HTTP 416 Range Not Satisfiable

Client error code, RFC 9110, section 15.5.17

What it means

The range of bytes that was requested lies outside the file. For example, asking for bytes after its end.

A real response

This is the request and the answer our test server gave when we asked it to return 416.

GET /c/416 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com

HTTP/1.1 416 Range Not Satisfiable
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2026 10:00:00 GMT
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Content-Range: bytes */1000
Content-Length: 11

<p>demo</p>

If you run the site

Send Content-Range: bytes */<length> with the 416 so the client knows the real size. This often appears when a download is resumed after the file on the server was replaced by a shorter one.

If you are a visitor

Start the download again from the beginning.

A common mistake

Resuming a download against a changed file without checking an ETag or date.

Registered in the IANA HTTP Status Code Registry as Range Not Satisfiable, defined in RFC 9110, section 15.5.17.

This is an independent guide. It is not connected with the IETF, IANA, any browser maker or any company named here. Meanings were checked against the RFC texts on 14 November 2026. Responses shown were recorded on 14 November 2026 from a small test server on the author's own computer.