OpenAI down: ChatGPT and Codex not working as users report 'Unexpected status 401' error amid outage

OpenAI appears to be experiencing an outage, with users reporting that ChatGPT and Codex are not working properly and displaying "Unexpected status 401" error.

Updated on: Sep 26, 2026, 04:55:04 IST

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OpenAI appears to be experiencing an outage, with users reporting that ChatGPT and Codex are not working properly and displaying an “Unexpected status 401” error.

Downdetector reports

According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, reports began coming in around 6:55 p.m. EDT on Friday. Users reported issues with both ChatGPT and Codex, with many saying they received an “Unexpected status 401: Incorrect API key” error.

One user reported, "It looks like ChatGPT and Codex are down. I saw a lot of people experiencing this. I'm getting an API error."

Another wrote, "I was in the middle of a chat and I got the "Error in message stream" with a RETRY button. I tried on two different browsers on two different computers, same issue. I also got that on a new chat where all I said was "HI". and it "worked" for 14 seconds and then the Error in message stream message again. I see by the other posts it must be an outage."

A third user reported, "Mines been working slower and slower today then all of a sudden stopped."

Another added, "Same problem 401 unauthorized: incorrect API key provided here as well for codex even relogin getting same error."

Social media reports

Several users also took to social media to report problems accessing ChatGPT and Codex.

One user wrote, "I'm having the same issue; I just checked X to see if it was just me or if ChatGPT was down. There are other people getting that error (API key or something). It seems the problem isn't just with Astra; I'm getting the same error too… I'm using it in the browser."

Another added, "ChatGpt is down. I am getting an error saying incorrect API key provided. I have never had this error before it literally just happened a few minutes ago. I’ve updated it. I’ve reset it. This is definitely something wrong on their end."

OpenAI status

OpenAI's status page acknowledged the Codex error, stating, "We have identified that users are experiencing elevated errors for the impacted services. We are working on implementing a mitigation."

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