Users of the Firefox browser for Android have been reporting that they are seeing a blank page when trying to load the main Google Search site.

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.
  • Aurix@lemmy.world
    41·
    10 months ago

    It works here with the latest version. But moved to Kagi recently and very happy with the search results.

    • Possibly linuxEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Can you use it without signing in? I see privacy issues with a search engine that needs you to sign in.

      • Aurix@lemmy.world
        1·
        10 months ago

        No and it would make no sense with a paid model. I believe them and even if not I think there is enough indirect tracking tools.