Share via

Trouble logging into certain websites fixed.

Amanda Johnson 0 Reputation points
2026-05-07T21:33:52.28+00:00

For months now, I have been unable to log in to 3 or 4 different websites on my newer laptop. I can log in from my old laptop and phone, but I work on the new one, and I wanted it to work. I have spent hours and hours going through all the steps: clearing the cache, uninstalling antivirus software, resetting network settings, switching from Edge to Chrome, starting in safe mode, flushing the DNS, and more! Nothing worked, but today I loaded Mozilla Firefox, and it loaded on it with no problem!! Why is that?

Microsoft Edge | Website issues | Windows 11
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Lychee-Ng 19,950 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-08T09:27:33.9166667+00:00

    Hi Amanda Johnson, 

    I completely understand how confusing that must have been, and I'm glad you could find a workaround with Firefox. The Q&A Assist has given a very detailed explanation, I just want to add a little bit more from my perspective:

    Since you ran into issues with both Edge and Chrome, the problem may be something impacting specifically Chromium-based browsers. Firefox uses a different engine to that, which is probably why everything worked there.

    I know you’ve successfully proceeded with Firefox, but if you'd want to use Edge or Chrome later, I do have some other suggestions. It helps to first clarify: did the problem occur only when signing in, or were the sites themselves failing to load? If it was the former, here are a few steps you can try in Edge (can apply to Chrome if works):

    1 - Check cookie settings related to sign-in

    • Open Edge, go to edge://settings/content/cookies
    • Make sure Block third-party cookies is OFF
    • Back to Privacy, search, and services:
      • Open Security > scroll to the bottom
      • Make sure the last three options are OFF
      • (Optional) Also turn off SmartScreen and Scareware.

    2 - Allow site permissions

    • Open the site you want to sign in > click the lock icon (address bar)
    • Select Site settings > Allow all / the following entries:
      • JavaScript
      • Pop-ups and redirects
      • Sites can show sign-in prompts from identity services.

    If everything is working fine in Firefox now, it’s perfectly safe to continue using it. If you want to use Edge/Chrome, I hope the above can point you in the right direction.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. AI answer

    2026-05-07T21:34:06.5733333+00:00

    The most likely reason is that something in the Windows/Edge/Chrome environment on the new laptop is blocking or breaking the sign-in flow (cookies, authentication endpoints, or security software/policies), while Firefox is not affected by that specific configuration.

    From the provided information, common causes include:

    1. Cookie and site data handling differences
      Many modern sign-in systems (including Microsoft’s) rely on third‑party cookies and shared authentication domains such as login.microsoftonline.com and login.live.com. If Edge/Chrome on the new laptop are configured (manually, by a security product, or by Group Policy) to block certain cookies or domains, sign-in can fail or loop, while Firefox—using a different cookie and policy configuration—still works. For example, when organizations use Trusted Sites and don’t enable third‑party cookies or required URLs, web apps can get stuck in a sign‑in loop because the authentication cookies cannot be set or read correctly.
    2. Trusted Sites / security zone configuration
      On some systems, putting Microsoft or authentication domains into a special “trusted” or restricted zone changes how cookies are shared between sites. If the relevant login domains are misconfigured in Edge/IE security zones, sign-in can loop or fail, even though the same accounts work in another browser that doesn’t use those Windows security zones.
    3. Network or security software filtering per browser
      Security tools (antivirus, web filters, parental controls, or endpoint protection) sometimes hook into specific browsers (often Edge/Chrome) and inspect or block HTTPS traffic or cookies for certain domains. If those tools are not integrated with Firefox or are configured differently for it, Firefox can reach and authenticate to the sites successfully while Edge/Chrome cannot.
    4. Profile/policy issues in Edge/Chrome
      Edge in particular can be affected by:
      • Corrupted cookies or cached credentials.
      • Conflicting profiles or stored credentials.
      • Enterprise policies (for example, sign‑in restrictions, proxy/firewall rules) applied only to Edge/Chrome.
      When those are misconfigured, sign‑in can fail on that browser but succeed on another browser that doesn’t share the same profile or policies.

    In short, Firefox works because it is using a different combination of cookie settings, security zones, and policies than Edge/Chrome on the new laptop. The underlying issue is almost certainly with how cookies and authentication endpoints are handled in Edge/Chrome on that device, not with the websites themselves.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.