Secure connection failed and Firefox did not connect
Revision Information
- Revision id: 19349
- Created:
- Creator: Tonnes
- Comment: italize (date), delete CR
- Reviewed: No
- Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content
If Firefox can't access a secure site (one that starts with https:) you will see an error page with the heading, Secure Connection Failed, and a message about the error. This article will describe some of these error messages.
- If you see this heading without accessing a secure site, see Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems.
- If you don't see this heading, see Websites don't load - troubleshoot and fix error messages.
Table of Contents
- 1 SSL protocol has been disabled
- 2 The site uses an older, insecure version of the SSL protocol
- 3 Certificate warnings
- 3.1 Certificate will not be valid until (date)
- 3.2 The certificate expired on (date)
- 3.3 Certificate is only valid for (site name)
- 3.4 The certificate is not trusted because it is self signed
- 3.5 The certificate contains the same serial number as another certificate
- 3.6 The OCSP server has no status for the certificate
- 3.7 Bypassing the warning
SSL protocol has been disabled
If you see this error, see Enable SSL to fix the Firefox cannot connect securely error message.
The site uses an older, insecure version of the SSL protocol
If you see this error, see Firefox cannot connect securely because the site uses an older insecure version of the SSL protocol.
Certificate warnings
Firefox uses certificates on secure websites to ensure that your information is being sent to the intended recipient and can't be read by eavesdroppers.
Certificate will not be valid until (date)
This error can occur if your computer clock has the wrong date, in which case the date given in the error message will be in the past. To fix the problem, set your system clock to today's date and time (double-click the clock icon on the Windows Taskbar).
The certificate expired on (date)
This error occurs when a website's identity certification has expired.
This error can also occur if your computer clock has the wrong date. To fix the problem, set your system clock to today's date and time (double-click the clock icon on the Windows Taskbar).
Certificate is only valid for (site name)
This error is telling you that the certificate sent to you by the site is actually for another site. While anything you send would be safe from eavesdroppers, the recipient may not be who you think it is.
A common situation is when the certificate is actually for a different part of the same site. For example, you may have visited https://example.com, but the certificate is for https://www.example.com. In this case, if you access https://www.example.com directly, you should not receive the warning.
The certificate is not trusted because it is self signed
or
Self-signed certificates make your data safe from eavesdroppers, but say nothing about who the recipient of the data is. This is common for intranet websites that aren't available publicly.
The certificate contains the same serial number as another certificate
This error alerts you to the fact that the certificate the page you're visiting uses has a serial number identical to one you've already accepted. This warning cannot be bypassed using the method below. For more information and for instructions on how to work around this message, see the Certificate contains the same serial number as another certificate article.
The OCSP server has no status for the certificate
If you see this error, see The OCSP server has no status for the certificate.
Bypassing the warning
You can tell Firefox to bypass these certificate warnings. You should only bypass the warning if you're sure that the site is legitimate. Legitimate public sites will not ask you to do this. An invalid certificate can be an indication of a web page that will defraud you or steal your identity.
- On the warning page, click Or you can add an exception....
- Click . The Add Security Exception dialog will appear.
- Click .
- Read the text describing the problems with this site.
- Click if you want to trust the site.