> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://assemblyai.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What causes a "read operation timed out" error?

This error is a byproduct of a request taking longer than the default timeout value built into the Python SDK, which is 15 seconds.

This shouldn't be a common occurrence but to allow for the occasional slowdown this setting can be changed like this:

```python theme={null}
import assemblyai as aai

aai.settings.api_key = f"{ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY}"
aai.settings.http_timeout = 30.0
```