Browser suddenly stops working

[mset]

After 4 months with my N4 (loving it!), I'm having an issue with the browser (Chrome). I'm connected via WiFi in my home. I launch a browser and I'm using it with no problems. Suddenly, I click on a link and the page won't load. Eventually I get the 'DNS failure' page which says 'You're likely not connected to the internet'. I test another device on the same WiFi network and it works fine.

I restart the phone and immediately the browser starts working again.

I'm surprised that a Title search here doesn't reveal any threads started with this same problem. Does anyone have an idea about what might be going on?

Thanks

 

[friedtators]

what applications have you installed since this started happening? to start, to try something, go to settings, applications, chrome, clear cache and data. restart your phone.

browser on phones still su x. some websites do a poor job of writing the code. i have one website i visit often. if i hit the back space to many times the browser closes with out warning. so its not the phone.

 

[ohyeahar]

There?s not much a problem here is there? You fixed it with a simple reboot. There?s not much to talk about unless you can consistently replicate the issue.

 

[mset]

There?s not much a problem here is there? You fixed it with a simple reboot. There?s not much to talk about unless you can consistently replicate the issue.

Perhaps you misunderstood. I have been experiencing this issue on and off over the past few weeks, a couple of time a day. I wrote the descriptive part of the post in present tense, which is usually used to describe an issue that is ongoing.

 

[mset]

what applications have you installed since this started happening? to start, to try something, go to settings, applications, chrome, clear cache and data. restart your phone.

browser on phones still su x. some websites do a poor job of writing the code. i have one website i visit often. if i hit the back space to many times the browser closes with out warning. so its not the phone.

I'm not too much of an apps guy but I have installed a few lately. There could be a correlation. Some of the recent ones were AirBNB, Helium, HotelsTonight, SmartTools and Box and Evangelion.

Earlier ones were pretty common - Skype, Nova Launcher, Evernote, Politico, Eye In The Sky, and a few others.

I was able to clear the data and cache by long pressing on the Chrome icon (the app doesn't appear in my app list for some reason). Hopefully that will help.

I don't think this is a website issue because I try common sites like microsoft.com and they won't load either. Some app I installed is more likely. I'm going to uninstall everything that's not absolutely necessary.

 

[ohyeahar]

Perhaps you misunderstood. I have been experiencing this issue on and off over the past few weeks, a couple of time a day. I wrote the descriptive part of the post in present tense, which is usually used to convey an issue that is ongoing.

Ok, my bad. Sounded like a one-off situation at first read.

Anyway, like others have suggested, clear the Chrome app data to see if that helps. Chrome is known to act up on me from time to time. Clearing the data fixes it every time.

If you're having trouble locating Chrome in "Settings>Apps", then try this:
Open Chrome.
Press the multitasking/recent apps button
Long-press on the Chrome window
Press "App info" on the popup
Then clear data.

 

[mset]

If you're having trouble locating Chrome in "Settings>Apps", then try this:

Press the multitasking/recent apps button
Long-press on the Chrome window
Press "App info" on the popup
Then clear data.

Yeah, I figured that out after a while. I cleared the data and uninstalled a few apps, including an obscure one that I was trying to use to create a custom desktop (it only had 7,000 downloads or so). Let's see what happens.

 

[mset]

Wow!

Well, one thing I can tell anyone who reads this - if you're looking to speed up Chrome on the N4, clear your data and cache. The browser is loading pages instantly over Wifi and it had definitely slowed down over the past few months. Who knows, maybe it also has something to do with the apps I uninstalled.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to do some more routine maintenance in the future.

 

[2defmouze]

Glad you seem to have resolved it.. For future reference you probably would find Chrome in Settings > Apps after you slide right to All

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jc0187]

Yup, I've got this same issue as well. I'm on WiFi pretty much all the time and notice a consistent slow down to load pages. When I say slow down I mean like back-in-the-day dial up connection speeds. Usually a reboot temporarily fixes the issue. Thinking about going back to my Lumia 710 lol.

 

[Dark Penguin]

I have a different phone but the exact same issue.

Except I can "duplicate the problem" just fine...it's the absence of the problem I can't duplicate, after trying all the usual fixes. I'm fortunate that there have been significant improvements to the data infrastructure in my neighborhood, or my phone would be useless here as a mini-browser/data streamer. Unlimited mpbile data doesn't hurt either.

I gave up CyanogenMod to solve the same problem I was having with that ROM, so I reverted completely back to stock and then rooted the device. Everything worked fine for a couple of months, but now wifi is totally disabled again, except that I can log into a network as usual. By the same token, if I intentionally enter a bad password, I get an error message as I would expect, so presumably when there's no error message then the password is right.

I'm going to be upgrading in a couple of months, but if I can't fix this issue with my current phone, I won't be able to use it as an extra Internet enabled device for at-home use. Once I deactivate it, it will lose all connectivity to the outside world, as well as the ability to play anything but recorded content.

 

[mset]

Sorry I can't be of help. My issues went away when I uninstalled the obscure app I was trying to use to create custom-looking homescreens, and cleared the cache. However...

I want to add that I was also having problems with the Wifi in my home with other devices (I have a Cisco DPC 3825 modem/router). I tried tech support at my telco a few times and they couldn't do anything about it. They defaulted to 'it's an issue with your device, we can't help you'. I tried back a while later and got a guy who immediately said 'I think I know what your problem is'. He had me unplug the router from the power bar and plug it directly into a wall outlet. This immediately solved my problems. Don't ask me why, but it worked.