HTTP 206 Partial Content — Meaning, Causes & How to Fix
The server is delivering only part of the resource due to a Range header sent by the client.
- Code
- 206
- Name
- Partial Content
- Class
- 2xx Success
- Specification
- RFC 9110 §15.3.7
- Cacheable by default
- Yes — heuristically cacheable by default
What HTTP 206 means
206 Partial Content answers a request that carried a Range header. The body contains only the requested byte range(s), described by Content-Range. It powers resumable downloads and seeking in audio and video players.
Common causes
- Video/audio players seeking or streaming.
- Download managers resuming an interrupted download.
How to fix it
For site owners
- Advertise support with
Accept-Ranges: bytes. - Answer impossible ranges with 416 Range Not Satisfiable.
For visitors & developers
- Check
Content-Rangeto see which bytes you received.
SEO impact
No SEO issue. Crawlers request whole documents; serving ranges for media files is normal.
Example 206 response
HTTP/1.1 206 Partial Content
Content-Range: bytes 0-1023/146515
Content-Length: 1024
Content-Type: video/mp4Related status codes
Check or look up another code
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Open HTTP Status Codes tool →All status codesFrequently asked questions
What does HTTP 206 mean?
HTTP 206 Partial Content is a 2xx Success status code. The server is delivering only part of the resource due to a Range header sent by the client.
Why do I see 206 for my videos in the logs?
That is normal. Browsers fetch media in byte ranges so playback can start quickly and seeking works.
Which specification defines 206?
It is defined in RFC 9110 §15.3.7.
Is a 206 response cacheable?
Yes. 206 is one of the codes RFC 9110 §15.1 lets caches store heuristically, so it can be reused without explicit caching headers. Send Cache-Control to control how long.