Invalid URL page appearing for some students

[AnthonyMusceder]

When some students go to access our Canvas page, they get a page saying invalid URL.

I have tried rebooting, using different browsers, clearing the cache, and using different wi-fi networks (including a personal hotspot), and the error still appears.

A reboot fixed a few students' issues, but not all of them. I contacted Canvas support about this, but was wondering if anyone has seen this before. 

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello there, @AnthonyMusceder ...

Without being able to see exactly what your students are seeing, this might be a bit difficult to diagnose here in the Community.  However, I do have one thought...  By chance, did any of the students save a Canvas URL as a bookmark within their browser that they use to go to their Canvas course(s)?  If so, maybe that bookmarked link no longer works for some reason?  Maybe the page that was bookmarked has been removed from a course or the instructor unpublished a content page?  Maybe the bookmarked link pointed to a specific page in a course, which is why it is now saying there's an invalid URL.  It was just an initial thought I had, but maybe other people have other suggestions for you, too.

I hope this might help in some way.

[AnthonyMusceder]

Thank you for the reply.

Some students have it bookmarked, while others do not. The general link all students, staff, and admins use to log in is not working. It is not specific to any courses. 

[Chris_Hofer]

@AnthonyMusceder ...

Have you tried reaching out to your school's Canvas administrator(s) or someone from your school's Online Learning / eLearning / Distance Education team to see if they have any insights for you?  If not, that might be a good place to start locally.  Just a thought...

[becky_kinney]

We have had found this in the last week with Macs.  It seems that they are older Macs that no longer run updates, and therefore, the browser is not up to date.  2 of them have been able to access Canvas through Safari, but not Chrome. 

We are able to use the same links and log on as the same student on other devices without problems, so it seems like it is device-related..  If you find it on Windows devices, maybe check for browser updates.  We haven't found a solution for the specific device, but browser/device requirements for Canvas say it has to be able to run the latest updates, so we are led to believe it is due to not being able to update anymore.

[dbrace]

Hi @becky_kinney

Everything I am saying below is only slightly related to what you said but it could be helpful.

I have an option to share with you. However, it comes with a disclaimer that Canvas will not officially support it and they have documented that they will not support it.

Mozilla Firefox has a special version called ESR and that stands for "Extended Support Release". Basically, for primarily organizations, Mozilla will update it but (1) only for security fixes and (2) the feature updates that it gets are significantly delayed.

Instructure/Canvas does not support Firefox ESR and you can see that at https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/What-are-the-browser-and-computer-requirement... and below:

Unsupported Browser Banner in Canvas

Some supported browsers may still produce a banner stating Your browser does not meet the minimum requirements for Canvas. If you have upgraded your browser, but you are still seeing the warning banner, try logging out of Canvas and clearing your browser's cache and cookies.

Enterprise Extended Release Browsers in Canvas

Chrome and Firefox offer extended release versions for organizations that manage client desktops. Chrome ESR can be kept up-to-date with the existing full version of Chrome at any time. However, Firefox ESR is only updated with every seventh major version, which causes Firefox ESR to overlap with outdated versions. The Firefox ESR webpage notes that ESR may not be supported in every web application because of this version release delay. Institutions who use Firefox ESR should consider deploying the latest release to ensure the best Canvas user experience.

* For extended release browser versions, the warning banner still applies and displays in Canvas for any browser below the minimum version requirement.

Because Mozilla has been "showing love" to "old" Macs that are no longer receiving updates from Apple, they have two versions of ESR: (1) ESR 115, which is older and (2) ESR 140, which is newer.

If the Macs are "old", you can download and install ESR 115. However, that comes with another disclaimer but this time from Mozilla. From what I recall, over the past two years Mozilla has been re-evaluating how much longer they will keep supporting/updating ESR 115. Their last publicly released statement was in September 2025 and they said that ESR 115 will be supported (for security updates) until March 2026.

If you are interested in using ESR 115, please do so carefully, review the links below, and regularly monitor Mozilla's "Future Releases" blog.

• Extended Firefox ESR 115 Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 and macOS 10.12-10.14 - Future Releases (the main blog is at https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases)
• to download and install Firefox ESR 115: go to https://www.firefox.com/en-US/download/all/desktop-esr/osx/en-US and (1)  confirm that "Firefox Extended Support Release" appears on the top of the right-side (2) confirm that the operating system is macOS, and (3) click on the "Download ESR 115" button

I hope this helps.

-Doug