HTTP 206 Partial Content — Range Requests & Resume Downloads

Overview

HTTP 206 Partial Content indicates the server is delivering only part of the resource due to a range header sent by the client, enabling resume downloads and streaming.

Key Details

• Status code 206 means the server successfully fulfilled a partial GET request
• Used when the client sends a Range header requesting specific byte ranges
• Essential for resumable downloads — if a download fails, the client can request remaining bytes
• Video streaming services rely heavily on 206 for seeking and buffering
• Response includes Content-Range header indicating which bytes are being served

Common Causes

• Client explicitly requests a byte range via Range header
• Download managers splitting files into segments for parallel download
• Media players requesting chunks for streaming playback
• Browser resuming a previously interrupted download

Steps

1. 1Verify your server supports Range requests by checking Accept-Ranges header in responses
2. 2For Apache, ensure mod_headers is enabled and AllowOverride includes FileInfo
3. 3For Nginx, confirm the proxy_set_header Range $http_range directive is set
4. 4Test with curl: curl -r 0-99 -o partial.dat https://example.com/file.zip
5. 5If 206 is unexpected, check if a CDN or proxy is injecting Range headers

Tags

More in 2xx Success

Frequently Asked Questions