Is Codex down? October 20 Codex, ChatGPT and API login errors resolved after 60 minutes
OpenAI reported a partial outage on October 20, 2026. Some users near Illinois got authentication errors with the API, ChatGPT and Codex from 16:35 to 17:35 UTC, about 60 minutes. OpenAI rolled back a configuration change and service was restored.
SessionWatcher editorial · Published · Updated · Source announcement: 2026-10-20
What happened on October 20
OpenAI's status page lists a partial outage titled Authentication errors for some users. On October 20, 2026, from 9:35 to 10:35 a.m. PDT (16:35 to 17:35 UTC), some users near Illinois got authentication errors with the OpenAI API, ChatGPT and Codex. From start to resolution, that is about 60 minutes.
The first update was marked Investigating and was posted at 16:35 UTC. The Resolved update came at 17:35 UTC. It says OpenAI rolled back a configuration change and service was restored. The incident is now marked resolved.
Which components were affected
The status page lists Login as the affected component for both the APIs and ChatGPT. For Codex it lists four affected components: Codex Web, the Codex API, the CLI and the VS Code extension.
OpenAI says the errors hit some users near Illinois, not everyone. The status page also notes that availability metrics are aggregated across all tiers, models and error types, and that availability for individual customers may vary.
Usage and billing
The status page does not mention any usage limit reset, credit or billing change for this incident.
AI assisted reporting, checked against the linked official sources. Source pages checked 2026-10-21. Editorial process and corrections.