Error 403: The Request Could Not Be Satisfied
Learn How to Troubleshoot and Resolve CloudFront Errors

Are you experiencing the very annoying CloudFront error that says: “The request could not be satisfied”? If so, you’re not alone! Many CloudFront users experience this error, whether they’re providing content to customers or just trying to watch a video online. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to resolve the error and prevent it from happening again.

What Is CloudFront Error 403?
CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) owned and operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS). CDNs are an essential part of website operations – they replicate data, serve cached content and improve webpage loading times.

Error 403 (also known as “Request blocked”) indicates that the request for the content cannot be completed. This can be caused by too much server traffic, a configuration error or you may simply need to try again later.

How Do You Fix CloudFront Error 403?
If you’ve encountered the ‘request could not be satisfied’ error, the first thing you should do is check the CloudFront documentation. Here, you’ll find comprehensive troubleshooting and optimization advice that may help to solve the issue.

If the error persists despite following the troubleshooting steps, the next step is to contact the app or website owner. They will be able to give you more information or help you to resolve the issue.

Preventing CloudFront Error 403
Apart from performing basic troubleshooting, you may wish to optimize your configuration to try and prevent the error from occurring again. The CloudFront documentation has plenty of helpful tips, but some of the most important steps include:

• Setting up Server Access Logging, which is the best way to track requests made to your origin
• Moving file assets, such as images, from origin to an AWS Edge Location
• Whitelisting origins for improved origin response times
• Optimizing and minimizing webpages
• Using the GZIP compression algorithm

Conclusion
The request could not be satisfied (Error 403) is an annoying issue, but luckily it isn’t difficult to resolve. Before contacting the website owner, you should head to the CloudFront documentation and try the troubleshooting tips provided. If you’re an experienced web developer, you may also wish to try some of the optimization tasks listed above. With the right steps, you can get your websites and apps up and running in no time.