Canvas doesn't display correctly : Linux

[anonymous237164]

Hello there, I am currently experiencing a problem on Canvas where the webpage for the site itself breaks to the point where it's impossible to navigate the site using provided text links in random parts of the page. I don't believe the reason it does this is related to linux, as I can use it sometimes depending on the network. What I noticed, is that using a VPN can fix the page and cause it to display correctly.

Information

OS: Arch Linux (specifically using furetto linux)

UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:130.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/130.0 (specifically Librewolf 103.0-3)

I don't know any other information to put here

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @anonymous237164,

If turning on a VPN fixes the issue consistently, that would seem to point to something going wrong on your internet provider/dns/router side of things, not really with Canvas.  It could potentially be something with your operating system config, but I'm not really a Linux expert to give you much troubleshooting.  From your screenshot it looks like some of Canvas' CSS files are not loading properly, but there's no indication of why that may be.

I know this isn't really a fix, but I hope maybe the extra info will help guide you to finding the issue.

-Chris

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @anonymous237164,

If turning on a VPN fixes the issue consistently, that would seem to point to something going wrong on your internet provider/dns/router side of things, not really with Canvas.  It could potentially be something with your operating system config, but I'm not really a Linux expert to give you much troubleshooting.  From your screenshot it looks like some of Canvas' CSS files are not loading properly, but there's no indication of why that may be.

I know this isn't really a fix, but I hope maybe the extra info will help guide you to finding the issue.

-Chris

[anonymous237164]

I did some more looking with things and I'm fairly sure that this might be an issue with my school's internet. I think my school is doing something along the lines of certificates because I'm having even more issues with sites not loading due to a certificate seemingly set by my district. I don't know what causes only Canvas to load without CSS because Instructure Community looks fine, and so does every other site that loads correctly. I'll ask people of my district about this issue, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

[Jeff_F]

@anonymous237164 - it has been a few years since I memorized all the top user agents. So I looked yours up here: https://explore.whatismybrowser.com/useragents/parse/#parse-useragent

To confirm, Firefox v 130 shows as supported: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/What-are-the-browser-and-computer-requirement... 

As a next step of troubleshooting, perhaps check to confirm JavaScript is enabled with Firefox. Also, had you employed any of the various security settings that block content? For example, with the settings of Linux or perhaps as a Firefox add-in/extension.  See here:  https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=56456 

And let's use the same internet connection using a different device. Can a Win or macOS device access Canvas without such issues? I ask as people can get creative with router settings. 

Another thought is the DNS settings. See here for a relevant discussion: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/703578/some-websites-not-loading-on-arch-linux 

ps. sorry I am not 'precise'. I last worked with Linux in 2006 so I am no longer fully qualified to troubleshoot the OS.

[anonymous237164 · Accepted solution]

So I did some more digging and there isn't anything to show it's actually an issue with Canvas itself, it seems to be something with my district's internet that causes CSS to not load. Stack Exchange did the same thing too so this is a problem on my end. Also, using my district's provided windows operating system works fine, so maybe it's something with their certificate. Thanks for your help and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

[dbrace]

@anonymous237164, that was my guess as well. Make sure that they are not blocking anything related to AWS. Something else that might be helpful. You should be able to go to https://statushistory.instructure.com, enter your institution's Canvas domain, and then be able to see what AWS cluster and region you are located in.

-Doug