Specification of the HTTP status code 408

The 408 Request Timeout status code indicates that the server did not receive a complete request message within the time that it was prepared to wait. A server SHOULD send the "close" connection option (Section 6.1 of [RFC7230]) in the response, since 408 Request Timeout implies that the server has decided to close the connection rather than continue waiting. If the client has an outstanding request in transit, the client MAY repeat that request on a new connection.

Source / Quote by: The 408 Request Timeout HTTP Status Code is specified by section 6.5.7 of RFC7231.

HTTP-Protocol

HTTP/1.0 (1996)

HTTP/1.1 (1999)

HTTP/2 (2022)

HTTP/3 (2022)

How to throw a 408 statuscode with PHP?

To throw the HTTP status code 408 on a web page, the PHP function http_response_code can be used. The syntax is as follows: http_response_code(408) (PHP 5 >= 5.4.0, PHP 7, PHP 8)

Test the 408 HTTP status code

http-statuscode.com (Test Status code 408)

httpstat.us (Test Status code 408)

In order to be able to display the HTTP status code (in this case 408 Request Timeout) and other information on the client side, the development console must be opened with F12. Afterwards you have to navigate to the tab "Network". Now you can open the page, in the network tab you should see the web page (example index.php). This must be selected and then the Herder section must be selected. Here the user will see the following result:

Overview
URL: https://http-statuscode.com/errorCodeExample.php?code=408
Status: 408 Request Timeout
Those: Network
IP address: XX.XX.XX.XX

How to create a custom error page for the 408 status code

Creating your own 408 Request Timeout error page is relatively easy with the web server "Apache" as well as with the web server "NGINX".

Apache Webserver

The web server "Apache" is one of the most popular web servers on the Internet. To create an own 408 Request Timeout error page in "Apache", the following change must be made in the following file.

File: .htaccess

ErrorDocument 408 /errors/408.html

NGINX Webserver

Similar to the web server "Apache", "NGINX" is also widely used on the Internet. To create your own 408 Request Timeout error page in "NGINX", the following change must be made in the following file.

File: sites-enabled/default

error_page 408 /408.html;
location = /408.html {
root /usr/share/nginx/html;
internal;
}

Browser compatibility of the 408 status code

Chrome	no data
Edge	no data
Firefox	no data
Opera	no data
Safari	no data
Chrome Android	no data
Firefox for Android	no data
Opera Android	no data
Safari on iOS	no data
Internet	no data
WebView Android	no data