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ssa.gov account login no longer works on Firefox, but does work on Edge

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

Bob G
Bob G
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I can no longer log into my social security account using Firefox, but the login does work on edge. When I try login on Firefox, I get the following error message:

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand. Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.

The initial web site is https://www.ssa.gov/. From there I hit "Sign in", and get to https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SiView.action using Edge, but get just the error message using Firefox.

There is another route, which is through https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. Hitting either account or sign in on that page will work on Edge, but gives the same error message on Firefox.

I can no longer log into my social security account using Firefox, but the login does work on edge. When I try login on Firefox, I get the following error message: Bad Request Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand. Size of a request header field exceeds server limit. The initial web site is https://www.ssa.gov/. From there I hit "Sign in", and get to https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SiView.action using Edge, but get just the error message using Firefox. There is another route, which is through https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. Hitting either account or sign in on that page will work on Edge, but gives the same error message on Firefox.

All Replies (1)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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A 400 "Bad Request" error issue is usually caused by corrupted cookies.

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Settings), click the padlock icon (Clear cookies and site data) for the domain in the selected tab.

"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"

"Clear the Cache":

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> [X] Cached Web Content -> Clear

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or if userChrome.css/userContent.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the Default System theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window