Misleading 'Rate limit reached' error on Max plan during service outage

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.42
• Plan: Max (5x)
• Login method: Claude Max Account
• Model: Opus 4.6
• Usage at time of error: 7% session, 14% weekly, 1% Sonnet weekly

Problem

Claude Code reports despite usage being well below plan limits. The same error occurs simultaneously on claude.ai, confirming this is a backend/service issue, not an actual rate limit.

The issue occurred on Saturday, February 14, 2026 at approximately 16:10 CET.

Expected behavior

When the service is experiencing issues unrelated to user's rate limits, the error message should reflect the actual problem, e.g. or .

is misleading because:

1. It implies the user has exhausted their quota (they haven't)
2. It sends users down the wrong troubleshooting path (checking usage, considering plan upgrades)
3. It's inconsistent with what Max plan subscribers should expect — Max uses subscription-based limits, not API rate limits

Additional context

• status.claude.com showed 'All Systems Operational' during the outage
• The issue occurred on Saturday when load should be lower than weekdays
• claude.ai was intermittently affected as well, confirming a broader service issue