diff --git a/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.cpp b/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.cpp
index 85d27d5c6c..44a413b450 100644
--- a/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.cpp
+++ b/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.cpp
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ int HTTPClient::sendRequest(const char * type, const uint8_t * payload, size_t s
 
         // connect to server
         if(!connect()) {
-            return returnError(HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_REFUSED);
+            return returnError(HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_FAILED);
         }
 
         addHeader(F("Content-Length"), String(payload && size > 0 ? size : 0));
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ int HTTPClient::sendRequest(const char * type, Stream * stream, size_t size)
 
     // connect to server
     if(!connect()) {
-        return returnError(HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_REFUSED);
+        return returnError(HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_FAILED);
     }
 
     if(size > 0) {
@@ -1083,8 +1083,8 @@ const String& HTTPClient::getString(void)
 String HTTPClient::errorToString(int error)
 {
     switch(error) {
-    case HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_REFUSED:
-        return F("connection refused");
+    case HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_FAILED:
+        return F("connection failed");
     case HTTPC_ERROR_SEND_HEADER_FAILED:
         return F("send header failed");
     case HTTPC_ERROR_SEND_PAYLOAD_FAILED:
diff --git a/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.h b/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.h
index 1ab26c8de7..acca34c12f 100644
--- a/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.h
+++ b/libraries/ESP8266HTTPClient/src/ESP8266HTTPClient.h
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
 #define HTTPCLIENT_DEFAULT_TCP_TIMEOUT (5000)
 
 /// HTTP client errors
-#define HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_REFUSED  (-1)
+#define HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_FAILED   (-1)
 #define HTTPC_ERROR_SEND_HEADER_FAILED  (-2)
 #define HTTPC_ERROR_SEND_PAYLOAD_FAILED (-3)
 #define HTTPC_ERROR_NOT_CONNECTED       (-4)
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@
 #define HTTPC_ERROR_STREAM_WRITE        (-10)
 #define HTTPC_ERROR_READ_TIMEOUT        (-11)
 
+constexpr int HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_REFUSED __attribute__((deprecated)) = HTTPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_FAILED;
+
 /// size for the stream handling
 #define HTTP_TCP_BUFFER_SIZE (1460)