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Original poster

HELP 404 error message when trying to open threads

14 replies

limetrees32 · 04/05/2026 12:30

On Android phone ,not using app ,viewing a thread about help dress teenage daughter for wedding clicked on link provided by OP to White Fox clothing co. When tried to go back to MN nothing but error message .
Sending this from Chromebook .

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MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 05/05/2026 13:24

Hi all, huge apologies that this is happening again - we are working to identify the cause. Just checking that those who are still seeing the error message are clearing the cache and not just cookies? If only cookies were cleared, your browser might still be loading an older cached version of the page, so it’s worth making sure cached files have been cleared as well. You can do this for just Mumsnet. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5522378-update-on-recent-404-errors-and-how-to-clear-your-cache

It's also worth closing your browser after this and relaunching it. Thank you and again - sorry for this.

Update on recent 404 errors and how to clear your cache | Mumsnet

Hello everyone. We’ve now identified what caused the 404 errors some users were seeing late last week and over the weekend. There was a very brief...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5522378-update-on-recent-404-errors-and-how-to-clear-your-cache

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 06/05/2026 09:52

Morning, everyone. Sorry to hear this is still a problem. We're pretty sure this is a browser cache issue, given that several people are reporting that it's working in incognito mode. It's possible that some people's caches aren't being fully cleared somehow.

If you're still getting the error message it's worth closing all your open tabs, before clearing your cache again (not just cookies) and then completely relaunching the browser.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 07/05/2026 10:29

Thanks so much to everyone who’s been testing this and letting us know what you’re seeing - it’s really helpful, and we know how annoying these sorts of stop-start issues are.

For some users, clearing the browser cache has fixed the problem, but we can see that isn’t the case for everyone. One thing that’s helping us narrow this down is that Mumsnet does seem to work properly in an incognito/private browsing window. That’s useful because incognito mode doesn’t use the same stored cache as your normal browser session, which points to this potentially being caused by something locally stored in the browser rather than a wider site issue.

If you’ve already fully cleared your cache and you’re still seeing the problem, we’d really like to dig into it with you directly. If you’d be happy to jump on a quick call/screenshare with the team so we can see exactly what’s happening, please either report this post or email us directly at [email protected].

And if you need instructions for clearing your cache (you can do this just for Mumsnet rather than wiping everything), please take a look here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5522378-update-on-recent-404-errors-and-how-to-clear-your-cache?

Thanks again for bearing with us while we work through it.

Update on recent 404 errors and how to clear your cache | Mumsnet

Hello everyone. We’ve now identified what caused the 404 errors some users were seeing late last week and over the weekend. There was a very brief...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5522378-update-on-recent-404-errors-and-how-to-clear-your-cache

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 07/05/2026 12:34

Hello @IDontHateRainbows can we ask you to clear the cache and not just cookies and history, please? The link in my previous post has instructions. If it's still happening after that, let us know.

@Enko Incognito/private browsing can sometimes trigger this because the browser doesn’t keep the same saved device information or cookies.
The easiest thing to do for now is try logging in in a normal browser tab rather than incognito/private mode. If you’re already doing that and still seeing the message, it may help to (yes we are saying this a lot - sorry 😬) clear your cache and try again), and switch between wifi and phone data.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 07/05/2026 12:46

Hello, @dementedpixie If you’re using Samsung Internet, you can clear the cache by doing this:

  • Open Samsung Internet
  • Tap the three lines/menu button
  • Go to Settings
  • Tap Browsing data
  • Tap Delete browsing data
  • Select Cached images and files (you don’t necessarily need to select passwords/autofill etc)
  • Tap Delete data

You can also clear data for just Mumsnet:

  • Go to Settings
  • Sites and downloads
  • Manage website data
  • Search for Mumsnet
  • Delete the stored data for the site

Then close and reopen the browser and try again. Let us know how you get on. Thankyou.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 09/05/2026 15:37

Hello @IDontHateRainbows we do appreciate the hassle involved. Unfortunately this appears to be a browser-side issue rather than something we can fix from our end. You should be able to clear the cache just for Mumsnet, though, which means data for your other sites should remain unaffected.

