206 HTTP Response Status Code Definition: Example, Usage, Methods

The 206 HTTP status code means that the request is partial content that indicates the server is providing only a piece of the requested resource as a result of a range header supplied by the client. There are two outcomes. If the range contains a single value, the Content-Type field will contain the type of the document. If there are many ranges, the Content-Type attribute is set to multipart/byteranges, and each fragment corresponds to a single range. The 206 HTTP Status Code indicates that a piece of a document has been requested. When a user agent requests a subset of a page, advanced caching tools use this information to return only that part. The difference between  206 and 200 HTTP Status Codes is that 200 HTTP Status Codes are returned much more frequently. It shows that the request was received, understood, and is currently being processed, meanwhile, the 206 HTTP Status Codes are used when the client sends the Range header to request only a portion of a resource.

What does 206 HTTP Status Code Mean?

The 206 HTTP status code indicates that the server is transmitting only a portion of the requested resource as a result of a client-supplied range header. There are two outcomes. If the range is one, the Content-Type field will contain the document’s type. If many ranges exist, the Content-Type property is set to multipart/byteranges and each fragment covers a single range.

How to Use 206 HTTP Status Code for a Website?

To use the  206 HTTP Status Code in a website, the web developer should request for a portion of a document that has been made. When a user agent requests only a small portion of a page, advanced caching tools use this to return only that section.

How to Check 206 HTTP Status Code?

To check the 206 HTTP Status Code on a website, You’re going to send a HEAD request to the huge resource you’re retrieving. The HEAD method is a standard HTTP method that works similarly to the GET method, except that it only returns the headers and not the body. This allows me to get some information about the resource without actually downloading it or using any bandwidth.

Which HTTP Methods are used with 206 HTTP Status Code?

The HTTP methods that are used with the 206 HTTP Status Codes are given below. 

  • HEAD HTTP Method: The HEAD HTTP method is used in the 206 HTTP Response Status code to request the large resource that wants to retrieve. The HEAD method requests a response that is identical to a GET request but does not include the response body.
  • GET HTTP Method: The GET HTTP method is used in the 206 HTTP Response Status code to obtain information about a resource without having to take the time or use bandwidth to download it. The GET method asks for a representation of the given resource. GET requests should only retrieve data.

The related HTTP Response Headers with 206 HTTP Status Code are listed below.

  • If-Range HTTP Header: The 206 HTTP Status Code is related with the If-Range HTTP request header, which makes range requests conditional: if the condition is met, the range request is issued, and the server responds with a 206 Partial Content response with the relevant body.
  • Range HTTP Header: The 206 HTTP Status Code is related with the Range HTTP request header, which specifies the portion of a document to return. Multiple parts can be requested with a single Range header, and the server may respond with a multipart document including these ranges. If the server returns ranges, it responds with the 206 Partial Content.
  • Content-Range HTTP Header: The 206 HTTP Status Code is related to the Content-Range HTTP response header, which identifies the location of a partial message within a full body message.
  • Content-Type HTTP Header: The 206 HTTP Status Code is related with the Content-Type representation header, which was previously used to denote the resource’s original media type (prior to any content encoding applied for sending).

What are the Browsers Compatibility of 206 HTTP Status Code?

You can see the table that shows the browser’s compatibility of the 206 HTTP Status Code below. 

Browsers NameBrowser Compatibility of 206 HTTP Status Code
ChromeYES
EdgeYES
FirefoxYES
Internet ExplorerYES
OperaYES
SafariYES
WebView AndroidYES

What are the other Similar Status Codes to 206 HTTP Status Code?

There are other similar HTTP Status Codes to the 206 HTTP Status Code. The following are listed below.

  • 202 Accepted HTTP Status Code: The 202 HTTP Status Code is similar to the 206 HTTP Status Code because they are both successful responses. The 202 HTTP Status Code indicates that the request was received but not yet processed. It is noncommittal because HTTP does not allow you to send an asynchronous response indicating the outcome of the request later. It is intended for cases where the request is handled by another process or server, or for batch processing.
  • 203 Non-Authoritative Information HTTP Status Code: The 203 HTTP Status Code is similar to the 206 HTTP Status Code because they are both successful responses. The 203 HTTP Status Code indicates that the response code indicates that the returned metadata is not the same as what is available from the origin server, but was obtained from a local or third-party copy. This is typically used for mirroring or backing up another resource. Except in that case, the 200 OK response is preferable to this status.
  • 204 No Content HTTP Status Code: The 204 HTTP Status Code is similar to the 206 HTTP Status code because they are both successful responses. The 204 HTTP Status Code indicates that the request has no content to send, but the headers may be useful. The user agent may replace the resource’s cached headers with the new ones.
  • 205 Reset Content HTTP Status Code: The 205 HTTP Status Code is similar to the 206 HTTP Status Code because they are both successful responses. The 205 HTTP Status Code indicates that the command instructs the user agent to reset the document that sent this request.
  • 207 Multi-Status HTTP Status Code: The 207 HTTP Status Code is similar to the 206 HTTP Status Code because they are both successful responses. The 207 HTTP Status Code indicates that the tool provides information about multiple resources.
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206 HTTP Response Status Code Definition: Example, Usage, Methods

by Holistic SEO time to read: 4 min
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