Solution to blank screen when trying to read messages

Karen Iocovozzi Jones

Recently we had a problem where any messages received could not be viewed in Firefox, Chrome, Edge or Brave. No matter which browser we tried on two different machines, whenever we would click to view the message received the screen would display the spinning 'wait' indicator then error out to a blank screen. We called tech support for a solution, many options were offered. Everything we were told to try (e.g. clearing cookies, history, cold start, etc.) did not help. Then trying it on our son's PC the messages appeared, and they appeared when my wife logged in thru her phone.

The solution came when it was remembered we had loaded a "hosts" file to assist in blocking spyware sites and big tech telemetry collection. My husband replaced the hosts file with an empty one - VOILA! The messages could now be viewed in any of the browsers.

The hosts file is located at:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Hope this helps someone who experiences a similar problem.😀

lstolk36

Karen,

We went in to the Help Center and found these following suggestions.

If these do not work for you please call us at 1-866-406-1830.

Why is FamilySearch blank?

Is information in Family Tree not appearing correctly on your screen? The following chart offers a few reasons for the problem and solutions for fixing them. 

 

Possible CauseSteps to TroubleshootUnknown.In the upper left portion of the tree screen, click the icon that looks like a house. 

If the house icon does not show, above the gray field where the pedigree should show, click Recents. To the right of your name, click the pedigree icon.  

1. Family Tree is off the screen.Pull the screen down and right to uncover and see the tree.Your name has quotation marks or other symbols in your profile.Sign in to FamilySearch.org.
2. In the upper right corner, click your name.
3. In the dark box that appears, click Settings.
4. In the Full Name field, remove any quotation marks or other symbols.

If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and cannot edit this field, contact your ward or branch clerk. He can update your church record.

1. At the bottom of the screen, click Save Changes.
2. Sign out of FamilySearch.org.
3. Sign back in.
4. Your firewall or security software is blocking access.Switch to a different browser (Google Chrome, Edge, or Firefox) to view Family Tree.

• If the same problem exists in multiple browsers, it is likely that other software on your computer blocks the site.
• If you have the problem only in a specific browser, delete the temporary internet cache and cookie files, and then restart the browser. If the problems continue, reset the browser.

1. Temporarily disable your firewall software. Does the Family Tree page display correctly?
2. If the site does display correctly after you disable the software, please contact your security software manufacturer. Have them add the sites below as allowed sites:
   • *.familysearch.org
   • edge.fscdn.org

• Your Internet browser is out of date.Check your current browser version, and update to the latest version. FamilySearch supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. Note: We no longer support any version of Internet Explorer.
• If you are using a Mac, check your operating system to ensure it is current. You cannot update the Safari browser separately.
• Use a different internet browser.

1. Ghostery (a browser add-on that blocks tracking from websites) is blocking FamilySearch.org because of Adobe TagManager.In your browser bar, click the Ghostery icon.
2. Click Adobe TagManager and enable it.
3. Click reload. 

Note: Ghostery affects Source Linker in FamilySearch.org as well.

1. A proxy server is blocking access.Disable the Use proxy server option in your browser if you should not use a proxy server.White Sky Fast Connect blocks access.If you use White Sky Fast Connect, please uninstall it from the control panel.
2. Remove the extension from Google Chrome (if applicable).
3. Remove the Add-on from Mozilla Firefox (if applicable).