The “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” error can be seen in almost all modern browsers. Sometimes it manifests itself when loading a specific website, and sometimes when moving to a new server. The error persists even after multiple page reloads. In this article, we will discuss the causes of the error and how you can get rid of it.
What is causing “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED”?
- False encoding notification. In some cases, the HTTP headers indicate that the content of the website is Gzip encoded, which is actually not the case. This can cause a conflict during the decoding process, which in turn causes an error to appear.
- Browser cache / cookies. The browser uses the cache in order to reduce the loading time of certain websites. Cookies help you not to be fooled with re-entering usernames and passwords on sites. Sometimes the cache and cookies can get corrupted and cause browser problems. The “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” error is one such problem.
- Proxy / VPN. Some proxy / VPN software can cause problems during the decoding process and prevent the browser from working properly.
- Socket pool. If your browser has socket pooling enabled, it does not create new sockets, but sticks to the socket pool. However, this pool can become corrupted over time, causing problems during the decoding process.
- DNS configurations. As with socket pools, DNS configuration is stored on the user’s computer, rather than re-creating it whenever needed. This approach helps improve browser performance. However, this configuration can be corrupted just as well, which causes the “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” error.
- MTU limit. If your PC does not have a MTU limit, then it may cause decoding problems.
- Windows Firewall. The error can occur due to the fact that the Windows Firewall is blocking the connection to the site.
- Invalid DNS address. Your browser will not be able to establish a normal connection to a web resource if an incorrect DNS address is set in the network connection settings.
- Network adapter driver. Sometimes the drivers for the network adapter may not be installed correctly in the Windows operating system.
Solution methods “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED”
Method # 1 Disable G-Zip encoding
The discussed error may be caused by G-Zip encoding. It should be noted that not every browser provides its user with the ability to deactivate this function. You will probably have to use the following steps (example for Google Chrome):
- open chrome and go to this link;
- click on the “Add to Chrome” button, then – “Add an extension”;
- after installing the extension, go to a new tab and click on the extension icon;
- click on the empty space under “Request header” and enter the “accept-encoding” command;
- then enter “gzip; q = 0, deflate; q = 0” into the value.
G-Zip encoding should now be disabled. Try to go to the desired page and check if the error “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” has disappeared.
Method # 2 Deleting cookies and browser cache
Your browser’s cache and cookies may be behind the error. To understand whether this is really the case, it is enough to delete them. Do the following (example for Google Chrome):
- start Google Chrome and open a new tab;
- click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select “More tools”;
- click on the item “Clear browser history …”;
- select the range “All the time” and check the boxes next to the items with cache and cookies;
- click on the “Clear data” button.
Check if the error “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” has disappeared.
Method # 3 Disable proxy / VPN
Are you using a VPN / proxy when connected to the internet? Such things can often cause problems when surfing the world wide web, and therefore we recommend that you disable this software / system function and check if the error goes away. Here’s how to disable proxies:
- press Windows + S;
- enter “proxy” into the search box and click on the result “Network proxy server settings”;
- click on the “Use a proxy server” radio button to deactivate the proxy.
We again try to go to the required web resource and check if the error “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” has been fixed.
Method # 4 Clearing the socket pool
The socket pool stored by your browser can get corrupted from time to time. To solve this problem, you need to clear the pool – and the trick is done. Do the following:
- launch your browser;
- enter the value “// net-internals” in the address bar and press Enter;
- go to the Sockets tab and click on the Flush socket pools button.
We are trying to open the page we need and see if the problem has disappeared.
Method # 5 Reset Winsock
Something like Winsock can be the cause of the “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” error. Winsock is responsible for determining which network software on the system will access which network services. Sometimes the Winsock configuration can get lost or become corrupted, which can be fixed by resetting it. Do the following:
- right-click on Start and select “Command Prompt (administrator)”;
- write in the command line the value “netsh Winsock reset” and press Enter;
- wait for the Winsock reset to complete and restart your computer.
Method # 6 Configuring MTU
For each network connection, the correct MTU (maximum transmission unit) settings must be specified. This is done as follows:
- press Windows + R;
- write down the value “ncpa.cpl” and press Enter;
- write down the name of your network connection somewhere, for example, in a notebook on your desktop;
- right-click on Start and select “Command Prompt (administrator)”;
- enter the command “netsh interface IPV4 set subinterface“ CONNECTION NAME ”mtu = 1472 store = persitent” and press Enter.
If the matter was in the wrong MTU settings for your network connection, then the error “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” will disappear.
Method # 7 Disable Windows Firewall
A system firewall can easily connect to the web resource you want. To check this, you need to turn off the firewall and try to visit the site again. Here’s how to turn it off:
- press Windows + S;
- enter “firewall” and select the result “Windows Defender Firewall”;
- click on the line “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”;
- check the boxes next to the shutdown items and click “OK”.
Check for the error “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED”.
Method # 8 Setting the DNS address
In some cases, this error occurs because Windows received an invalid DNS address. Let’s try to set a public DNS for your connection and see what happens. Do the following:
- press Windows + R;
- write “ncpa.cpl” and press Enter;
- right click on your network connection and select “Properties”;
- double-click LMB on the line “IP version 4 (TCP / IPv4)”;
- check the box next to “Use the following DNS server addresses”;
- set the following addresses:
- save your changes and close the window.
Method # 9 Reset DNS
If nothing helped you with the problem, then you can try resetting the DNS configuration for your network connection. To do this, do the following:
- press Windows + R;
- write “cmd” and press the combination “Ctrl + Shift + Enter”;
- type the command “ipconfig / flushdns” and press Enter.
We hope that at least one of the methods helped you get rid of the “ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED” error.