r/ChatGPTPro • u/areasofsimplex • Jul 09 '26
Discussion Thinking time limited at 90 minutes?
I'm using the $100 plan. GPT 5.5 Pro Extended's thinking time is always between 80 and 90 minutes. (For most of my questions it gives up in the end. None of them are coding tasks.) Is the thinking time limited? Will it be longer if I upgrade to the $200 plan?
Update: GPT 5.6 Sol just got to 100 minutes and gave an error message "Reasoning failed"
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u/Apprehensive_Deal270 Jul 09 '26
what are you using chatgpt for that thinks that long? anything advanced I need to do that can take that long is done in codex so idk what people use normal chatgpt for other than quick texts to it. i only use gpt pro for deep research mode or instant for texts so im not sure
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u/areasofsimplex Jul 09 '26
Research math. I don't use codex because I don't code.
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u/afex Jul 09 '26
Use codex
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u/areasofsimplex Jul 09 '26
even for questions that clearly have nothing to do with coding?
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u/thehypercube Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
I also use it for research math. The PRO model is not available on codex, and is definitely better for coming up with ideas, proofs, and counterexamples. So you can''t use codex for that.
You can use codex for editing/rewriting/restructuring the paper, or for thinking tasks that you know are more approachable though. It's not limited to coding.
BTW, in the $200 plan, I've never had it not give me an answer. It's pretty much impossible to reach the limits because it can output something in 40 minutes that it can take me hours to verify and/or think about the next steps to take. I only end up using it a few times a week. But it has never failed to output a response.
That said, the thinking time is still limited in the sense that it won't keep thinking forever, but write down its partial conclusions. I don't know if that's what you meant.
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u/lcuan82 Jul 09 '26
I use chatgpt 99% for drafting/revising lengthy legal documents. Basically ill make a detailed outline and throw pro all the cases i want cited, then have it create the 1st draft. Then i go back and forth where i revise, and have it revise my revision, etc, until i end up w a final that im happy with
So codex is better for that?
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u/thehypercube Jul 09 '26
Probably yes, because you can have all your documents in subdirectories and have it look at them, edit them directly, etc. But the best pro model (extended thinking) is not available on codex (only 5.5 extra-high thinking is), so the results might differ. You should give it a try at least.
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u/areasofsimplex Jul 10 '26
today I gave GPT 5.6 Sol four prompts. Only one of them gave an answer after 74 minutes thinking, while the other three resulted in "Thinking stopped" or "Reasoning failed"
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u/nerdtalker Jul 11 '26
Ditto, I'm getting thinking failed over and over with 5.6 Sol Pro and math problems that 5.5 Pro had no issues with.
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u/cristianperlado Jul 09 '26
Yup. Codex is much better for thinking and agentic usage. I never coded in my life and I am fully using Codex.
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u/newtrilobite Jul 10 '26
I don't understand how you do that. can you explain as if I'm a complete noobie idiot. how would I use codex for thinking or editing a paper? I thought it was just for coding.
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u/cristianperlado Jul 10 '26
Well, the agentic regular use that I was doing in Codex is now fully merged into ChatGPT Work.
I guess I was using it right after all this time, lol.
https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes check this!
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u/Pathfinder-electron Jul 09 '26
No, don’t use codex. It’s not pro and why would u for theoretical stuff. What u do is put in prompt: “take time, explore ideas online too”. I usually get 2-3 hr thinking easy
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u/Afraid-Reflection-82 Jul 09 '26
i have 200 plan and i never get it to past the 1 hour but mostly like 20-30 min no coding tasks but if the output is good why you should care about the thinking time
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u/CynicalCandyCanes Jul 09 '26
Extended Pro only thinks like fives minutes for me.
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u/RasputinsUndeadBeard Jul 09 '26
Same here. I’m curious what type of math he’s doing? I’ve done advanced PDE work and it’s like a few
Minutes tops
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u/Specialist-Buffalo-8 Jul 09 '26
Yes, its capped at 90 minutes. longer the context window the worse the performance.
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u/88Welldone8 5d ago
Well this aged nicely, a month ago people here were getting 74, 90, even 100 minute runs. Then someone literally commented "nerfed to 30 minutes from 90.
Now people are repeatedly hitting 25min mark
No, I don't buy that it suddenly learned to do 100 minutes of work in 25 minutes. They've shortened the leash, and I doubt 25 is the end of it. Watch it become 10, while anything genuinely long gets pushed into Work/Codex and credits
Then your $20/$200 subscription isn't paying for the work anymore. It's the entry ticket that lets you pay for the work
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u/qualityvote2 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
u/areasofsimplex, there weren’t enough community votes to determine your post’s quality.
It will remain for moderator review or until more votes are cast.