Is MongoDB Down? How to Check MongoDB Atlas Status & Quick Fixes

Can't connect to your MongoDB cluster? Experiencing connection timeouts or slow queries? When MongoDB Atlas goes down, applications and services worldwide can grind to a halt.

This guide shows you how to check if MongoDB is actually down, troubleshoot common issues, and set up monitoring so you're never caught off guard.

Is MongoDB Down Right Now?

1. Check MongoDB Atlas Status

MongoDB maintains a status page at status.cloud.mongodb.com covering all Atlas regions and services including:

• Atlas Clusters — database hosting
• Atlas App Services — serverless functions and triggers
• Atlas Search — full-text search
• Atlas Data API — REST API access
• Atlas Charts — data visualization

2. Use API Status Check

API Status Check monitors MongoDB and 117+ other services in real-time. Check your entire infrastructure stack from one dashboard — no signup required.

3. Check MongoDB Community Forums

The MongoDB Community Forums often have reports from other users experiencing connection issues.

4. Check Social Media

Search Twitter/X for "MongoDB down" to see real-time community reports.

Common MongoDB Issues and Quick Fixes

Connection Timeouts

Symptoms: MongoServerSelectionError, connection timed out, or ECONNREFUSED errors.

Quick fixes:

1. Check IP whitelist — Atlas requires IP allowlisting; verify your app's IP is listed
2. Check network access — ensure your VPC peering or Private Link is configured correctly
3. Verify connection string — use the latest connection string from Atlas dashboard (SRV format preferred)
4. Check DNS resolution — SRV connection strings require DNS resolution; try the standard format
5. Increase connection timeout — set serverSelectionTimeoutMS to 30000 for flaky networks

Cluster Scaling Issues

Symptoms: Cluster stuck in "Modifying" state, scaling operations failing, or unexpected performance after scaling.

Quick fixes:

1. Wait for the operation — cluster modifications can take 10-30 minutes
2. Check Atlas Activity Feed — shows detailed progress of scaling operations
3. Don't stack modifications — wait for one to complete before starting another
4. Monitor oplog — rapid writes during scaling can overwhelm the oplog

Slow Queries

Symptoms: Queries that usually take milliseconds are taking seconds, aggregation pipelines timing out.

Quick fixes:

1. Check Atlas Performance Advisor — identifies missing indexes automatically
2. Review slow query log — Atlas → Performance → Real-Time Performance Panel
3. Add indexes — the #1 cause of slow MongoDB queries is missing indexes
4. Check connection pool — exhausted connection pools cause queuing; increase maxPoolSize
5. Analyze query plans — use .explain() to identify full collection scans

Atlas UI Not Loading

Symptoms: Atlas dashboard shows errors, project pages won't load, or settings pages timeout.

Quick fixes:

1. Try a different browser — Chrome works best with Atlas UI
2. Clear browser cache — stale cached assets can cause UI failures
3. Check Atlas status — UI issues might indicate broader platform problems
4. Use the Atlas CLI or API — manage clusters via mongocli if the UI is down

What To Do During a MongoDB Outage

1. Assess Application Impact

• Check your application logs for connection errors
• Monitor error rates in your APM tool (DataDog, New Relic, etc.)
• Determine if it's a full outage or degraded performance

2. Activate Failover Strategies

• Read from secondaries — set readPreference to secondaryPreferred for read operations
• Enable retryable writes — retryWrites=true handles transient failures automatically
• Queue writes — if writes are failing, queue them in Redis/SQS for replay later
• Use local caching — serve cached data while the database is unreachable

3. Communicate Status

• Alert your engineering team about the database outage
• Update your own status page if customer-facing services are affected
• Monitor Atlas status for resolution updates

How To Set Up MongoDB Outage Alerts

Atlas Alerts

Configure alerts in Atlas → Project → Alerts for connection issues, high CPU, replication lag, and more.

Status Page Notifications

Subscribe at status.cloud.mongodb.com for incident notifications.

API Status Check

Monitor MongoDB alongside all your infrastructure at apistatuscheck.com — free, no signup required.

FAQ

Is MongoDB down or is it just me?

Check status.cloud.mongodb.com first. If Atlas shows operational, check your IP whitelist, connection string, and network configuration. Also check API Status Check for a quick overview.

Does MongoDB Atlas have an SLA?

Yes — Atlas guarantees 99.995% uptime for dedicated clusters (M10+). Shared clusters (M0/M2/M5) have no SLA. Check your cluster tier for specific guarantees.

How often does MongoDB Atlas go down?

Full Atlas outages are very rare. Regional incidents happen occasionally — Atlas's multi-region architecture means outages are usually localized. Connection issues from your end (IP whitelist, network) are more common than Atlas platform problems.

What's the best MongoDB alternative for emergencies?

For quick failover: PostgreSQL (via Supabase or Neon for managed hosting), PlanetScale (MySQL-compatible, serverless), or CockroachDB (distributed SQL). For document databases: DynamoDB or Firestore.

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Stay ahead of MongoDB outages — monitor your entire database stack for free at apistatuscheck.com.