Google Vertex AI (generative AI) error
Vertex AI 500 UNKNOWN / INTERNAL: what it means and how to fix it
500 UNKNOWN / INTERNALRetry? YesLast verified 1 documented fix2 sources
What it means
Server error due to overload or dependency failure.
Causes
- The request is throttled because the service is temporarily overloaded
- A dependency failure
How to fix it
- Fix 1.
Retry after a few seconds with exponential backoff. If the error persists for a prolonged period (hours), contact support.
More Vertex AI errors
All 11 Vertex AI errors400 INVALID_ARGUMENT / FAILED_PRECONDITIONRetry? No401 UNAUTHENTICATEDRetry? No403 PERMISSION_DENIEDRetry? No404 NOT_FOUNDRetry? No429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTEDRetry? Yes429 Resource exhausted, please try again laterRetry? Yes429 Too many requests. Exceeded the Provisioned ThroughputRetry? Not stated499 CANCELLEDRetry? Not stated
HTTP 500 at other providers
Compare 500 across providers500 InternalServerExceptionRetry? YesAmazon Bedrock500 api_errorRetry? YesAnthropic API500 Server ErrorRetry? YesAzure OpenAI500 Server ErrorRetry? Not statedCohere API500 - Server ErrorRetry? YesDeepSeek API500 api_errorRetry? YesGemini API500 INTERNALRetry? YesGemini API500 Internal Server ErrorRetry? YesGroq API500 Internal server errorRetry? YesMistral API500 The server had an error while processing your requestRetry? YesOpenAI API500 serverRetry? Not statedOpenRouter500 unmappedRetry? Not statedOpenRouter
FAQ
What does the Vertex AI error "500 UNKNOWN / INTERNAL" mean?
Server error due to overload or dependency failure.
How do I fix Vertex AI "500 UNKNOWN / INTERNAL"?
Retry after a few seconds with exponential backoff. If the error persists for a prolonged period (hours), contact support.
Should I retry Vertex AI "500 UNKNOWN / INTERNAL"?
Yes. The official docs treat this error as retryable.
Which other AI APIs return HTTP 500?
Per their official error docs: Amazon Bedrock (500 InternalServerException), Anthropic API (500 api_error), Azure OpenAI (500 Server Error), Cohere API (500 Server Error), DeepSeek API (500 - Server Error), Gemini API (500 api_error; 500 INTERNAL), Groq API (500 Internal Server Error), Mistral API (500 Internal server error), OpenAI API (500 The server had an error while processing your request), OpenRouter (500 server; 500 unmapped).
Sources
Last verified against 2 sources: Vertex AI's official docs and official SDK repositories.
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