How to Fix the Too Much Traffic Issue with DALL-E Mini [Updated]

The possibility to dream up new images and wish them into existence simply by typing a textual description is getting creative people around the world very excited. AI image generators like DALL-E Mini, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and others are currently in the spotlight, and armies of new users are rushing to try them out every day.

The incredible amount of hype and the resulting spike in traffic are producing an unforeseen effect. The pressure on the system infrastructure gets so great that the speed of service for the average user is affected. In the worst cases, the service could be completely interrupted, and the user might see the message telling him there is currently ‘Too Much Traffic’ to process the request and generate the image. While this error is just temporary, many users rightfully want to know how it can be avoided or fixed.

What is DALL-E Mini?

DALL-E Mini is an open-source deployment of the popular DALL-E AI model first developed by OpenAI. This machine learning model was trained on the publically available data from the internet and is fully capable of understanding natural language prompts and turning them into stunning-looking images in a variety of styles. The AI algorithm at the core of the model can recreate images based on its training without directly replicating any part of the content.

As opposed to the original model, DALL-E Mini is not protected by patent and is freely available to anyone in the world. Upon receiving the instruction, the software returns 9 different images so the user can choose the one that is the closest to his intended result. This provides the user with lots of creative freedom and ensures that the generated images reflect his wishes very closely. There are few limitations to what can be achieved with this tool, since it’s able to produce images in a broad range of styles and to combine elements that would otherwise never appear in the same picture.

More detailed prompts can produce more refined images, so some amount of trial and error is necessary when users are still getting accustomed to this amazing visual toy. However, with so many queries coming in from so many sides, the practical limitations of this framework are starting to show.

Why Does ‘Too Much Traffic’ Error Occur?

We already noted that DALL-E Mini is immensely popular across the globe, especially among users who prefer not to pay for commercial solutions. At the same time, this is an open-source project rather than a corporate endeavor, so the amount of resources invested into it is finite. As a result, there is sometimes simply too much traffic for the servers to handle, so any new requests are rejected.

While other AI image generators have a premium membership tier that ensures priority during severe congestion, all users are treated equally at DALL-E Mini. That means they share the same likelihood of encountering the dreaded ‘Too Much Traffic’ error if they send a request during the peak usage period. Once the maximum capacity of the platform is reached, everyone will be put on hold until some of the ongoing processes are completed. In other words, seeing the ‘Too Much Traffic’ error message is merely a matter of bad timing and isn’t a result of any mistake that a user might have made or the type of query he sent.

How to Fix the ‘Too Much Traffic’ Error on DALL-E Mini?

Since this error is on the server side and is caused by insufficient computing power to process all queued image generation requests, the most obvious solution is to give up and come back later. However, since the outages can occur at random times, there is no guarantee that you will succeed the next time either. While it’s impossible to predict when the traffic volume will sufficiently subside, there are a couple of decisions that could shorten the delay.

Keep trying until you succeed

Instead of waiting for a few hours before sending the request again, a better approach is to keep sending it repeatedly until it’s accepted. It takes only a few seconds to close the error message and copy/paste the request, so you can conceivably do this many times in rapid succession. The traffic jam that DALL-E Mini is experiencing could be just a temporary glitch, and with this method, you ensure to get in as soon as there is room for you.

Delay your request until late night hours

An alternative approach is to try and predict when the activity level at the DALL-E Mini platform will be the lowest, i.e. during the night or on weekends. This will save you some effort and is a smart solution when the task you want to give to DALL-E Mini is not urgent. When you are trying to deduce the least busy time, take into account the fact that this tool has a global user base and try to find windows of opportunity when there is no rush.

Try a different AI image generator

Let’s face it – DALL-E Mini is not the only game in town. It’s certainly handy to have a free AI image generator at your disposal, but if it freezes up too frequently you might have no choice but to look for an alternative. You could opt for another free AI image generator, or decide to shell out a few dollars and gain access to top-of-the-line tools. Gemoo’s AI Image Generator is perhaps the most logical replacement if DALL-E Mini disappoints you, as the two share the same architecture and features. Generate stunning AI-generated images from text effortlessly within seconds using this incredible free tool.

FAQs about ‘Too Much Traffic’ Error on DALL-E Mini

Despite similar names, these two AI algorithms don’t share an owner. DALL-E 2 is owned by OpenAI, the same company that developed ChatGPT, while DALL-E mini is an open-source version that isn’t proprietary. That’s why it’s important to know the distinction between these two models.

Does my geographic location affect my chances of running into ‘Too Much Traffic’ error?

As we explained above, a ‘Too Much Traffic’ error message can appear to any user regardless of his location or status. On the other hand, if you live in a time zone from which a lot of users attempt to access DALL-E at the same time, you might be more susceptible to getting caught in the rush hour.

Is there a daily limit how many times I can try to send the same image prompt to DALL-E Mini?

No, you can send the same request as many times as you want, even in a short interval. That means you can persistently attempt to access the image generation service without any fear that you will reach the limit and be forced to stop using this free online service.

Final Thoughts

DALL-E Mini is a free, open-source tool that can nearly match the output quality of commercial AI image generators, which explains why it’s so hyped at the moment. Perhaps the only real downside it has is limited availability due to excessive incoming traffic. This problem can’t be truly resolved unless the hardware infrastructure upon which the model is based is upgraded, but there are a few simple hacks that could reduce the amount of time you spend waiting for a response from DALL-E Mini. Tell us in the comments whether you already tried DALL-E Mini and how you think it compares to other advanced AI image creation tools.