Person Page Sometimes Not Showing
As a new user, I have only added my parents and one set of grandparents to my tree so far. I'm having an issue with the Person pages of the people I've added. Sometime the data shows on the Person page and sometimes it doesn't, and I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. For instance, on my tree, I will click on the name of someone, the small window opens, at the bottom of which is 'Tree' and 'Person'. Clicking on 'Person' sometimes brings up their details, and sometimes there's just a blank page as if it's not loading. This happens on my Mac and on my iPad and phone. I've tried logging in and out but it doesn't help. Any ideas what the issue is? Many thanks.
Best Answer
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As web technology improves both with general function and in eliminating security issues, web designers cannot support all browsers but rather need to take advantage of new technology. In this regard, FamilySearch has stated they only support the current version of a browser minus one (See: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/which-internet-browsers-are-compatible )
For Apple devices this means Safari 15 and 16. People reporting problems with Apple devices who have stated what they are using have all been using Safari 13 on a device that is too old to be able to update past 13. These people seem to be able to use Chrome and Firefox without difficulty. This would be because those two browsers are less integrated with the operating system and their current versions can be run on older operating systems.
For example, the current version of Firefox, which is 112.0, can run on macOS 10.12.
Safari 14, which is not supported by FamilySearch, requires at least macOS 10.14.
Safari 15 which should be supported according to the article and so should work just fine requires at least macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
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Answers
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Your not the first to report this problem with Apple devices. I had the same problem a week or so ago but then it all worked OK again, until yesterday when it started again.
I know this doesn’t help fix the problem, but be assured it isn’t something you’re doing, or not doing.
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Are any of the people you've added deceased? If not, then we can't view to try to duplicate or investigate the specific issue. I'm on a PC, Windows 10, using Firefox and Chrome, and I also use an Android tablet, Silk browser. I haven't encountered that issue.
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Thank you Colin. That does reassure me a bit! It’s just annoying, and seems totally random.
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Thank you. Yes, my father and my 2 grandparents are all deceased, and it seems to happen randomly with all of them. Sometimes the page loads, sometimes it doesn’t. I wonder if it’s an issue with Apple devices, as Colin mentioned.
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Thank you @Gordon Collett for the information. I’m aware of the problem of using older Apple devices which no longer receive updates. My devices are usually up-to-date; a couple of weeks behind at most. I’ve just updated my mobile devices which are now running on iOS 16.4.1 (they usually update automatically, but didn’t the last time). The FamilySearch ‘Person’ pages are loading properly today, so that’s good. My Mac is updating as I write. The last update for all devices was done a couple of weeks ago I think, so I’m not sure that should have caused the problem as the phone/iPad were already running iOS 16.4, but I appreciate your prompt to check! Hopefully there might have been a glitch waiting to be resolved with the most recent update.
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If your service provider is Xfinity, there is a known issue with their service affecting several websites including FamilySearch. https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/143003/xfinity-familysearch-access-issue#latest
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Curiouser and curiouser.
As I said above, for me this issue has come and gone recently with no obvious reason. But today it developed a new twist. Using the web version on Safari, when I tried to open a profile (twice, with two different profiles), instead of opening the profile page in the browser if working properly, or opening a blank page as it did 2-3 days ago, today it fired up the app to the correct profile!!!
Yes my Safari is out of date. I don’t do any work on this iPad but sometimes it’s the closest thing to hand when I want to check something. I just find it odd that I’ve had three different behaviours from the same function in a few days. Especially starting the app and going to the correct page. It only happened twice, and I’ve been unable to replicate it again.
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@ColinCameron When I work on my tablet (rarely, because I need the big monitor on my PC), the app will ask me if I want to open with the App or with the browser (Silk). I don't use the App, but I have it installed purely to be able to see how it performs when someone asks a question or has a problem.
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@Áine Ní Donnghaile I agree about the big monitor.
I know that in the browser there's the line at the top that asks if I want to open the app, but yesterday it didn't ask, it just went ahead and did it (twice).
It's not a big issue, I just found it odd that the behaviour was changing.
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You may want to check your settings. There may be an option for "just this once" or "always" referring to the browser/app being used.
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There were a couple other threads recently where users were complaining about the 'This resource is not on FamilySearch. ...will open in another window...' message occurring annoyingly often. I would assume - since no setting could be located - that FamilySearch is changing how that message appears - or other background tweaks.
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