Is Grok Down? Check Grok Status & Outage History

Grok not responding?
Getting "Grok is at capacity" errors?
xAI's AI assistant refusing your prompts?

Before abandoning your conversation, verify if Grok is actually down—or if it's a rate limit, account issue, or regional problem. Here's your complete guide to checking Grok status and finding alternatives.

Quick Check: Is Grok Down Right Now?

Real-time Grok status:

🔗 API Status Check: Grok
Live status updated every 60 seconds with real API testing.

🔗 X/Twitter Search: "Grok down"
Real-time reports from users worldwide.

🔗 xAI Status (if available)
Official status page (check if exists).

2. Check X/Twitter for Reports

Twitter Search: 🔗 "Grok down"

What to look for:

  • Spike in complaints in last 10-15 minutes
  • Multiple users from different regions
  • Error messages being shared
  • xAI official responses

Follow these accounts:

  • @xai — xAI official account
  • @elonmusk — Sometimes announces major issues
  • DevOps/AI communities

3. API Status Check (Independent Monitoring)

🔗 apistatuscheck.com/down/grok

Why use it:

  • Real API testing every 60 seconds
  • Independent verification — not reliant on xAI infrastructure
  • Faster detection — catches issues before widespread reports
  • Historical data — see uptime patterns
  • Instant alerts — Slack, Discord, email, RSS notifications

What we test:

  • Grok API endpoint availability
  • Response time metrics
  • Error rate tracking
  • Model switching functionality

4. Check Your X Premium Status

Grok requires X Premium+:

  • Not available on free X accounts
  • Requires Premium+ subscription ($16/month or $168/year)
  • Check: Settings → Subscriptions

If you don't see Grok:

  • Verify Premium+ subscription is active
  • Check billing/payment status
  • Restart X app
  • Log out and back in

Common Grok Issues (And How to Fix Them)

1. "Grok is at capacity" Error

What it means: Too many concurrent users, Grok's servers are overloaded.

Solutions:

1. Wait 5-10 minutes and try again
2. Try during off-peak hours (late night/early morning US time)
3. Refresh the X app/web page
4. Clear browser cache if using web version

Not a true "outage" — system is working, just overloaded.

2. Slow Responses or Timeouts

Symptoms:

  • Grok takes 30+ seconds to respond
  • Partial responses that cut off
  • "Thinking..." indicator stuck

Troubleshooting:

1. Check your internet connection:
   ping google.com

2. Try a simpler prompt (shorter query)

3. Switch between Grok-1 and Grok-1.5 models if option available

4. Clear conversation and start fresh

If multiple models are slow: Likely a Grok infrastructure issue, not your connection.

3. API Errors (For Developers)

Common error codes:

  • 429 Too Many Requests — Rate limit hit
  • 500 Internal Server Error — xAI backend issue
  • 503 Service Unavailable — Grok temporarily offline
  • 504 Gateway Timeout — Backend not responding

Check rate limits:

# Example API call (if you have API access)
curl -X POST https://api.x.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "grok-beta",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
  }'

Rate limit guidance:

  • X Premium+: Varies by subscription tier
  • API access: Check xAI documentation
  • Hitting limits ≠ outage (just quota exhaustion)

4. Grok Not Appearing in X Interface

Symptoms:

  • No Grok icon/button visible
  • Menu option missing
  • Feature not in expected location

Fixes:

1. Update X app to latest version
2. Check Premium+ subscription status
3. Regional availability (Grok may not be live in all countries)
4. App settings → Check feature flags
5. Reinstall X app

Regional note: Grok availability varies by country. Some regions may have delayed rollout or restrictions.

5. "Fun Mode" vs "Regular Mode" Issues

Grok has two modes:

  • Fun Mode — Sarcastic, edgy, less filtered
  • Regular Mode — Professional, standard assistant

If one mode isn't working:

  • Try switching modes
  • Different modes may have separate infrastructure/rate limits
  • Report persists in both modes = broader outage

What Is Grok? (For Context)

Grok is xAI's large language model (LLM), created by Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company.

