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Troubleshooting browser issues

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Mary Haberle
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How to identify potential browser issues

Due to their potential to create a range of replay and access issues, it is important to eliminate browser issues as the root cause when you are troubleshooting issues such as:

      • Captured embedded images that are not replaying in Wayback
      • Retrieval of a "Resource Not Available" page when accessing Wayback links
      • Inability to log in to Archive-It web application
      • Incomplete loading of web application data
      • Permissions denied when starting a new crawl

If you follow the steps on this page and there is no noticeable improvement, please submit a support ticket.

What are the most common causes of browser issues? 

There are a number of factors that can affect connectivity, but these are the most common:

      • Browsing data (cache, cookies and history)
      • Browser extensions and plug-ins
      • Out of date browser software
      • Browser compatibility issues

 

How to identify browser compatibility issues

Every browser is designed differently, which means that webpages can replay differently in different browsers. For example, the WebP file format for images is currently only supported by Chrome, which can mean display issues in Firefox, Safari, and other browsers. If you’re having trouble with one browser, test the page in another to see if you can replicate the issue. We recommend using Firefox or Chrome over other browsers.

 

How to clear your cache, cookies and history

It is best practice to periodically clear your cache, cookies and history in order to resolve performance issues. First, try using a different web browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) to see if the problem is limited to one browser software.

To clear your browser data, access the appropriate menus with the browser open and selected, press Ctrl-Shift-Delete (Windows) or Command-Shift-Delete (Mac).

Alternative to clearing browser data

In cases where you do not want to delete the data stored in your browser, you can try using private browsing windows to as an alternative. A private browsing window can be opened by selecting the relevant option from the browser's File menu. Note that this feature has different names depending on the browser used: Chrome (Incognito), Firefox and Safari (Private), Microsoft Edge (InPrivate).

How to manage browser extensions and plug-ins

Privacy extensions like Privacy Badger, HTTPS Everywhere, and LastPass have been known to cause unexpected replay results in Wayback, such as disabled style-sheet formatting or blank pages. Other extensions or plug-ins may also interfere in these or other ways. Try disabling your browser extensions and plug-ins by following the manage extension instructions for your browser:

How to update your browser

Sometimes outdated browser software can cause problems with Wayback replay and web application access. If the aforementioned strategies don't improve your issue, check to see whether your browser software is up-to-date by visiting https://updatemybrowser.org/. If it isn't the most recent version, update it by following the instructions for your browser:

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