When browsing through a website on Mozilla Firefox, you may encounter errors such as SSL_ERROR_BAD_MAC_ALERT. This issue occurs mostly on Mac computers and not so much on Windows 10 PC. When users try to access secured websites with security certificate problems, the error pops up. It shows the error message,
“Secure Connection Failed
An error occurred during a connection to example.com. SSL peer reports incorrect Message Authentication Code.
Error code: SSL_ERROR_BAD_MAC_ALERT
The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because the authenticity of the received data could not be verified.
Please contact the website owners to inform them of this problem.”
There may be different reasons why you encounter the error on your Firefox browser. It may be a problem with the SSL check that is failing or the website’s own SSL certificates has issues. Your Firefox browser may be having some issues and needs to be reset or updated.
Whatever is the cause of the Firefox error, there are solutions that you can try to troubleshoot the issue and fix it.
How to Fix SSL_ERROR_BAD_MAC_ALERT Error on Mozilla Firefox Browser
To fix the SSL_ERROR_BAD_MAC_ALERT security certificate error on Mozilla Firefox browser, follow each method below one at a time and check if you can access the website or not. You can proceed to the next solution if the first one does not work.
Solution #1 – Refresh the Firefox Tab
It may seem simple, but it works in some cases. Click the Refresh button on your Firefox tab and wait for the website to load again.
Solution #2 – Delete the Website Bookmark on Firefox
Another method is to delete the bookmark of the website bearing the error. The old address you have bookmarked may be creating the conflict.
- On your Firefox browser, click the Library icon on top-right of the toolbar or the click “Bookmarks” menu.
- Select Bookmarks.
- If you see the bookmark of the website, click it.
- Once the website loads, click the Star icon on top.
- Select Remove Bookmark.
- If you cannot see the bookmark, select Manage Bookmarks.
- Look for the website that you want to delete and highlight it.
- Click the Gear icon on the upper left corner.
- Select Delete.
Solution #3 – Power Cycle Your Devices
It may be a problem with your network connection. A quick refresh can help fix the error.
- Turn off your device and unplug your router and modem.
- Wait for at least 1 minute before plugging them back in.
- Now, turn on your device and relaunch the website on your Firefox browser.
Solution #4 – Set Security.SSL3 Value to True
- On a new tab, type about:config on the address bar.
- Type security.ssl3 in the search bar.
- Look for the False Values and toggle it to True.
Solution #5 – Add the Website to the List of Insecure FallBack Hosts
- On the address bar, type about:config.
- Click Accept the Risk and Continue when prompted with the Proceed with Caution window.
- On the navigation bar, enter security.tls.insecure_fallback_hosts.
- Look for the security.tls.insecure_fallback_hosts entry and click Edit.
- Now, type the URL of the website in the text box and hit Enter.
- Restart your browser.
Do you have other solutions that can fix the secure connection failed error on Firefox? We would love to know more. You can drop them below.