Key features:

  • Integrated directly into X/Twitter (Premium+ only)
  • Real-time access to X platform data
  • Two response modes (Fun and Regular)
  • Competitive with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
  • Built on custom training infrastructure

Why it matters:

  • Unique real-time X data access
  • Different personality/style than alternatives
  • Growing user base (5,400+ monthly searches for "is grok down")

Recent Grok Outages & Search Patterns

October 2025: Major Incident

"Is Grok down" searches: Peaked at 12,100 in a single day (normal baseline: ~5,400/month)

What likely happened:

  • Infrastructure scaling issue during high load
  • Possible model deployment gone wrong
  • X platform integration failure
  • Rate limit system malfunction

Duration: Estimated 2-4 hours based on search pattern decay

General Pattern Observations

Monthly baseline: 5,400 searches/month = ~180/day

Outage indicators:

  • Searches spike 5-10x normal
  • Geographic clustering (US, Europe, Asia)
  • Time-of-day patterns (US business hours peak)

Frequency:

  • Major outages: Rare (1-2 per quarter)
  • Minor issues: Weekly (capacity errors, slow responses)
  • Maintenance windows: Typically announced on @xai

What to Do When Grok Is Down

Immediate Alternatives (AI Assistants)

1. ChatGPT (OpenAI)

🔗 chat.openai.com

Pros:

  • Highly capable (GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo)
  • Free tier available (GPT-3.5)
  • $20/month for Plus (GPT-4 access)
  • Large context window

Cons:

  • No real-time web data without plugins
  • May require separate subscription

2. Claude (Anthropic)

🔗 claude.ai

Pros:

  • Excellent at analysis and coding
  • Large 200K token context window
  • Free tier generous
  • $20/month Pro plan

Cons:

  • No real-time data integration
  • Different personality/style than Grok

3. Gemini (Google)

🔗 gemini.google.com

Pros:

  • Free access to capable models
  • Integrated with Google services
  • Real-time search capability
  • Multimodal (text, images)

Cons:

  • Conservative content policies
  • Google account required

4. Perplexity AI

🔗 perplexity.ai

Pros:

  • Real-time web search built-in
  • Citation links for answers
  • Free tier available
  • Good for research/fact-checking

Cons:

  • More search-focused than conversational
  • Smaller community than ChatGPT/Claude

For Developers: API Fallback Strategies

If using Grok API:

# Example: Fallback pattern with multiple providers
def get_ai_response(prompt):
    try:
        # Try Grok first
        return grok_api.chat(prompt)
    except GrokUnavailableError:
        # Fallback to OpenAI
        return openai_api.chat(prompt)
    except Exception as e:
        # Ultimate fallback to Claude
        return anthropic_api.chat(prompt)

Multi-provider strategy:

  1. Primary: Grok (if X data important)
  2. Fallback 1: OpenAI GPT-4
  3. Fallback 2: Anthropic Claude
  4. Fallback 3: Google Gemini

Cost consideration: OpenAI/Anthropic APIs cost more than Grok (if/when Grok API is public)

Grok vs Other AI Assistants

Feature Comparison

Feature Grok ChatGPT Claude Gemini
Real-time X data ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Free tier ❌ ✅ (GPT-3.5) ✅ ✅
Monthly cost $16 (X Premium+) $20 (Plus) $20 (Pro) Free
Context window ~25K tokens 128K 200K 32K-1M
Personality Edgy/"fun" Professional Thoughtful Professional
Mobile app X app iOS/Android iOS/Android iOS/Android
API access Limited ✅ ✅ ✅

When to Choose Grok

Best for:

  • Real-time X/Twitter data analysis
  • Understanding social trends
  • "Fun mode" conversational style
  • Already paying for X Premium+

Not ideal for:

  • Technical coding (Claude better)
  • Long-form analysis (Claude's context)
  • Free usage (no free tier)
  • Stable API access (still maturing)

Monitor Grok Status with API Status Check

Why Independent Monitoring Matters

xAI limitations:

  • No official public status page yet (as of Feb 2026)
  • Relies on X/Twitter announcements
  • User reports are chaotic/unreliable
  • No historical uptime data available

API Status Check advantages:

  • Real API testing every 60 seconds
  • Independent infrastructure (not tied to xAI)
  • Instant alerts via Slack, Discord, email, RSS
  • Historical tracking — see patterns over time
  • Multi-service monitoring — track all your AI tools

