OpenAI Resolves Image Generation Errors for Free Users
On August 12, 2025, OpenAI reported and resolved a brief service incident that caused errors for free ChatGPT users attempting to generate images. The issue has been fully resolved, and all services are now operating normally.
Incident Summary
The problem was categorized as a period of degraded performance, specifically impacting the image generation feature available to non-paying users of ChatGPT. Users affected may have experienced a higher rate of errors when trying to create images. OpenAI confirmed that the issue was limited exclusively to this user group.
Timeline of Events
The incident unfolded and was resolved quickly, as detailed on the OpenAI Status Page.
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Identified (12:06 PM): OpenAI first confirmed the issue, stating, "We have identified that users are experiencing elevated errors for the impacted services. This issue is only affecting free ChatGPT users. We are working on implementing a mitigation."
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Resolved (12:20 PM): Just 14 minutes later, the company announced that a fix had been successfully implemented. The final update confirmed, "All impacted services have now fully recovered."
Resolution and Status
The service disruption was short-lived, and full functionality was restored promptly. All systems related to image generation for free ChatGPT users are now back to their normal operational state. For real-time updates on service availability, users can always refer to the official status page.
