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When trying to open https://www.walmart.com/, both Firefox (v. 68.0.1 in Windows 10, v. 17763.652) and Windows Edge (Microsoft Edge 44.17763.1.0) display the message "Walmart can’t use this browser", with suggestions to try Firefox, Chrome, etc. All browsers were connected through the ISP without proxy or VPN.

N.B. Retried in Edge, **going through a search engine (Start Page), which created the long URL, below, with the referrer tacked into the URL:

https://www.walmart.com/?adid=22222222220220085369&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=366238633331&wl4=kwd-27665750&wl5=1027028&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_7KNj9b-4wIVjq_ICh1bzQM3EAAYASAAEgIAT_D_BwE

This opened Walmart's website correctly, both in Edge and in Firefox. Apparently, Walmart would not open the first time without a referrer. Now that it's dropped cookies in the browser, it reopens with or without referrer. Go figure!

Firefox was restarted in Safe mode, and with all extensions disabled. All browsing data was deleted, including cache and cookies, with no better result. The Chameleon extension was installed, and set to emulate other browsers Walmart recommends, with the same issue.

On starting Firefox's Network Monitor (CtrlShiftE) and reloading, the following was shown:

Walmart Network Log

However, the TOR Browser works well on that site, with connection through their anonymizing onion router (no VPN, though).

Is it a security setting or some other issue causing both Firefox and Edge to fail to open Walmart's site?

DrMoishe Pippik
  • 37,887

3 Answers3

44

Entering https://www.walmart.com/ as the URL does not open until the site has left cookies in the browser. Going into the site from a search engine, with added referrer in the URL, or, as @Spike states, going into a page within the site, such as https://www.walmart.com/tv seems to work, enabling a cookie to be sent to the browser. After that, the root site is accessible.

Apparently, this issue is at Walmart.com, not in the browser. Walmart.com has been notified of the issue by email.

DrMoishe Pippik
  • 37,887
6

It's not just Firefox that is having this issue. I've also seen Mac users posting they are also seeing the issue in Safari. I have tried all updated versions of Chrome, Edge and Firefox and all get this error.

If you go to any other page on Walmart's site, like walmart.com/tv, it works and then you can click on the home page icon which brings you successfully to walmart.com. If you go directly to walmart.com without going to another page on Walmart's site, it always fails.

Spike
  • 71
4

I tried using wget. It redirects correctly, but gives a 444 unknown error. In theory the site could be rejecting wget requests, but my money is on this being related. Notice that with this example, it redirected twice.

The problem appears to be with the site, not our browsers.

> wget walmart.com/tv
--2019-08-13 13:11:11--  http://walmart.com/tv
Resolving walmart.com (walmart.com)... 161.170.230.170, 161.170.232.170
Connecting to walmart.com (walmart.com)|161.170.230.170|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://www.walmart.com/tv [following]
--2019-08-13 13:11:11--  https://www.walmart.com/tv
Resolving www.walmart.com (www.walmart.com)... 23.201.65.160
Connecting to www.walmart.com (www.walmart.com)|23.201.65.160|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 301 Moved Permanently
Location: /cp/televisions-video/1060825 [following]
--2019-08-13 13:11:12--  https://www.walmart.com/cp/televisions-video/1060825
Reusing existing connection to www.walmart.com:443.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 444 Unknown
2019-08-13 13:11:12 ERROR 444: Unknown.
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