Records search results unavailable?

Anne986

Most of the time, I can search for historical records for hours. But maybe twice per week or so it will suddenly stop returning search results and spin endlessly. If I switch to another browser, it also won't return results. II sign out and back in, it still won't return results. After a few hours it starts returning search results again. Searching the FamilyTree and attaching records there continues to work during this time. This seems like a records server issue.

Has anyone else experienced this?

What is the cause?

Is there a place to check the server status, if there is a server issue?

Thanks, Anne

Áine Ní Donnghaile

My FS cookies get cleared several times a day.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

You'll see a couple of threads this week on this topic. It happened to me on Tuesday of this week. The usual tricks and fixes don't help. https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/530188#Comment_530188

Anne986

Aine, thank you for the reply. I did search for previous posts and missed those threads. Would you link one or two? Thanks, Anne

Update: Thank you for adding that link. That is definitely my experience, too.

Anne986

Hmmm, record search still not available: over 3 hours so far. It would be great if anyone could explain why. Thanks, Anne

Áine Ní Donnghaile

It is working fine for me today, @Anne986

Anne986

Thanks, Aine, for that information. I wish I understood what is going on. I rebooted, logged off Family Search, opened a new private window in Firefox and logged into Family Search. Still can't get search results--ugh.

Anne986

I tried the "All Collections" Search for the first time and it worked:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/all-collections/results/?q.surname=worthing

I usually use the Search>>Records link from the top navigation bar. It still does not work:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?q.surname=worthing

Aine or another user, are you able to use both? Thanks, Anne

Anne986

This All Records search is not as powerful as the regular Records Search. For example, I need to filter on Race and Sex and search a longer time period than this interface provides.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

I'm currently having a problem accessing Ancestry - with a Cloudflare error. The issue may be connected. And many access problems vary by place. We don't all access the same server; which server farm we access is determined by location and demand.

Anne986

Thanks, Aine. I just talked with Sister Bee on the phone support and she recommended clearing the cookies at least once per week, https://www.familysearch.org/cookies. I did that and logged back in. The records search now works. Thank you, Aine and Sister Bee!!!

Anne986

I will be clearing cookies, cakes, and pies, too!