Fix ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED in Chrome on Android or Windows 10

What is ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED or Error 102 in Chrome on Android and Windows 10

ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED This Site Can’t Be Reached is a common error code that is also called Error 102. It can occur in browser due to certain issues.

Running ahead, I can say that not always the culprit is a piece of malware or damaged cookies. You need to take some time to inspect your system and find out what exactly causes this error in your particular case.

The Meaning of the Error

In a nutshell, ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED basically means the following: you requested some web page, your browser sent a query to a remote server the website is hosted on and than something went wrong in connection.

And instead of a proper reply from the remote host you received either nothing or some corrupted reply or incomplete data.

Ultimately, you see the following message in the browser:

This site can't be reached. Tunecomp.net refused to connect. ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED

If you are reading this page, you must have faced it while browsing in Chrome. Read the corresponding section depending on where you face the ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED error — on Android or Windows 10.

Don’t skip any step if you really want to fix the issue and make your browser open all websites correctly. Actually, you can also face the same error on Windows 8.1, 7, Server 2019, 2016, 2012, etc.

Common Reasons for the “Site Can’t Be Reached” Error in the Browser

Here are the most common culprits that cause the error ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED (This Site Can’t Be Reached) in Chrome or other browser. Check these items before you start bothering your computer or smartphone:

1. You are not connected to your ISP. Make sure you have the ISP cable plugged in to the WAN post of your router or modem.
2. Gateway issue. Your gateway works well. Reboot your router to exclude a glitch.
3. The website is blocked on your PC or router. The website you are trying to reach is not blocked by the hosts file, Windows Firewall or router Access Control settings.
4. Your router is using a wireless channel with a lot of interference. It would be cool if you install Wi-Fi Analyzer and check whether your current channel is overloaded or not. Change Wireless Channel in Wi-Fi settings of your router. You can also move the router to another location in the room.
5. The website is not working. You can do nothing if the website you are trying to reach is really offline.

How to Fix ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED (This Site Can’t Be Reached) in Chrome on Android

1. Clear Cache and Cookies for All Browsers

• Launch Chrome.
• Tap the three dots icon.
• Select Settings: 
• Choose Privacy > Clear browsing data.
• Select All time.
• Check Cookies and site data and Cached images and files.
• Tap CLEAR DATA: 

Now go to Settings > Apps on your Android device, select Chrome, tap Manage Space, tap Free Up Space and OK: 

You may also boot to recovery mode and wipe cache partition. In some cases it helps better: 

2. Scan for Malware

Install Malwarebytes from Google Play Store and scan your Android phone or tablet for malicious software. Remove everything found if any: 

3. Uninstall Dubious Apps

• Uninstall all potentially unwanted apps like various super cleaners, boosters, optimizers, doctors, etc.
• Also get rid of apps that are designed to cheat on app licenses.
• Remove all network-related apps such as VPNs
• Uninstall low-quality games.
• Besides that, try to recollect if you installed applications not from Google Play Store. That should also be deleted for your safety.

4. Manually Assign Google DNS (If ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED occurs on Wi-Fi)

This works for Wi-Fi only and won’t fix the issue if you experience the issue over the Mobile Data.

If you are the administrator of the router, specify Google DNS on router as we wrote here. If you cannot access router settings, assign Google DNS on your Android device:

• Modify your current Wi-Fi connection (Here is our step-by-step guide)
• Specify 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as DNS servers.
• Save settings:

P.S. If you have your Android rooted don’t forget to check the hosts file and make sure it does not block any websites.

5. Mother of all fixes: Perform a hard reset

Once you’ve restored your Android device to a factory condition don’t hurry to re-install all apps. Just refuse from recovering the apps when you are proposed to.

After the reset

When your Android boots up first of all open the Chrome browser and check how is that website doing now. Browse it for a few minutes. If everything is fine, install your apps one by one, checking the websites’ in Chrome after the installation of each app.

Fix ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED in Chrome on Windows 10

1. Clean Cache and Cookies in Chrome

Open Chrome. While the Chrome’s window is active press CTRL+SHIFT+DEL. Select Clear cookies and other site data and Cached images and files and click CLEAR DATA:

You can also use Chrome Cleanup Tool.

2. Remove Malware

Malware and especially adware loves to mess with routing and network settings. So you can easily get ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED because of adware activity. We advise you to:

• Download and run AdwCleaner. Let it search for a adware. Be sure to close all programs, especially browsers, during the scan process.
• Download and install Malwarebytes Free. Perform a full system scan on your PC to detect and remove all malicious and unwanted software. Pay attention on suspicious items in the results.

3. Remove dubious extensions from Chrome

First of all turn off ALL extension even if you think that “this one is 100% safe! There’s no need to touch it”.

Then look through the list once again and remove extensions you don’t know and you don’t need anymore.

In many cases browser extensions route traffic to their own proxy servers. And if there is a problem with a remote proxy you can get ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED error in Chrome and wonder why.

Once you’ve done this, proceed to the next step even if this fix the connection error.

4. Fix Network Issues That Can Provoke the “Site can’t be reached” Error

Download NetAdapter Repair. Run the file as the administrator, select Advanced repair and agree to reboot your PC: 

Another variant to do the same is to do it manually. Open PowerShell as administrator. Run the following command: netsh winsock reset and agree to reboot.

5. Switch to Google DNS

• Open Network and Sharing Center (here is how to do it on Windows 10)
• Open properties of your active network connection: 
• Select IPv4: 
• Specify 8.8.8.8 as the primary DNS server and 8.8.4.4 as the secondary one and click OK in all windows you opened:

Read our detailed guide on how to use Google DNS on PC and router.

That’s it. We hope that you fix the error. And remember: the server of the website that refused to connect is not always the culprit.  Good luck!