No access to some gaming and social sites

[Da4872634]

My access to certain gaming and social networking sites has become limited - across devices and browsers my family members use. Sites include: Instagram and Twitter, battle.net, riotgames.com, epicgames.com, and leagueoflegends.com.

The block started two weeks ago. I tried switching kids safe off and on, resetting the categories for games and social sites, and whitelisting these sites, which worked sometimes but doesn't now. 

We also switched off the router for over 30 minutes, as I saw on a previous thread where someone else had this problem. Please can you help? Thanks! 

[Da4872634]

Morning Michelle, I hope you are well. 

The last 48 hours, Saturday and Sunday, we had complete access to the gaming and social networking sites that were previously blocked. These include: EA, Square Enix, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn.  Today, all those sites are blocked again.  

I've attached a few screen grabs - two blocked gaming sites and my Homesafe settings that show Gaming and Social categories should be unblocked. 

Thanks!

Arif 

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

Thanks for the update. How has the connection been over the last 48hrs.

Thanks

[Da4872634]

Hi Chris,

Just to let you know everything is accessible today. Gaming and social sites weren't yesterday or the past week. We haven't made any changes this end. 

Thanks,

Arif 

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks Arif 🙂

[Da4872634]

Thanks for getting back to me Chris, and for all your testing advice which I'll aim to double check tonight.  

That's correct - with HomeSafe switched off, we still can't access some of these websites (EA, Square Enix) but I will check all of them with HomeSafe off, so I can definitely say for sure. 

I'll also make a note of the error messages on different devices and browsers. They all seem to have SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR in common, but I'll make sure! 

I have tested on devices connected to the router via powerline and Ethernet  (we use TP Link devices) - but I will try a direct connection Ethernet straight to the router, and let you know the results. 

So far, we've tried on several devices (three phones, four desktops/laptops, several different browsers - Chrome, Edge, Opera), but I will also do these checks again and document them, double check everything, and get back to you.

I'll also try clearing the caches on all the devices. 

Many thanks for your continued support,

Arif

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Thanks Arif, and just to confirm, with HomeSafe switched off you still can't access any of these websites?

And you've tested on more than one device and get the same error?

Could I also ask which internet browsers you have tested with and if you get the same error on different internet browsers?

Have you tested on devices connected to your router by Ethernet cable and wireless?

Chris

[Da4872634]

Thanks Chris,

Just to confirm - some of the sites I am aware that we can't access include:

https://www.ea.com/en-gb

https://www.square-enix-games.com/

https://www.snapchat.com/

https://www.facebook.com/

https://www.messenger.com/ (can access but it's just text)

https://www.tiktok.com/en/

https://store.playstation.com/

https://store.steampowered.com/

I whitelisted linkedin as i need it for work! 

Many thanks!

Arif

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks Arif. This may be part of a wider issue as we've seen a few other customers reporting that they can't access EA servers. Could you just confirm that you're still experiencing the problem.

Chris

[Da4872634]

Hi again Chris,

Just to let you know, we did what you said again -  switched the router off and left it off for 30 minutes+ then switched back on and retested. Gaming and social sites are still blocked. 

Thanks,

Arif 

[Da4872634]

Hi Chris,

Just a quick follow up - interestingly, we could temporarily access gaming and social sites on Sunday evening (20-11-22)! But they are blocked again this morning. (We tried Ea.com, square enix and linkedin). Hope that helps. It's a mystery to us. 

Thanks and have a good day!

Arif

[Da4872634]

Hi Chris,

Not sure if you saw my first message where I said: "We also switched off the router for over 30 minutes, as I saw on a previous thread where someone else had this problem. Please can you help? Thanks! "

I've now done this several times. And tested with the alternative router you sent. Gaming and social sites are still blocked, although they show as clear (unticked) on Homesafe, and they stay blocked even if I switch Homesafe off. 

I'd appreciate any other suggestions - and also if there is a way for you to check if gaming and social sites are being blocked at TalkTalk's end?

Many thanks,

Arif    

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Da4872634,

If you're still experiencing problems can you switch your router off and leave it off for at least 30 minutes then switch back on and retest

Thanks

Chris

[Da4872634]

Hi Debbie, thank you - I received the alternative router just fine. I had to wait until tonight to test it because of work commitments.

Having tested it just now, the same sites remain blocked - gaming and social networking, including the ones I listed. The same error comes up: This site can’t provide a secure connectionwww.square-enix-games.com sent an invalid response. ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR

I tried turning off Homesafe but they were still blocked. And I cleared the browser cache, which also didn't work. We tested sites on two devices. 

Please advise - happy to return the new router, as I've gone back to the existing one. Many thanks. Arif 

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Arif

How are you getting on, have you received the replacement router?

Thanks

Debbie

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi Arif

The router is on its way, please allow 24-48hrs for this to arrive.

Let us know how the connection compares with this router.

Thanks

Debbie

[Da4872634]

Hi Michelle,

Yes please - that would be fantastic.

The intermittent blocking does seem to be e persistent problem, so a fresh start with a different router would be good!

Thank you for your help, which is much appreciated.

Arif

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

Ok thanks for confirming. As all the main things have been tried such as switching off kidsafe and powering down the router for a full 30 minutes, would you like us to send a replacement router for testing purposes to rule this out?

Thanks

[Da4872634]

Hi Michelle - thank you do much for your response.

Good questions. I just tried it for Facebook. I am generally seeing this sort of error: This site can’t provide a secure connection

en-gb.facebook.com sent an invalid response.  Try running Windows Network Diagnostics.

ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR

It's the same for the site for the popular games company Square Enix: "This site can’t provide a secure connection www.square-enix-games.com sent an invalid response.  Try running Windows Network Diagnostics.

ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR

 

When  Kidsafe was initially switched off, I believe the errors were similar, but I can't exactly remember - sorry. 

Just to add to the list in my initial post, I also can't access LinkedIn without whitelisting it, and I need it for work. 

Many thanks for your assistance, which is much appreciated! 

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hello,

Can I just confirm, do you see a specific message when you can't access these sites? When Kidsafe was initially switched off did you also experience the same issue then too?

Thanks