There are instructions on how to do it by device here: www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5522378-update-on-recent-404-errors-and-how-to-clear-your-cache?

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 09:54

Hi all,

Firstly, sorry that some of you are still experiencing this. I know it's really frustrating and we want to resolve this.

I just wanted to explain a bit more about what happened, and why the suggested fix has been clearing your browser cache.

Last Thursday, while we were making some planned changes to our server setup, we made a mistake in a configuration change. We spotted it very quickly and reverted it within about 45 seconds, but during that short period some pages on the site were incorrectly redirected and showed a 404 error page.

Unfortunately, for some users, browsers then cached that error locally. Because the issue is being stored in the browser rather than on Mumsnet itself, there isn't anything we can clear remotely from our side, which is why we've been suggesting clearing browser cache.

We know that advice can feel annoying, but for most people affected it has resolved the issue. The fact that Mumsnet works in an Incognito / Private window is also a good sign that this is the same browser caching problem, as those windows don't use your existing cache.

That said, we want to make absolutely sure we're not missing anything. If you get another 404 error, it would be really helpful if you could copy the full web address / URL from your browser and post it here or email it to us. That'll help us check whether there might be anything else going on.

Thanks for bearing with us while we get to the bottom of it.

Matt

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 10:12

@FuzzyPuffling Thanks for confirming. This is still a browser error (anything beginning with a 4 is a client-side / browser problem).

Could you confirm if it works in an Incognito / Private browser window please? And also, if you log in in that Incognito window does everything work as expected?

Thanks

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 10:20

@limetrees32 The mistake that we made was on 23rd May, so any 404s pre-dating that would be something different.

Do you have any examples of the URLs your going to when you're seeing the 404 messages?

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 10:56

@FuzzyPuffling If it works in Incognito mode, then it absolutely should be resolved by clearing your cache / website data, too.

I can see that you've posted previously saying that you've tried clearing it. What browser are you using?

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 12:52

@FuzzyPuffling @IDontHateRainbows I don't have an Android device to test this at the moment, but it should definitely be possible to clear the cache and data for a single site on Android.

I've just had a quick look and this might work:

https://techpp.com/2022/02/16/clear-cache-for-specific-site-cookies-chrome-guide#How_to_Clear_Cache_and_Cookies_for_a_Specific_Site_on_Chrome_for_Android

You should be able to clear just for Mumsnet there which shouldn't affect any other sites.

MNHQ

MattTech · 11/05/2026 13:02

@Picpac876 Unfortunately that isn't possible because this is a browser problem, not a site problem (even though it was caused by a mistake at our end).

If we could do that we absolutely would!

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 12/05/2026 13:09

Hi all. We would really appreciate the chance to speak directly with a few users who are experiencing the problem again after clearing their cache, so we can better understand what’s happening.

If you’re willing to jump on a short call with us, please let us know on this thread or contact MNHQ directly at [email protected].

Thank you, as always.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 13/05/2026 17:57

Thanks all. We know clearing cache/cookies has helped some people temporarily, but it’s clearly not fixing the issue for everyone, and for some of you the error is coming back very quickly.

We’re sorry, we know this is hugely frustrating. We’ve been investigating further today and now think the issue is connected to cookies/browser data building up in a way that can push requests over a limit, which then triggers the 400 errors. We’ve managed to mitigate this for some users, but we haven’t fully solved the root cause yet.

Because this is happening browser-side, it’s very difficult for us to see exactly what’s going on from our end. It would be incredibly helpful if one or two people who are currently experiencing the issue would be willing to jump on a short screen share call with someone from our dev team, so we can see what’s happening in real time and inspect the browser behaviour safely.

Ideally, we’re looking for someone who can do this on a desktop or laptop, as we’ll need to look at what’s happening with cookies in the browser, which is much harder to do on mobile. We wouldn’t need anything complicated from you, and we wouldn’t ask you to share anything sensitive.

We’re mainly trying to understand what page/action triggers the error, and what happens to the cookies/browser data when the error appears.

If you’d be willing to help, please post here or message MNHQ. Thanks again for bearing with us - we know this isn’t good enough and we’re actively working on it.

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