Groq is an AI inference platform built around its own LPU hardware, designed to run open large language models at very low latency. Most people reach Groq through its API and the GroqCloud console, wiring it into chatbots, agents, coding tools, and other apps that need fast responses. Because it usually sits in the middle of a pipeline rather than on a screen you watch, a Groq problem often shows up first as a stalled app, a timeout, or a request that never returns. If you landed here mid-task, start with the live verdict and recent user reports at the top of this page to see whether the trouble is on Groq’s side or yours.
Common reasons Groq stops working
- API errors or timeouts. Requests return 5xx errors, time out, or hang when the inference service is degraded or overloaded.
- Rate limits and quota caps. Hitting your requests-per-minute or token limits returns 429 responses that look like an outage but are account-level throttling.
- Authentication failures. An expired, revoked, or mistyped API key produces 401 errors and blocks every call.
- Model or endpoint changes. A model you call may be deprecated, renamed, or temporarily unavailable, breaking requests that worked yesterday.
- Console or login issues. The GroqCloud dashboard may fail to load even while the inference API itself is fine, or vice versa.
- Capacity and latency spikes. Heavy demand can slow responses well past your normal speed, which downstream timeouts then treat as failures.
- Local and network problems. Firewalls, VPNs, DNS, or a flaky connection on your end can block Groq even when it is healthy.
How to fix Groq when it is not working
- Check the verdict first. Read the live status and user reports at the top of this page to confirm whether this is a wider Groq incident before you change anything.
- Read the exact error. A 401 points to your key, a 429 points to rate limits, and a 5xx or timeout points to Groq’s service. Match your fix to the code.
- Verify your API key. Confirm it is active, has not been rotated, and is loaded from the right environment variable, not hardcoded or expired.
- Back off and retry. For timeouts and 5xx errors, retry with exponential backoff rather than hammering the endpoint, which only deepens congestion.
- Confirm the model name. Make sure the model you request is current and still offered, and update your call if it has changed.
- Test from a clean path. Try a simple request from a different network or machine to rule out local firewall, VPN, or DNS issues.
- Lower your load. If you are near your limits, slow your request rate or reduce token usage until calls succeed again.
- Wait it out. If the data here shows a confirmed outage, the fix is on Groq’s side. For a structured plan, see our guide on what to do when an AI tool is down.
Is Groq down, or is it just you?
The quickest way to tell them apart is the pattern of failure. If every request fails across multiple networks and your key is valid, the problem is very likely on Groq’s side. If only one app, one key, or one network is affected while others work, the issue is probably local to your setup, your account limits, or your code. The verdict and crowd reports at the top of this page combine many users’ signals, so a spike in reports alongside our own checks is strong evidence of a real outage rather than an isolated glitch.
How we check Groq
We combine two independent signals so you are not relying on a single source. First, we read Groq’s official status page to capture incidents the company has acknowledged. Second, we run our own reachability check from outside Groq’s network to see whether the service actually responds for us in real time. When those two signals disagree, for example the status page looks clean but our check cannot reach Groq, we tell you that plainly instead of guessing. You can read the full approach on our methodology page.
Alternatives to Groq during an outage
If Groq is down and you need to keep building or shipping, several other inference providers serve open models through similar APIs. Consider Together AI, Replicate, or Hugging Face as fallbacks. Each has its own pricing, model catalog, and rate limits, so expect some changes to your request format. Before you switch traffic over, confirm the backup is healthy on its own status page, since AI providers sometimes share upstream dependencies and can struggle at the same time. Keeping a tested alternate path ready in advance makes a Groq outage a quick reroute rather than a scramble.
How Groq outages usually show up
Groq is a developer platform, not a consumer chat app. Almost everyone reaches it through GroqCloud: the API endpoint and the console where you create and manage API keys. When something breaks, you do not see a friendly outage screen. Instead your application receives HTTP errors directly from the API, most often 429 for rate limiting, 503 when a model is temporarily unavailable, or 500 on an internal failure. A spike in these status codes across your own logs is usually the first sign, often before any official acknowledgement.
The console and the inference API can fail independently. You might be unable to sign in or rotate a key while live requests keep flowing, or the opposite: requests stall while the dashboard loads fine. Because Groq publishes generous but real per-minute token and request limits, sustained 429 responses are frequently a quota issue on your account rather than a platform incident. Check the live verdict above, then confirm whether the failures are limited to one model, one key, or every call you make.