Today, the internet feels broken. Cloudflare, one of the largest web infrastructure providers, is experiencing a global outage, and the ripple effect is massive. If your website uses Cloudflare as a proxy (orange cloud), chances are it’s down right now. And it’s not just small sites—big names are affected too.
What’s Happening?
According to Cloudflare Status, the Cloudflare Global Network is suffering from internal service degradation. The issue started around 11:48 UTC and is still ongoing. While some services like WARP and Access are recovering, proxy and DNS services remain unstable. Many users cannot even log in to the Cloudflare dashboard to make changes.
Who’s Affected?
It’s not just you:
- X.com (Twitter) is facing disruptions.
- ChatGPT and other AI services are struggling.
- Countless websites and APIs that rely on Cloudflare are offline.
This outage highlights how deeply integrated Cloudflare is into the modern web.
What Can You Do Right Now?
If your site is down and you need it live urgently, here are your best options:
✅ 1. Disable Cloudflare Proxy
If you can access your dashboard:
- Go to DNS settings.
- Switch the orange cloud to grey for all records.
This routes traffic directly to your origin server instead of through Cloudflare.
✅ 2. Use Cloudflare API
If the dashboard is unreachable but you have an API token:
- Use the Cloudflare API to disable proxy:
curl -X PATCH "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/<ZONE_ID>/dns_records/<RECORD_ID>" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"proxied":false}'✅ 3. WordPress Users
If you use the Cloudflare plugin:
- Enable Development Mode or Pause Cloudflare from the plugin settings.
- This bypasses Cloudflare and serves content directly from your origin.
✅ 4. Change Nameservers Temporarily
If Cloudflare DNS is failing and you cannot log in:
- Update your domain registrar to use an alternate DNS provider (e.g., AWS Route 53, Google Cloud DNS).
- Point DNS records directly to your origin server.
✅ 5. Direct IP Access
If you know your server’s IP:
- Share it with users or set up a temporary A record on another DNS provider.
Important Notes
- DNS propagation may take time (minutes to hours).
- Once Cloudflare resolves the outage, revert to your original setup.
- Monitor updates on Cloudflare Status and Radar Outage Center.
This outage is a stark reminder of how centralized the web has become. When a major provider like Cloudflare goes down, the internet feels it everywhere.
