I was having this exact problem and your solution did the trick, so thank you! However, I have one other website with the same issue - fishersci.com for which this solution didn't work - is there something I need to change other than the override name?

The problem only exists with FF20 on Win 7 32bit. See

Mozillazine

If you have a problem with other websites/domains then you need to modify the name of the pref and change the trailing domain accordingly.
Such an override only works for the specified domain.

You can create a new String pref on the about:config page.

• name: general.useragent.override.fishersci.com

Reported this back on 4/4/2013 at both bugzilla.mozilla.org https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=858150 and at MZ forum: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2686595, as well as at Chase Internet Support by phone (problem was assigned a ticket number). Am on the phone with Chase now & they confirm the issue. Of course, the status is "we're aware of it".

I am not set up (or technically adept enough) to find the regression range by installing multiple versions of Fx to isolate the issue.

If I understand the conversation here and elsewhere, it appears that the problem "fixed itself" in Fx 21b. I am prepared to wait for a definitive fix with the release version of Fx 21.

Questions: 1) How does a problem "fix itself" from one version of Firefox to another? 2) Is there any way at this time to verify that a definitive fix will be forthcoming with the RELEASE version of Fx 21 in a few weeks?

Thanks VERY, VERY much

If modifying the user agent for that domain as a workaround works for you as well then this is not a Firefox regression, but a problem with scripts that run server side and it needs to be fixed on their side.

Hi daledoc1, to continue your exploration of this issue, I suggest installing the following extension:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/user-agent-switcher/

User Agent Switcher makes it easy to test how a website such as chase.com responds to different browser identification strings.

The extension allows you to add your own strings, so try mine:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:20.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/20.0

Firefox is not changing its code at all in these tests: you are simply telling the site that Firefox is a different browser and watching what the site sends back.

The code sites use to optimize content for different browsers can be fragile and in this case, for some undisclosed and unknown reason, the user agent string of Firefox 20 on Windows 7 32-bit is tripping up the site. While I can appreciate that this is "caused" by the user agent string Firefox is sending, the user agent string is not a bug and is not broken.

I was having the same problem. There is an update available today that fixes the problem.

solved.

I think that the "fix" was at the Chase end, not with 20.0.1???

I just successfully connected to chaseonline.chase.com from the Win7/32 laptop that is still running 20.0, and on which I had made no changes to my user agent string or other profile modifications.

The web page content appears to be "new", so I am pretty sure Chase did tweak something. Just to be sure, I am still able to connect just fine on both Win7/64 rigs that are also running 20.0 (they never had the problem in the first place).

I had been on the phone with Chase TS here in US several times (sending them screen shots and other requested info), but the links to this topic and the thread at the MZ forum with your expert input that I provided were likely the key to getting this fixed.

Thanks to all,

daledoc1

Interesting, but I was still unable to connect to Chase.com one minute before I applied the update. As soon as I was updated to 20.0.1 I was able to connect. If it was Chase's issue, it was a timely coincidence.

I too have been having major headaches since the 'upgrade' to v. 20.0.1 and while editing individual 'useragent.override' settings seems to work, there are too many sites with problems to make it worth the effort.

I also tried downloading/installing 'User Agent Switcher' and editing a new useragent string with the title: 'Firefox' but it doesn't seem to be working - perhaps better instructions would help?

And lastly, with so many complaints, why doesn't the Mozilla team simply issue an 'upgrade' that keeps everything v. 20.0.1 tried to accomplish while reverting to the 19 useragent string? It would seem to solve a lot of problems.

Hi CindersPaws, I don't think there are enough broken websites to go that far. How many have you found where they do not work without the override but they do work with the override?

Some websites make good use of browser version information to provide enhanced features, and here on the forum we check that so we know what features you have in Firefox and which you don't. That wouldn't be possible if your Firefox user agent stays perpetually "19"...

Regarding User Agent Switcher, you can create a new user agent and edit the version number digits in the proposed string in the two places they appear. The problem I have with the extension is that I have to restart Firefox before the new agent appears on the Tools menu. Maybe there is a more efficient way to get the menu updated but I haven't searched for it.

Thanks for the informative response jscher2000.

I don't know about others, but my experience has been pretty bad. NBCnews.com is a prime example. Before editing the 'site specific' useragent script for it, 9 times out of 10 I would receive 'The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading' messages. And I have trouble believing the issue is strictly the web site's fault since my local art house theater { http://www.littleart.com/ } gives me the same scold and it's about as low-tech as they come.

I'd say that about 2/3rds of my bookmarked sites still give me trouble. They either won't load at all (giving the above error msg), partially load (usually w/o graphics), or they load as text-only lists (which I assume is the web site's response to perceived slow data or high error rate issues).

Why some, or most of these sites eventually load (if you try long enough) is another good question.

Isn't there a better workaround for this problem than editing individual useragent scripts? In my case, it would be easier to switch browsers!

Hi CindersPaws, I hadn't noticed that partial page loading or too-quick-timeout was related to the user agent string. I'm having trouble thinking of any reason for that, and I wonder whether it's a coincidence. Since this started, have you tried clearing your Firefox cache?

(WIN) orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced
(MAC) Firefox menu > Preferences > Advanced

On the Network mini-tab > Cached Web Content : "Clear Now"

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes and freeze Firefox while it's running.

There also are some other threads on pages not loading completely (i.e., text is loaded, but it's unstyled).

Thanks again for your time jscher2000.

Yes, I've cleared the cache many times to no avail. NBCnews.com has been opening normally since I wrote the site-specific user agent string for it so I figured that the solutions above had me on the right track. But just now, trying to open NBCnews.com under the Chrome browser as a check also resulted in an 'unstyled' page - no graphics, just a text list of what should have been there. Reloading several times either resulted in the same page again or a Google error box saying 'the connection to NBCnews.com' had been 'interrupted'.

Now I'm really confused. An older computer off the same gateway running WinXP and Seamonkey has none of these problems. If it helps anything, the HP-DV7 showing the problem is running Win7/64 - Avast Antivirus - Firefox 20.0.1 and Chrome 26.0.1410.64 m

The issuance of 20.0.1 solved the problem with adding strings. Thanks for the info.

I was having this problem also, however, since 20.0.1 my problem was resolved with linking to sites.

check and make sure you don't have a program called Sendori installed, that redirects (hijacks) certs, dns requests to their own servers which cause Firefox to not trust them