400 Bad Request Error

[SoulStonesAustralia]

Hi All,

I am frequently getting a 400 Bad Request Error only on Etsy. Every other website I visit is fine. The webpage that comes up says this:

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.

The browser tab (title) says "400 Bad Request". I am on Microsoft Edge browser. I have researched this issue and have cleared history and cookies etc. I'm convinced it's Etsy as this is not happening on any other website for me. 

It started about 2 weeks ago. I am a conscientious computer user who runs antivirus Defender and Malwarebytes and never clicks on sus links and virus websites etc. I am sure my computer is fine and has no viruses or trojans (I scan frequently and scanned with these two programs today, which had 0 viruses etc). Can you help? I seem to be getting this Bad Request a lot, like every second page load now. It is very bad when making new listings, I have to make them five times over. Also, shopping turned into a huge exercise with this issue (I attempted to buy something and took a long time with lots of browser refreshing to complete the transaction). It would be deterring many buyers who have this problem.

Maybe it's me, maybe it's you. I would love some help! There seem to be some recent new forum posts on social media about this same issue too, so others would find any answers useful as well, to clear this up...

[SoulStonesAustralia]

OK, so I've read about a few solutions on the internet I am trying.

Have already cleared cookies and cache many times over - didn't solve it.
Ran my anti-virus scanners again - didn't solve it.
Turned off ALL extensions/extra apps in my browser - solved it a little, but I got some 'a stitch has gone awry' pages instead of 400 errors.
Have phoned internet host and requested IP address to be changed (will report back on this shortly).

[BagmakerSupply]

@SoulStonesAustralia: Sounds like you have tried everything that a user can do.

"... I got some 'a stitch has gone awry' pages instead of 400 errors" Unfortunately probably just coincidence. There are lots and lots of reported back end issues.

One of the most common causes of "size of a request header field exceeds server limit" is too many cookies being sent in the header - and Etsy leaves lots of them. The problem may be intermittent as cookies are deleted or expire. This may be even more noticeable if you log in and out of multiple shops using the same browser. This is one of those times where selectively clearing cookies and cache might actually help.

According to other posts in this forum, another common reason for the "Bad Request" error seems to be that some browser extensions cause issues - Sale Samurai is often mentioned as the culprit.

[dianedowgill]

Same here, using Chrome on my tablet. Very sudden, and no explanation for it.

[LBclothingStudio]

Could be why sales are down 80% the past two weeks.  Is it possible for Etsy to shut down servers to test, etc?  It just seems very coincidental that everyone seems to be experiencing very obvious on/off timeframes for receiving orders/views.  

[MaggieandRose]

Two days now, absolutely constant. Get the bad request thingy every time I press something, but it works the second time I press. 

[SoulStonesAustralia]

OK so, I reported it to my webhost and got IP address changed. It did not solve it, and apparently was a big deal, so I would not recommend this as a solution.

[SoulStonesAustralia]

The 400 error is happening a little less after changing IP addresses with my web host, but it is still happening, just not as much. All of my browser extensions are turned off.

[MadGirlRetro]

It's coincidence. It's not happening as much because it's a bit intermittent. It's Etsy. 

[SoVintique]

Same for me too, it is the reason I came on to the forums to see if anyone else is experiencing this. It must be something Etsy has done recently as I do not have issues with any other site.

[SoulStonesAustralia]

Yes, same here, no other site for me is having this issue. Which browser are you on? I am on Microsoft Edge. Apparently, changing browsers temporarily helps but not for long...

[SoVintique]

I am using Chrome.  I have not changed browsers as I don't usually have issues and it only seems to be affecting Etsy. It must be down to some change that they have made? 

[LBclothingStudio]

obvious it is an Etsy issue.  there was an email sent earlier this evening about a system problem but it said resolved...and never says what the actual issue is on those emails.  

This might be happening to a lot of customers and why sales are in free fall for many shops. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

it's chrome and etsy only for me

[magnoliastreetpaper]

Yup, me too. On and off for about two weeks now, but it's really bad today. Having a hard time doing anything in my shop today with all of the error codes. Using Chrome.

[PandPF]

Same Problem here with me...

It is annoying and really affecting my work....

[FelinesFabricFriends]

I have things like that happen lately on other websites. Weird notifications that I never saw before. I only use Chrome.

[sweetstonesjewelry]

Mine is only acting up on Windows. I could not even fill my orders because it was so bad today. I had to switch to Chrome to do my work. If, we are having this issue then so are the buyers. My shop is dead today. 

[SoulStonesAustralia]

I agree, if I was trying to buy something and this happened, I would give up.

[leinweberstudio]

Same here, for at least 2 weeks now.

And it's happening only on Etsy, so yes, they broke something and it's affecting many users.

I wonder how many buyers they have driven off, thanks to this failure...

[JustMeToo]

It's really horrible.  It's taking me three or four tries to be able to do anything.  I also have red banners coming up for nothing, on things that are working just fine - like the message section - telling me I can't send a message when I'm sending one.  I'm on a desktop with Chrome.

[CryzalisDesigns]

Try uninstalling and then reinstalling Chrome.

Check you last virus & internet security updates and installations 

Run a scan in case it missed any security updates to download & install, it will play havoc with your browser and only affect certain websites like Etsy

[SoulStonesAustralia]

Thank you for this suggestion!

I'm on Microsoft Edge and am running the latest version. All virus programs have been run and no viruses found. I might try saving all bookmarks etc before uninstalling/reinstalling (kinda loathe to do this, since no other website is having this problem for me, so I think it's Etsy and don't want to lose my extensive bookmarks).

Seems to be a Chrome and Edge issue at this point.

[CryzalisDesigns]

If you are logged into chrome then you will not lose your bookmarks.

Last time it happened to me, all the websites worked except for Etsy. 

The browser kept blocking it.

Even though my virus and internet protection was up to date, when I checked the history, I found one of the security updates had not installed.

Once I installed it, restarted the PC, everything worked as normal in chrome.

[SoulStonesAustralia]

Please note I am not on Chrome, I am on Edge. However, have found some new Windows updates to do, so am doing those. No idea how to fix anything else in Edge (it's a complicated browser).