ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED: What It Means and How to Fix It

What ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED Actually Means

ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED means the browser has a proxy server configured — in the OS system settings or the browser's own settings — and Chrome attempted to connect to that proxy server but received no response or a connection failure. All HTTP and HTTPS requests are being routed through the proxy, so if the proxy is unreachable, every page fails with this single error. The underlying internet connection itself may be perfectly fine.

How to Check Proxy Settings in Each Browser and OS

Chrome and Edge (Windows)

Chrome and Edge on Windows read proxy settings from the Windows system proxy. To check: type chrome://settings/system in the address bar → click Open your computer's proxy settings. This opens the Windows Proxy Settings panel where you can see what is configured.

Firefox

Firefox has its own independent proxy settings. Go to about:preferences → scroll to Network Settings → click Settings. Firefox may be set to "No proxy" even when the system proxy is broken, which is why Firefox sometimes works when Chrome does not in this scenario.

Chrome and Edge (macOS)

On macOS, Chrome and Edge also read from system proxy settings. Go to System Settings → Network → select your active connection → Details → Proxies tab to see what is configured.

Most Likely Causes (Ranked)

1. A proxy was set manually and the server is now offline or unreachable from your current network
2. A VPN or corporate tool set a proxy and was removed without cleaning up the setting
3. Malware silently set a proxy to intercept traffic
4. A PAC (proxy auto-configuration) file URL is unreachable — the browser cannot download the PAC script that tells it where to send traffic
5. You are at home but still have an office corporate proxy configured that is only reachable on the work network
6. WPAD (Web Proxy Auto-Discovery) auto-detect is enabled and returning a broken result

Fix Steps

Step 1: Clear proxy settings on Windows

Open Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy. Under Automatic proxy setup, turn off both "Automatically detect settings" and "Use setup script." Under Manual proxy setup, turn off "Use a proxy server." Click Save. Relaunch Chrome and test.

Also check via the legacy Internet Options dialog: press Win+R, type inetcpl.cpl, Enter → Connections tab → LAN Settings → uncheck "Use a proxy server for your LAN" and uncheck "Automatically detect settings" → OK.

Step 2: Clear proxy settings on macOS

System Settings → Network → select your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection → Details → Proxies tab → uncheck all proxy protocol types (Web Proxy, Secure Web Proxy, SOCKS Proxy, Auto Proxy Discovery, Automatic Proxy Configuration) → OK → Apply.

Step 3: Check for proxy settings left by VPN software

Some VPN clients configure a system proxy as part of their routing and fail to clean it up on uninstall or crash. Check whether a VPN was recently installed, updated, or removed. Reinstalling the VPN client and then doing a clean uninstall through its own uninstaller is more reliable than manual cleanup.

Step 4: Reset Chrome proxy settings via command line

On Windows, Chrome can be reset to use no proxy with: chrome --no-proxy-server launched from the command line. For a permanent fix, open Chrome settings → Reset and clean up → Restore settings to their original defaults. This resets all Chrome-specific settings including any proxy overrides the browser itself stores.

Step 5: Check for WPAD/PAC file issues

If "Automatically detect settings" is enabled, Windows broadcasts a WPAD request to find a proxy configuration file on the local network. On some networks this returns a broken or unreachable PAC file URL. Disabling auto-detect (as in Step 1) removes this failure mode entirely. If your network legitimately requires WPAD, the PAC file URL needs to be reachable from your current location.

Step 6: Scan for malware

Malware — particularly browser hijackers and adware — routinely sets a proxy server to intercept and redirect web traffic. If you did not configure a proxy yourself, run a full scan with Malwarebytes (free version) immediately after clearing the proxy setting. Verify proxy settings remain clear after the reboot that follows the scan.

Auto-Detect Proxy (WPAD/PAC) Failure Scenarios

WPAD works by sending a DHCP or DNS query for a well-known hostname (wpad.local or wpad.yourdomain.com) to locate a PAC file. If the WPAD hostname resolves but the PAC file URL returns an error, browsers configured to auto-detect will fail for every request. On home networks, WPAD is almost never needed and should be disabled. On corporate networks, if the PAC file server goes down, every WPAD-configured browser fails simultaneously — the fix is either a working PAC server or switching to explicit proxy configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was a proxy set without me doing it?

Malware, adware, and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) silently set a proxy server to intercept traffic — often redirecting you to ad-filled pages or to a credential-harvesting proxy. If you did not set a proxy manually, run a malware scan immediately after clearing it. Also check whether any browser extension with "manage proxy settings" permission was recently installed.

Does ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED affect all browsers?

Chrome and Edge both use Windows system proxy settings, so both will fail when the system proxy is broken. Firefox uses its own independent proxy configuration (about:preferences → Network Settings) and may continue working if it is set to "No proxy" or "Use system proxy settings" with a different result. If Firefox works but Chrome and Edge do not, the system proxy is broken but Firefox happens to have a working configuration.