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Google Search bug shows blank page in Firefox for Android (www.bleepingcomputer.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

28 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The issue:

Android users with Firefox can't access Google Search (including intl sites and localized domains like google.de, .co.uk, .com.br). Instead, they see a blank page.

Cause:

A server-side bug on Google's end related to User-Agent (UA) sniffing, which serves an empty page to newer Firefox versions.

Affected versions:

All Firefox versions on Android (>= 65) including Mobile 121.0, Nightly 123, and older.

Chrome not affected:

The bug is specific to Firefox.

Solutions:

Use a different browser (Chrome, etc.) or search engine (DuckDuckGo).

Advanced users can:

Change Firefox's UA in developer settings or with add-ons.
Request the desktop version of Google from Firefox settings (region-dependent).

Status:

Problem identified as critical and escalated.
Still unresolved at the time of reporting.

Additional notes:

Disabling Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection doesn't fix the issue.
Some users report google.co.in loading the desktop site instead of mobile.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Even if it's for only a short period of time, it's enough to do a lot of damage. Especially as people are becoming privacy conscious and are looking to start using Firefox.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What does this mean, I'm confused?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes. So was I when I wrote this comment. I don't know why I wrote Chrome.... 😑

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Makes way more sense now, lol.