Ticketmaster timing out has become a common frustration for many consumers trying to purchase tickets online. There are a few key reasons why you may be experiencing timeouts on the Ticketmaster website when trying to secure your seats for a highly anticipated concert or event.
High Traffic Volume
The most common reason for Ticketmaster timeouts is an extremely high volume of traffic on the site leading up to and during a ticket on-sale. With popular artists like Taylor Swift or major events like the Super Bowl, there may be hundreds of thousands or even millions of fans all trying to access Ticketmaster at the exact same moment when tickets go on sale. This creates a massive spike in traffic that can overwhelm the site’s servers and capacity, leading to slow page loads, error messages, and timeouts.
Ticketmaster states that they can handle up to 800,000 concurrent users on their site, but for particularly hot events the demand easily exceeds that number. All of those fans refreshing and requesting pages puts the servers under immense strain. Too many requests at once leads to timeouts as the servers become unable to respond in time.
Pre-Queue System
To help alleviate some of the strain, Ticketmaster utilizes a virtual waiting room or “pre-queue” for highly anticipated events. Fans can log in to the waiting room ahead of the on-sale time and are then assigned a random spot in line. However, technical issues can still arise when hundreds of thousands try to access the queue simultaneously right at the opening time. Timeouts are common even in the waiting room registration process.
Bots and Scalpers
Bots programmed by ticket scalpers looking to resell seats is another factor contributing to high volumes. These automated bots attempt to cut in line and overwhelm the system to try and scoop up tickets. With thousands of bots hammering the site all at once, this compounds the capacity issues and adds to the probability of timeouts occurring.
Website Performance Issues
The sheer volume of traffic headed to Ticketmaster is not the only technical factor at play. There are also frequently underlying performance issues with the website itself that lead to timeouts during the ticket buying process.
Too Many Requests
At times Ticketmaster servers seem to become backlogged with too many requests at once. Even if you make it past the queue and begin selecting seats, there are still repeated requests made whenever you click to another page or perform an action. Too many of these post-queue requests can continue overwhelming the servers.
Integration With Venue Systems
There is a tremendous amount of real-time integration going on behind the scenes between Ticketmaster systems and the ticketing systems for each specific venue. This is how seats are locked and unlocked in real-time as fans are selecting them. Problems with this back-end integration and the communication between the two systems can cause lag and timeouts.
Web Performance Issues
In general, Ticketmaster seems to suffer from routine web performance issues unrelated to traffic. Users report slow response times and timeouts even when purchasing tickets for less popular events when there is lower demand on servers. There are clearly frequent problems with browsers becoming “stuck” between pages and actions leading to timeouts.
Outages Across Key Regions
Sometimes when purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster, users will experience outages isolated to certain geographic regions. For example, fans in New York may be timing out repeatedly while those in other states have no issues.
These types of localized outages likely indicate a problem with specific data centers in those regions that handle Ticketmaster traffic. It could be an outage or capacity limitation with a third-party provider that hosts parts of their infrastructure. Local DNS resolution issues could also be at play causing connectivity problems for users.
What You Can Do
Ticketmaster timeouts can be extremely frustrating, especially when you miss out on purchasing in-demand tickets. Here are some tips that may help:
Access Before Rush
Try to access the ticket on-sale at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time. You may have better luck securing a spot in the virtual queue before the huge traffic spike.
Refresh Strategically
If you do get a timeout or error message, resist the urge to continuously hammer the refresh button. Repetitive requests will just compound problems. Try refreshing 2-3 times spaced out over 5 minute intervals.
Use Multiple Devices
Have friends or family try to access Ticketmaster simultaneously from different devices and internet connections. Using multiple access points gives you more chances to get through.
Persist and Be Patient
Don’t give up at the first timeout. Keep trying periodically over a 30-60 minute window after tickets go on sale. Servers are often able to catch up and performance improves once the initial rush subsides.
Try Alternate Sales Channels
If available, attempt to purchase tickets directly through the venue’s box office or other ticketing channels besides Ticketmaster. There may be less congestion on other sites.
Use Caution With Bots
Beware of “ticket bot” services that offer to purchase tickets automatically. These often just contribute to overload issues and may lead to order cancellations.
The Bottom Line
Ticketmaster has an extremely complex technical challenge to deal with when highly anticipated tickets go on sale. Impatient fans refreshing constantly create an enormous traffic spike that strains website infrastructure. Integrating with venue ticketing systems also introduces vulnerabilities. While frustrating, your best bet is to exercise persistence and patience when facing timeouts.
Reason for Ticketmaster Timeouts | Details |
---|---|
High Traffic Volume | Hundreds of thousands of fans accessing at once overwhelms servers |
Pre-Queue Issues | Technical problems with virtual waiting room registration |
Bots and Scalpers | Automated bots create excess load on servers |
Too Many Requests | Backlog of requests overload servers |
Integration Issues | Problems with backend integration to venue ticketing |
Web Performance Problems | General sluggishness even at low traffic times |
Regional Outages | Data center or connectivity issues in specific areas |