Can't login to Google

[Roger_Fink]

Problem (27.8.0 and earlier, Win7-32): I can not sign into Google, which says I have cookies disabled. They are not - cookies are set to be accepted normally, but in Options (now Preferences) no cookies for Google are shown.

I've tried two unsuccessful fixes: starting in safe mode, and creating a new user string in about:config as suggested by a poster elsewhere in this forum (general.useragent.override.mail.google.com [set to] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:46.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/46.0.

PaleMoon is my default browser. I really don't want to have to log in to Firefox, SeaMonkey or IE to read Gmail, so I hope this is a fixable problem.

[Night Wing]

@ Roger_Fink

My wife just finished accessing her Gmail emal account using 64 bit linux Pale Moon 27.8.0 running in 64 bit linux Mint 18.3 (Sylvia) Xfce. And I might add, she is using linux Pale Moon with the default settings with Adblock Latitude 4.0.1 enabled. The problem is not with Pale Moon, but on your end.

[Roger_Fink]

Rather extreme conclusion for such a small sampling, wouldn't you say?

[ron_1]

Since no one else is reporting this, I'd say Night Wing is correct. Do you happen to use any add-on that has to do with cookies? Maybe it's a profile problem . . . try opening Pale Moon with a brand new profile (backup your old one).

[Roger_Fink]

As I mentioned I have the same problem in safe mode. Also there are several threads about it on this forum. In fact I debated whether it was proper etiquette to start a new thread or post as a reply to an older thread.

[ron_1]

If you got that UA override off of an old thread, that might be why it didn't work. I'd try changing the 46 to a higher number, maybe the current version number of FF or 52.9.

Is this the old thread you're talking about?

Off-topic:
BTW, safe mode is not exactly the same as trying it in a new profile (a new profile is one step beyond safe mode).

[coffeebreak]

...and creating a new user string in about:config as suggested by a poster elsewhere in this forum (general.useragent.override.mail.google.com [set to] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:46.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/46.0.

Pale Moon already has a built-in user agent override for google.com (the top level domain).
I don't have any trouble accessing gmail using this override that's already present:

Code: Select all

general.useragent.override.google.com
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:52.9) Gecko/20100101 Goanna/3.4 Firefox/52.9 PaleMoon/27.8.0

As I mentioned I have the same problem in safe mode.

As helloimustbegoing noted, safe mode isn't the same as testing with a new profile, it does not go as far - As a major point, it does not disable any of your custom settings.

An easy way to test with a new profile is to use the portable version of Pale Moon.
It contains its own profile and won't use the profile of your installed version. Just extract a copy from the portable installer to any convenient location. Don't change any settings for the test, it should be in out-of-box condition. When you're finished, just delete it.

[Night Wing]

Rather extreme conclusion for such a small sampling, wouldn't you say?

When my wife accessed her Gmail account, she did it using her own laptop. She tried using my desktop tower, which is also running 64 bit linux Pale Moon 27.8.0 to access her Gmail account and she had no problems getting into her Gmail account.

Just for the fun of it, this desktop tower I'm typing this post with has a second hard drive in it and it is loaded with 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium SP1. My wife accessed her Gmail email account using 32 bit windows Pale Moon 27.8.0 with the same default settings Pale Moon comes with (in Preferences) and with Adblock Latitude 4.0.1 enabled.

Two different computers, two different operating systems and different bit configurations for Pale Moon. No Gmail problems with Pale Moon. And if this is not enough sampling for you, I've got my own laptop and a second desktop tower.

My wife accessed her Gmail account again with these two other computers (four computers in total), with Linux and Windows hard drives. The problem is not with Pale Moon. Have you hardened Pale Moon in some way (privacy wise) which might be causing the problem?

[Roger_Fink]

I guess one needs to post sequentially here, but regarding helloimustbegoing's post with the modified UA string, I did try that (thanks for the suggestion) and I also managed to locate a legacy version of User Agent Switcher that installed with no problem. However, neither of these had any effect. Google is correct when they say I'm blocking cookies - there are none, but why?. Out of curiosity I went into the blocklist.xml file and searched for "gmail". There were a ton of hits, too many to list here. Here is one of them:

<emItem blockID="i1492" id="googlotim@gmail.com">
<prefs />

I don't know much about blocklists but could one or more of these listings be throwing the baby out with the bathwater? The only thing that seems obvious to me is that for most users, logging into Google is not a problem, but that it is not true for everyone.

Also, yes that was a thread I was referring to, plus there was a link in it that took you to another. I was wrong about the posting dates - the threads are recent..... too late to do anything more tonight, will revisit this tomorrow.

[Roger_Fink]

Night Wing, you have a lot of computers.
I have two and can't login with either of them.

[paradiddle]

Here's a couple of random suggestions to check.

Check to see if you have an HTTP proxy setup for Pale Moon (Preferences > Advanced -> Network tab -> Settings). I've had problems with Google sign in while using one but Google otherwise works.

Another thing you can do is check your virus scanner and see if it is disallowing cookies or possibly enabling its own HTTP proxy.

[Sajadi]

No issues with unstable or stable versions, no issues with my crazy user agent of choice (usage is normally not recommended) and no issue with the native Pale Moon user agent (without Firefox compatibility mode - so of course Gmail is rendered in a minimalistic simple style).

I can backup the confirmation that Google does work.

As said, try with the portable version to see if it works for you:

http://www.palemoon.org/palemoon-portable.shtml

Or: Go to preferences - privacy - history. Then click on remove individual cookies, search for all Google or gmail or Youtube related and delete it.

Also, if you have any script blockers like No-script installed, they often can cause issues.

Also read that announcement about No-Script:

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=17619

[Roger_Fink]

Sajadi, the problem was where you suggested, in preferences-privacy-history. Google was in there along with doubleclick. After I removed those entries, everything worked. This is better than trying to re-create the Universe with a new profile (which also worked). Thanks to all.

[Sajadi]

Well, good to hear that it works