Get Instant Grok Alerts

🔗 apistatuscheck.com/down/grok

Free tier:

  • Browse real-time status
  • RSS feed notifications
  • Status badges for dashboards

Paid plans ($9/month):

  • Slack/Discord push alerts
  • Email notifications
  • API access for automation
  • Unlimited historical data

Add Grok Status Badge

![Grok Status](https://apistatuscheck.com/badge/grok)

Embeds as:
Grok Status

Real-time updates:

  • 🟢 Green = Operational
  • 🟡 Yellow = Degraded
  • 🔴 Red = Outage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Grok down right now?

Check apistatuscheck.com/down/grok for real-time status updated every 60 seconds with actual API testing.

How often does Grok go down?

Based on search patterns:

  • Major outages: 1-2 per quarter
  • Minor issues (capacity errors): Weekly
  • Maintenance: Varies, not always announced

Grok is a newer service (launched late 2023), so stability is still improving.

Why does Grok say "at capacity" so often?

High demand + limited infrastructure scaling.

X Premium+ has millions of users, and Grok is a popular feature. xAI is still scaling infrastructure to meet demand.

Worst times:

  • US business hours (9am-5pm PT)
  • Weekday afternoons
  • After viral tweets about Grok

Best times:

  • Late night/early morning (2am-6am PT)
  • Weekends
  • International time zones (when US is asleep)

Do I need X Premium+ to use Grok?

Yes. Grok is exclusive to X Premium+ subscribers.

Cost:

  • $16/month (monthly billing)
  • $168/year (annual, saves $24)

No free tier or trial period for Grok specifically.

Can I use Grok without X/Twitter?

Not currently. Grok is only available through:

  • X/Twitter mobile app
  • X/Twitter web interface
  • (Potentially) xAI API in future

No standalone app or website exists for Grok as of February 2026.

What's the difference between Grok-1 and Grok-1.5?

Grok-1:

  • Original model (launched Nov 2023)
  • ~314B parameters
  • Solid performance, competitive with GPT-3.5

Grok-1.5:

  • Improved version (March 2024)
  • Better reasoning capabilities
  • Longer context window
  • Improved code generation

Grok-2 (if available):

  • Next-generation model
  • Performance comparable to GPT-4/Claude-3

You may be able to select model version in Grok settings (varies by rollout).

Is Grok better than ChatGPT/Claude?

Depends on use case:

Grok wins:

  • Real-time X/Twitter data
  • Social trend analysis
  • "Fun mode" personality
  • Already part of X Premium+

ChatGPT/Claude win:

  • Coding assistance
  • Long-form analysis
  • Stable API access
  • Larger context windows
  • Free tiers available

No clear "better" — choose based on your needs.

Why can't I see Grok in my X app?

Common reasons:

  1. No Premium+ subscription (most common)
  2. App needs update — Check App Store/Play Store
  3. Regional restrictions — Not available in all countries
  4. Account age/status — Some restrictions on new accounts
  5. Rollout phase — Feature may not be live for everyone yet

Fix: Update app, verify subscription, check regional availability.

The Bottom Line

When Grok is down, you need to know quickly.

Twitter reports are chaotic. xAI announcements lag. Your productivity is blocked.

Independent monitoring gives you:

  • ✅ Instant detection (60-second checks)
  • ✅ Clear status (working/degraded/down)
  • ✅ Historical context (is this normal?)
  • ✅ Proactive alerts (know before you try to use it)

For $9/month, you avoid:

  • 🚫 5 minutes testing if it's your connection
  • 🚫 10 minutes searching Twitter for reports
  • 🚫 15 minutes debugging your X app

That's 30 minutes saved = $50+ in productivity (at typical knowledge worker rates).

Monitoring pays for itself the first time you skip straight to a working alternative instead of troubleshooting Grok.

🔗 Start monitoring Grok: apistatuscheck.com/down/grok

🔔 Get instant alerts when Grok (or 100+ other services) experience issues.

📊 Track uptime history and see patterns over time.

Free RSS feed: apistatuscheck.com/rss

Last updated: February 2026

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