Troubleshooting your Internet Browser
Why Would I need to Troubleshoot My Internet Browser?
As you use your internet browser day after day, your browser stores and builds up mountains of traffic data it thinks is convenient for you. In many cases, this leads to pages loading faster and keeping you logged into your sites. Sometimes, clearing these items can fix a variety of problems such as website functions not working, pages or embeds failing to load, or formatting issues.
What is a Cache and What are Cookies?
Modern internet browsers running on desktop and mobile devices store pieces of data from frequently accessed websites in a 'Cache' (pronounced CASH) in order to conveniently load pages and info more quickly. Ever wondered why that sweater was still in your cart after you left a website and came back? That's because a cache piles up data and login information from across your internet activities. This can be convenient to load websites quickly, but sometimes it can cause issues with specific sites, services, or tools.
On most modern sites, you've most likely seen a 'Accept all Cookies' or 'Deny all Cookies' pop-up. When you visit some sites, they'll give you a 'Cookie' that acts as an ID card of sorts. This ID card travels across the web with you and each website you visit takes a peek at it, then stores and gathers information on your browsing habits, preferences, clicks, and what you like or maybe don't like. While cookies provide many conveniences, sometimes they can cause issues with a website.
Clearing Browser History, Cache, and Cookies
Google Chrome (Recommended)
Open
Written Guide
Desktop app
- Open Chrome and click on the Menu button (three dots in the upper right corner of window).
- Select 'More Tools' and click on 'Clear Browsing Data'.
- Make sure the 'Time range' drop-down is set to 'All time'.
- If you don't want to clear specific items, uncheck those boxes. However, in most cases you're clearing history to fix a problem and would want to clear everything to be safe.
- Click 'Clear data' button to complete the process.
- Close all tabs and re-open Chrome.
Video Guide
This guide was recorded using a Mac, but the interface for Chrome and steps still apply to Windows users.
Firefox (Recommended)
Open
Written Guide
Desktop app
- Open Firefox and click on the Menu button (three horizontal bars in the upper right of Firefox).
- Select 'History' and click 'Clear Recent History...'
- Make sure the 'Time range to clear' drop-down is set to 'Everything'.
- If you don't want to clear specific items, uncheck those boxes. However, in most cases you're clearing history to fix a problem and would want to clear everything to be safe.
- Click the 'OK' button to finish.
- Close all tabs and re-open Firefox.
Video Guide
This guide was recorded using a Mac, but the interface for Firefox and steps still apply to Windows users.
Microsoft Edge
Open
Written Guide
Desktop app
- Open Edge and click on the Menu (Three horizontal dots in upper right of window).
- Click 'History'
- Select the three horizontal dots at the top of the pop-up window (between the magnifying glass and thumb tac icons).
- Click on 'Clear Browsing Data'.
- Make sure the 'Time range' drop-down is set to 'All Time'.
- If you don't want to clear specific items, uncheck those boxes. However, in most cases you're clearing history to fix a problem and would want to clear everything to be safe.
- Select the 'Clear Now' button to finish the process.
- Close all tabs and re-open Edge.
Video Guide
This guide was recorded using a Mac, but the interface for Edge and steps still apply to Windows users.
Brave Browser
Open
Written Guide
Desktop app
- Open Brave and click on the Menu (Three horizontal lines in the upper right of the window).
- Select 'History' and click on the 'History' option in the slide-out menu.
- Click on 'Clear browsing data' on the left side of the screen.
- Make sure the 'Time range' drop-down is set to 'All time'.
- If you don't want to clear specific items, uncheck those boxes. However, in most cases you're clearing history to fix a problem and would want to clear everything to be safe.
- Click on 'Clear data' to complete the process.
- Close all tabs and re-open the Brave browser.
Video Guide
This guide was recorded using a Mac, but the interface for Brave and steps still apply to Windows users.
Safari
Open
Written Guide
Desktop app
Safari is only available on macOS devices and can't be found on Windows machines. It is installed by default on all macOS and iOS devices purchased.
- Open Safari.
- Select 'History' in the upper left area of your screen and click 'Clear History...'.
- Make sure the 'Clear' drop-down is set to 'all history'.
- If you don't want to clear specific items, change time accordingly. However, in most cases you're clearing history to fix a problem and would want to clear everything to be safe.
- Click on the 'Clear History' button to complete the process.
- Close all tabs and re-open Safari.
Mobile app (iOS)
Video Guide
