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Troubleshooting 8 min read Updated January 5, 2026

Troubleshooting Proxy Issues

Diagnose blocks, timeouts, and data gaps with a repeatable troubleshooting checklist.

Full guide

Common issues

  • HTTP 403/429 blocks
  • Slow response times
  • Empty or partial responses

Step-by-step diagnosis

  1. Verify target site is up
  2. Test direct connection without proxy
  3. Rotate IP and user agent
  4. Reduce request rate
  5. Validate response content

When to switch proxy types

If your block rate stays high, move from datacenter to residential or ISP.

Recommended providers

These picks match the guide intent first, then product fit. Raw proxy vendors and scraping-tool workflows are kept separate where the buying problem changes.

Bright Data

residential

Enterprise-grade residential coverage for scale, geo targeting, and compliance-sensitive scraping.

Best when access reliability and auditability matter more than lowest unit price.

Visit Bright Data

Soax

residential

Reliable residential & mobile pools with flexible rotation control.

Good fit for buyers comparing residential and mobile product pages side by side.

Visit Soax

Decodo

residential

SMB-friendly proxy network formerly known as Smartproxy, with broad proxy-type coverage.

Use Decodo as the current brand while preserving Smartproxy search intent.

Visit Decodo

Related use cases

Use these pages when you want a more target-specific checklist than a broad guide can provide.