reCAPTCHA is a free security service by Google to protect websites from fraud. It differentiates between human and automated access to websites. You must have seen that reCAPTCHA asks the user to check the option I’m not a Robot to confirm the identity. Recently, many users have encountered problems with reCAPTCHA on their Web browsers. The issue reported by users is that at first reCAPTCHA is shown to the users but it dims when the user clicks on it. If the web page is reloaded, users are shown a warning message that reads as “Your computer or network may be sending automated queries”.
Possible causes for reCAPTCHA not working issue in the browser are:
- Outdated version of the Browser
- Corrupted browser profile
- VPN or proxy is interfering with reCAPTCHA verification
- The system’s IP address is in a banned range
- Malware infected browser
In this article, you will discover different strategies that have been tried and tested by users to overcome the reCAPTCHA not working error in their browsers.
Also Read: Steam Captcha error : Your Response To The Captcha Appears To Be Invalid Fix
Fix 1 – Use a Different Internet connection
Try to connect your Pc to a different internet connection and then try again . You can use your mobile to create a hotspot and then connect your pc to this.
You can also try to fill captcha in another device , such as your mobile, using a different network connection.
Fix 2 – Reset the IP Address
1. Press Windows + R to open Run.
2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt with Administrator privileges.
3. If you see a UAC prompt, click on Yes to grant access to open Command Prompt.
4. Enter the commands given below one after the other to reset the IP address.
netsh winsock reset netsh int ip reset ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew
5. Once the commands execute, open the browser and check if the web page with reCAPTCHA is working without any issues.
Fix 3- Change DNS to Google DNS
1: Press Windows key + R from the keyboard to open the Run command.
In the Run command search box, type ncpa.cpl and press OK to open the Network connections window.
2 -Now, right click on the network adapter (WiFi or Ethernet) with which you are connected to internet and choose properties.
3 – Now, Double click on Internet Protocol version 4
4 – Now, select Use the following DNS server address automatically
Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8
Alternative DNS server: 8.8.4.4
5 -Click OK.
Now, try again
Fix 4 – Update Browser to Latest Version
For Google Chrome
1. Open Chrome and type chrome://settings/help in the address bar to reach the About Chrome page.
2. It will search for any updates automatically and install them.
3. Once the update completes, click on the Relaunch button to reopen Chrome. Now check whether reCAPTCHA is working without any errors.
For Firefox
1. Launch Firefox. Select the option Help from the Settings (3 horizontal lines) menu at the top.
2. Click on About Firefox.
3. It automatically checks for any updates, downloads, and installs them.
4. Click on the Restart to Update Firefox button.
5. Check whether the issue with reCAPTCHA has been fixed.
Fix 5 – Create New Browser Profile
1. Press Shift + Ctrl + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. In the Task Manager, look for Google Chrome processes.
3. Select the Chrome process one at a time and click on End task. This will kill all the Chrome processes that were currently running in your system.
4. Go to your File Explorer using the Windows and E key combination.
5. Copy and paste the location below in the navigation bar of the File Explorer.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\
6. Once you are in the User Data folder, look for the Default folder.
7. Select the folder and click on the Rename icon at the top.
8. Change the name of the folder to Old Default. This will compel the browser to make a new Default folder when it starts up again, which means a new browser profile is created.
9. Launch Chrome to compel it to create a new browser profile. Go to the page giving the reCAPTCHA error and check if the issue has been fixed.
Fix 6 – Disable VPN or Proxy
If you are using a VPN application on your PC, try to disable it temporarily and check if reCAPTCHA is working in your browser. If it works, it means that VPN was causing the issue. You can also try disabling the proxy service if you are using it and check if this resolves the issue with reCAPTCHA.
Fix 7 – Scan your PC for Malware and Reinstall the Browser
1. Scan your system for malware using any third-party Antivirus software.
2. Once the scan completes and the malware is removed, open the Run (Windows + R) dialog.
3. Type appwiz.cpl to open Programs and features.
4. Locate Google Chrome (or the browser giving the issue) in the list of installed apps.
5. Select Google Chrome and click on the Uninstall button at the top.
6. Restart your PC once the uninstallation process completes.
7. Reinstall the browser after downloading the executable for the latest version of the browser. Check if the reCAPTCHA issue is resolved.
Fix 8 – Reset Browser
If none of the above fixes work for you, then you can try to reset your browser using the steps below.
For Chrome
1. Launch Chrome. Type chrome://settings/reset in the address bar.
2. Click on Restore settings to their original defaults under Reset and clean up.
3. Now click on the Reset settings button to confirm the reset process for chrome.
4. Once the reset completes, your browser is set back to the default state.
5. Restart Chrome and see if the reCAPTCHA error still exists.
For Firefox
1. Open Firefox.
2. Click on the Settings (3 horizontal lines) menu at the top right corner.
3. Click on Help.
4. Select the option More Troubleshooting Information.
5. On the Troubleshooting information page, click on Refresh Firefox… button on the right side.
6. In the confirmation window, click on Refresh Firefox again.
7. Once the refresh process completes, restart the browser and check if the error is fixed.
Thanks for reading.
We hope you have been able to resolve the reCAPTCHA not working issue on your browser. Comment and let us know the fix that helped you.
Thanks. The Firefox Reset did the trick.