhone or Android phone, power it off completely, wait 30 seconds, and restart it.
• For Windows, click Start > Power > Restart. On a Mac press Command + Control + Power button and select Restart.
• Restarting your device resets any software issues, clears memory, and establishes fresh connections.

Reboot your router

• Unplug your router and modem, wait 60 seconds, then plug back in.
• This clears any corrupted DNS caches, renews IP addresses, and resets router software.

Restarting resets temporary glitches that can cause "page not available" and connectivity issues. It‘s a simple first step worth trying.

3. Try Different Networks and Devices

To better isolate the issue, try accessing Facebook from different networks and devices:

Test different networks

• On mobile, toggle airplane mode on/off to switch between WiFi and cellular data.

• Does the error happen on both WiFi and cellular? That likely points to a larger Facebook outage.

• But if it only occurs on one network, that indicates your router setup or ISP is the culprit.

• You can also try connecting to a different WiFi network like a friend‘s home, office, or public hotspot.

Check different devices

• Try loading Facebook on your phone, tablet, desktop, and any other available devices.
• If the error localizes to just one device, it suggests an isolated software or app issue versus network.

Testing across multiple access points and devices helps narrow down if the root cause is specific to a device, home network, or Facebook itself.

4. Update the Facebook App

With over 2.9 billion active users, Facebook prioritizes shipping frequent app updates:

• On iPhone, the App Store automatically shows available updates with a red dot.

• On Android, open the Play Store > Tap your profile icon > Manage apps & devices > Updates available.

• On desktop, click your profile picture > Help & Support> Update Facebook.

Installing the latest version fixes any bugs in previous releases that could cause pages to fail loading. Updates bring compatibility fixes and performance improvements.

5. Clear Cache and App Data

As discussed earlier, corrupted cached assets in the Facebook app can prevent proper page loading. Clearing this data forces a fresh download:

On iPhone

• Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Scroll down and select Facebook.

• Tap "Offload App" – this deletes temporary data while keeping the app itself.

• Open the App Store and reinstall Facebook for a totally clean slate.

On Android

• Open Settings > Apps > Facebook > Storage > Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

• Clear Data resets the app completely, so you‘ll have to log back in.

On Desktop Browsers

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete in Chrome or Ctrl + F5 in Firefox to open Clear Browsing Data.

• Check cached images/files and click Clear Data button.

Clearing old temporary data allows fresh page assets to be rebuilt and often resolves strange loading issues.

6. Try Disabling Browser Extensions

Some Chrome and Firefox extensions are known to conflict with Facebook:

• Ad blockers hide sponsored post slots which disrupts page layout and loading.
• VPN extensions can reroute traffic in ways that conflict with Facebook servers.
• Privacy extensions sometimes block resources Facebook relies on.

Temporarily disabling extensions isolates if anyone is interfering with functionality:

In Chrome

• Click the puzzle icon in the toolbar > turn off suspected extensions > reload Facebook

In Firefox

• Click the Add-ons icon > uncheck extensions > restart browser > retry Facebook

If that resolves it, try updating the problematic extension or find an alternative. Extensions often quickly adapt to stay compatible with Facebook updates.

7. Flush Your DNS Cache

The DNS (Domain Name System) translates human-readable domain names to computer-readable IP addresses. Issues here can prevent connecting to Facebook:

• Corrupted records – Bad DNS data results in an incorrect IP that points somewhere random rather than Facebook‘s servers.

• Caching errors – Facebook page assets get assigned to the wrong IP and cached incorrectly.

Resetting the DNS cache wipes out these errors so lookups can happen fresh:

• On Windows open Command Prompt as admin and run ipconfig /flushdns
• On Mac open Terminal and run sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

For routers, log into the admin page and look for an option to flush DNS. If you‘re unsure how, contact your ISP for help.

Flushing DNS forces your device to re-query Facebook‘s server IP addresses and refresh its understanding of how to reach them.

8. Try An Alternate DNS Server

Free public DNS servers like Google (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) are popular alternatives to your ISP‘s default. They can provide faster performance and reliability.

Changing your device or router‘s DNS to an alternate server is worth testing:

On your smartphone or PC

• Go into WiFi settings, long press on the connected network, and tap Configure or Modify Network.

• Change the DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and/or 1.1.1.1 and Save.

• On Windows you can also go to Control Panel > Network & Internet > Network Connections > WiFi > Properties > IPv4 Properties> Use Custom DNS servers.

On your router

• Log into your router admin page and find the DNS server settings (often in DHCP/Network or Internet/WAN sections).

• Change the primary and secondary DNS to the public options mentioned above.

Now your DNS lookups will route through these alternate servers instead of your ISP‘s. This tips often resolves connectivity and loading issues.

9. Reset Your Router to Factory Defaults

If you‘ve made a lot of custom router changes like forwarded ports, DMZ hosts, or firewall rules – these could inadvertently be blocking Facebook.

Resetting the router to factory defaults wipes out any misconfigurations:

• Log into your admin page and find the factory reset option (usually in a Management/Admin section).

• Press and hold the WPS or Reset button on the router for up to 30 seconds until it reboots.

• Warning – This will wipe out your WiFi name, password, port forwards, and any other custom settings.

Resetting to defaults eliminates any settings that may have altered Facebook‘s functionality as a troubleshooting test.

10. Contact Your ISP

If you still can‘t access Facebook after trying these troubleshooting steps, reach out directly to your ISP‘s tech support:

• Explain you‘re getting the "Page isn‘t Available Right Now" error accessing Facebook. Provide any details about when it occurs.

• Ask them run diagnostics tests on your connection, modem signals, latencies, DNS, etc.

• They can check for network issues in your area, reset your modem from their end, flush cached data, and investigate potential points of failure.

Your ISP has the best insight into connection disruptions outside of your home and the tools to deep dive issues. If you remain stuck, don‘t hesitate to lean on their technical expertise.

Preventing Facebook Outages

While frustrating in the moment, most Facebook connection issues can be swiftly resolved using the troubleshooting tips provided. Here are some proactive ways to avoid page errors happening as frequently:

• Use a reliable internet connection with adequate bandwidth for HD video and minimal latency. Avoid overloaded public WiFi.

• On mobile, connect via 5Ghz WiFi over 2.4Ghz when possible for reduced interference. Or use cellular data vs public WiFi which can have restrictive firewalls.

• Keep your devices and apps updated regularly to benefit from latest compatibility fixes. Enable auto-updates where possible.

• Every few weeks, clear cached app data and browser cookies to delete any corrupt files before they become problematic.

• Don‘t use overly restrictive ad blockers, VPNs, firewalls, or privacy apps that impede Facebook‘s needed connections.

• Follow @Facebook on Twitter or use Downdetector to monitor for service issues and identify global outages.

• Report any persistent errors to Facebook directly via their Help Community. This helps them investigate and improve reliability.

With proactive maintenance and a watchful eye on system status, you can avoid most instances of Facebook‘s dreaded "Page Not Available" in the first place. But when it hits, this guide arms you with the knowledge to get Facebook up and running again ASAP.