google chrome is practically synonymous with web browsing on windows. Ever since it replaced Internet Explorer as the leading browser for the operating system, it has shown no signs of slowing down. Thanks to a dedicated development team that continues to add useful features, chrome’s dominance is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Despite its stranglehold on web browsing, chrome is not without its detractors. Many people complain that it is a resource hog. Prolonged use of the browser in windows tends to make the PC noticeably slower, especially when many tabs are open. Additionally, there are reports that certain errors often appear in chrome when they would not occur in another browser.
One such error is the “waiting for available sockets” notification when streaming media with multiple tabs open. this error can cause the browser to stop working. in addition, the audio, video or game that is being streamed freezes and the user cannot resume it.
This guide explains how to fix the “waiting for available sockets” error on Windows 10.
what does “waiting for available sockets” mean in google chrome?
chrome-based browsers, such as chrome, do not allow more than six connections to be used at the same time. any additional connections will remain idle until a slot becomes free, after which they will become active.
It may happen that a user streams multiple media files at the same time, using more than six media or audio tags. in such cases, the seventh media tag will remain inactive. when one of the connections in use is released, this idle tag may not automatically connect, causing the “waiting for available sockets” error notification in chrome.
how to fix “waiting for available sockets” error in chrome
I get “waiting for available sockets” error message in chrome when browser crashes when streaming media? do not worry because the error can be solved in several ways. check out the various fixes below for this annoying problem.
restart chrome
“waiting for available sockets” error in chrome could be due to a bug that warrants restarting the browser to fix. doing so will be a small inconvenience if the problem goes away and you can listen to the audio at your leisure or view images and videos.
You also don’t have to close your open tabs. chrome will automatically reload all your tabs when you start the browser again. so close chrome, wait a minute and reopen it.
that should fix the problem.
reload chrome tabs
If a chrome restart does not clear the error, you may need to reload individual tabs. If you have more than six tabs open at the same time, you may need to manually force the browser to make a connection socket available for the tab you are currently focused on.
right-click anywhere within the tab whose content does not produce audio, video, or images and select reload. your issue should be resolved, at least for that individual chrome tab.
Although this error is not that frequent in chrome, it happens anyway. you can usually open dozens of tabs in the browser without any ill effect (except perhaps on system performance). however, when this problem arises, you may want to consider reducing the number of open tabs during your browsing session.
use a third-party audio tool
When you stream multiple media files at the same time in chrome, the browser allocates one socket connection for each file up to six simultaneous connections. In the event that chrome can’t handle the load and suddenly freezes, third-party audio tools can come to the rescue.
here, we mention two popular audio tools that can help you avoid chrome “waiting for available shots” issue and make your media streaming experience amazing:
- web audio api. This versatile mozilla program allows you to easily control audio playback on multiple open connections in chrome. you can add or remove audio effects and edit audio sources to your heart’s content. with it, you can create audio visualization effects and even add spatial touches.
- This popular javascript tool brings next level audio streaming to the table. is a very dynamic tool that provides cross-browser sound support for game streaming and media playback.
flushing open sockets
you can get “waiting for available sockets” error in chrome when connection sockets get overloaded. releasing the sockets can solve this problem forever. flushing the sockets will make them available for connection.
- type “chrome://net-internal” (without quotes) in the address bar and press the enter key. this will open the hidden connections settings page.
- in the left pane of the chrome connection settings page, select sockets.
- in the main window, click the flush socket pools button.
You have now washed the open sockets in chrome. To make sure your changes take effect, close chrome and reopen it. the error should be resolved.
clear cache and cookies in chrome
socket error in chrome browser can also be caused or worsened due to corrupt cookie and cache data. cookies are used to load website elements faster, while cache files contain data related to previously loaded content. if these files become damaged, the web page might have trouble loading them.
Another reason for the socket error is huge cache files. you can solve this by clearing cookies and cache data in chrome. follow the steps below to do so and fix the error:
- open chrome and click the menu icon. it’s the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the browser.
- from the chrome main menu, select settings.
- scroll down the settings page to the privacy section and security. you can also quickly select privacy and security from the left menu panel.
- under privacy and security, select “clear browsing data”.
- make sure that “cookies and other browser data” site” and “cached images and files” are selected in the “clear browsing data” dialog.
- click clear data to clear chrome cached files and cookies.
When clearing cookies and cache is complete, close chrome and restart it. You should now be able to enjoy audio, video, and other media files in the browser without the “waiting for available sockets” error message.
It is recommended to periodically clear your browsers cache and cookies to maintain good performance levels. If you use multiple browsers on your PC, manually clearing browser data can get tedious very quickly. You can save yourself all the time and trouble by using a tool like Auslogics BoostSpeed to keep your PC and browsers running at their best. auslogics boostspeed will help you make your browsers lighter, cleaner and smoother. you can use it to clear browser data and uninstall unwanted extensions automatically. you can also use it to remove persistent programs that affect the network and cause problems for you.
remove browser extensions
Sometimes due to misunderstanding or not reading the terms and conditions, the wrong extensions and toolbars can be added to chrome. These plugins do a lot of nasty things in the background that can also cause the sockets available error.
You can open the extensions window in chrome settings to see a list of all installed extensions and toolbars. depending on which ones are installed, you may need to remove core applications from programs & features to uninstall the extension.
- open chrome and click the menu icon.
- select more tools > extensions.
- check installed extensions and toolbars and remove malicious ones.
switch to another browser
If using third-party tools just to get rid of chrome errors isn’t your thing, you can switch to another browser. chromium, the open source project on which the chrome browser is based, is also used by several popular browsers. If you decide to try alternative browsers, similar browsers like Microsoft Edge and Opera are good alternatives.
conclusion
those are the best methods to unfreeze chrome when “waiting for available sockets” error occurs. these methods will work for other chrome browsers, so feel free to use them in browsers like edge and opera as well.