OpenAI API experiences elevated error rates on March 4
A batched execution of queued capacity actions reduced model capacity for about 30 minutes and increased API errors and latency.
- First observed
- Mar 5, 2026, 1:26:00 AM
- Disclosed
- Mar 5, 2026, 1:26:00 AM
- Status
- Resolved
- Confidence
- 99%
- Organization
- OpenAI
- Last reviewed
- Sep 1, 2026
Observed
Facts supported by sources
- API success rates fell by varying amounts across models; some Codex traffic was also affected.
- The disruption lasted approximately 30 minutes.
- The UTC time was converted from the PST times stated in the postmortem.
Assessment
Interpretation, not observation
No additional interpretation recorded.
Impact
Impact
Elevated latency and failed API requests across multiple models.
Response
Response
OpenAI manually reallocated capacity and added safeguards against batched scheduler actions.