Too Many Redirects Error: Causes and How to Fix It

The "too many redirects" error (also shown as ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in Chrome) means your browser followed a series of redirects and ended up going in circles. After a certain number of redirects, browsers give up and show this error rather than looping forever.

It's a surprisingly common issue and usually points to one of a handful of well-known causes.

What Is a Redirect Loop?

A redirect loop happens when page A redirects to page B, which redirects back to page A — or a longer chain that eventually loops back to the start. Your browser follows each redirect, hits the loop, follows it again, and eventually throws an error.

Common redirect paths that cause loops:

• http:// → https:// → http:// → https:// (SSL misconfiguration)
• www.domain.com → domain.com → www.domain.com (conflicting redirect rules)
• Cloudflare HTTPS redirect conflicting with server-level redirect

Common Causes

1. Cloudflare SSL/TLS Mode Mismatch

This is the single most common cause of redirect loops for sites using Cloudflare.

If your SSL/TLS mode in Cloudflare is set to Flexible, Cloudflare connects to your origin over HTTP. If your server or CMS is also configured to redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS, you get a loop:

1. Browser visits https://yoursite.com
2. Cloudflare connects to origin over HTTP
3. Origin redirects HTTP → HTTPS
4. Cloudflare follows redirect... back to itself

Fix: In your Cloudflare dashboard, go to SSL/TLS and change the mode to Full or Full (Strict). Full means Cloudflare connects to your origin over HTTPS (even with a self-signed cert). Full (Strict) requires a valid certificate.

2. WordPress Site URL Misconfiguration

In WordPress, if your siteurl or home settings in the database don't match your actual domain (e.g. one has www and one doesn't, or one uses http and one uses https), WordPress will keep redirecting trying to reconcile them.

Fix: Check your settings at Settings > General in the WordPress admin. If you can't log in because of the redirect loop, edit wp-config.php directly:

define('WP_HOME', 'https://yourdomain.com');
define('WP_SITEURL', 'https://yourdomain.com');

3. .htaccess Rules Conflicting

Apache's .htaccess file is a common source of redirect loops when multiple rules try to redirect the same URL. A rule redirecting HTTP to HTTPS combined with a rule already adding www can create a loop if they're not written carefully.

Fix: Review your .htaccess for duplicate or conflicting rewrite rules. Test with .htaccess rules temporarily disabled (rename the file) to confirm it's the source.

4. Multiple Redirect Rules Stacking

Using a WordPress plugin like Redirection or Yoast SEO combined with server-level redirect rules can result in the same URL being redirected twice in conflicting directions.

Fix: Audit where your redirects are coming from — .htaccess, your CMS, a plugin, your server config, and your CDN. Consolidate them in one place.

5. Force HTTPS in Both Your App and Nginx/Apache

If your application code forces all requests to HTTPS, and your Nginx or Apache config also has a redirect rule for the same, requests can bounce between layers.

How to Diagnose the Loop

Use curl with the -L flag and verbose output to see the full redirect chain:

curl -Lv https://yourdomain.com 2>&1 | grep -E 'Location:|HTTP/'

This shows you every redirect and where the loop starts. Once you can see the full chain, it's usually obvious which rule is conflicting.

You can also use browser developer tools: open the Network tab, navigate to the URL, and look at the chain of redirected requests.

Fix: Clear Cookies

Browser cookies can also cause redirect loops. Some CMS platforms and security plugins set cookies that force HTTPS redirects. If a bad cookie was set during a misconfiguration, it can persist and keep triggering the redirect even after you've fixed the underlying problem.

Clear cookies for the affected domain:

• Chrome: Settings > Privacy > Cookies and other site data > See all cookies > search for your domain > delete

Then test in an incognito window to confirm the server-side fix is working before clearing cookies everywhere.

Checking SSL Configuration

Since SSL misconfiguration is the most common trigger, it's worth ensuring your SSL setup is solid. Check out our guide to SSL certificates and make sure SSL monitoring is in place so you're alerted if your certificate expires or changes unexpectedly.

Summary of Fixes

Redirect loops are almost always a configuration issue rather than a server problem. Once you identify the source, the fix is usually a one-line change.

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