206 Partial Content

What it means

Used for resumable downloads and video streaming, where the client asks for part of a file with a Range header.

Common causes

• The client sent a Range header.
• A media player is streaming a file in chunks.

How to fix it

1. No fix needed. If range requests fail, check that the server sends Accept-Ranges: bytes.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 206 Partial Content
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Worked example

A client submits a valid request and receives this successful response. It should follow the code's semantics: use the returned content when present, or rely on headers and avoid parsing a body when the response promises none.

How to read this response

1. Find the status line in your browser's Network panel, API client, or server access log.
2. Read the response body and headers shown above; headers such as Location, Allow, Retry-After, and WWW-Authenticate explain the next step.
3. Use the code's class to orient your diagnosis: informational, successful, redirected, request-related, or server-side.

How to check a status code

Enter a URL in the HTTP Status Checker to see its status code, every redirect hop, and response time. For redirect-heavy pages, the Website Speed Test shows how much time redirects add.

Frequently asked questions

What it means: HTTP 206

206 Partial Content: The server is returning only the byte range the client requested.

Common causes: 206

The client sent a Range header. A media player is streaming a file in chunks.

How to fix it: HTTP 206

No fix needed. If range requests fail, check that the server sends Accept-Ranges: bytes.

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