# KBoards links crashing Silk browser on my Fire



## Goner (Jul 29, 2013)

Hi everyone! I often read KBoards on my Fire in the Silk browser. It used to work just fine, but in the last few weeks, every time I click on a link in a post (to an outside web site) or on one of the books in people's signature lines (going to Amazon usually), Silk crashes. Basically, it appears to hang up and won't load more than the upper part of the new page. Then it just sits there until a message pops up telling me the browser isn't responding, and asks if I want to wait or close the browser. I've tried waiting, but nothing happens. I eventually just have to tell it to close out.

This didn't used to be an issue for me. And it's only happening at KBoards (links everywhere else work just fine). Anyone else have this problem with Silk on the Fire? Any ideas what I might do to fix it? I've restarted my Fire, but that hasn't changed anything. Beyond restarting, I'm clueless what to try.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I'm seeing it, too, now that I've tried. So far it's only happened to me with KB links that point to Amazon or Goodreads and opens them in a new tab. I suspect it's a Silk bug, but so far my powers of deduction have not figured out what's different about those links versus other external links on this or other sites.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Sent an email to Amazon CS, including a link to this thread.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

If I view the site in Tapatalk and click the same link, it opens up fine in the browser. Hmmm...

Sent from my Fire HDX 7 via Tapatalk


----------



## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

I have also been having this problem when following links in the FAOTD thread. What seems strange to me is that some links would work while other similar ones didn't. On some of the links that did not work but where the URL was displayed, I could copy the URL, paste it into the box, and get to the page that way.

When the link does not work, it displays the word "blank" as part of the address (about: blank ?). Strange.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Having a late breakfast...will fire up the Fire  and test when I get done.

If you can give an example of a link that works and one that doesn't for you, I can test...

Betsy


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Generally speaking for me, the ones that failed were links to Amazon. Links to members' blogs and such seemed to work -- wonder if it's something to do with the additional link stuff sent for Amazon advert referrals (which is the sort of irony I like)?


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ok, finally have me, a Fire and time to test all in the same place. . 

Betsy


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

It isn't just KB. The Silk browser has closed on me frequently over the last few weeks. When I go back on, it asks if I want to restore my tabs. I don't keep KB on a permanent tab. I do keep KDP and D2D permanently open and it's while loading those that it closes.

I have a habit of keeping my left palm in the upper corner and sometimes I accidentally touch the screen which will kick me out, but that happens on non-Silk screens as well. I thought that was the problem, so I'm glad to hear others are experiencing the same thing.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Interestingly, if I tap on someone' spreading bar, such as yours, NogDog, and tap on a book cover, it opens the Amazon referral-linked page fine. But I'm seeing the same about:blank that others are seeing on other sig links.

And on the link Anwen mentioned.



Anwen Stiles said:


> Links to Amazon titles in author's signature lines aren't working for me. Also, yesterday, there was a thread where the web site link crashed me (it's in the first post, from the OP): http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193419.0.html


Betsy


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

It's not just us, found this from March on Amazon....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/forums/kindleqna?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1GLDPZMNR1X53&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx1O8XMLSL33UXR

Betsy


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> It's not just us, found this from March on Amazon....
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/forums/kindleqna?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1GLDPZMNR1X53&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx1O8XMLSL33UXR
> 
> Betsy


Obviously no helpful answers there but at least we're not alone.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Obviously no helpful answers there but at least we're not alone.


Hmmm...

I've tried clearing the cache and the data and also turning various settings in the browser off and on but nothing has helped...

Will continue to research this...

Betsy


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't play in the browser of my fire very often (either of them -- both HDX, one each size) but I do note that, when I 'click links', what I _really_ do is touch and hold until I get the pop up that lets me open in a new tab. I don't recall ever having a problem with the link actually opening.

I _have_ noticed that if I have PM's, when I go to kboards I get a pop up that says they're there and do I want to see them. On my other computers, when I click 'yes', it opens the PM page in a new tab. On the fire, it opens the tab, but there's nothing there. I've never considered it more than a minor annoyance -- I simply don't click the 'yes' and still can go to the PM page when I'm ready.


----------



## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

This happens to me also. I most noticed it when I needed to sign in at a new wifi spot. I'd tap the sign-in button or whatever for the new spot, up would come Silk with a blank page and ... nothing.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Just happened again. Click on WEB and it starts to load but then kicks me out.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I don't play in the browser of my fire very often (either of them -- both HDX, one each size) but I do note that, when I 'click links', what I _really_ do is touch and hold until I get the pop up that lets me open in a new tab. I don't recall ever having a problem with the link actually opening.
> 
> I _have_ noticed that if I have PM's, when I go to kboards I get a pop up that says they're there and do I want to see them. On my other computers, when I click 'yes', it opens the PM page in a new tab. On the fire, it opens the tab, but there's nothing there. I've never considered it more than a minor annoyance -- I simply don't click the 'yes' and still can go to the PM page when I'm ready.


Pressing and holding is a good tip, though I wonder why you've been doing that instead of just tapping on the link. . The problem isn't that one gets a blank tab when tapping on a link, it's that the browser actually closes and crashes after starting to open a link like a sig link in a new tab. Have you tried it to see if it does the same thing for you?

From my reading, the about:blank has something to do with trying to preload some of the page... I tried turning off some of the options that involving preloading, but it didn't seem to make any difference.

I'll try the pressing and holding.

Edit: that does seem to work, which e their you indicate new tab or just "open."

Betsy


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Pressing and holding is a good tip, though I wonder why you've been doing that instead of just tapping on the link. .


'Cause I don't want to look at it NOW. I want to look at it after I've gone through the thread or whatever. I might find other things I want to look at as well and then, when I'm done reading through the thread, I go and check out the new tabs I opened.



> The problem isn't that one gets a blank tab when tapping on a link, it's that the browser actually closes and crashes after starting to open a link like a sig link in a new tab. Have you tried it to see if it does the same thing for you?


Hmmm. No . . . . but, as I said, I don't often directly click links. I'll play with it some more today and see if I notice anything.



> From my reading, the about:blank has something to do with trying to preload some of the page... I tried turning off some of the options that involving preloading, but it didn't seem to make any difference.
> 
> I'll try the pressing and holding.
> 
> ...


One setting that might be affecting things is the one that sets it to 'open fast' or something -- not recalling off hand but I remember in the first generation of Fire a LOT of people thought having 'accellerated loading' on actually made the whole thing slower. Which might also correlate with what you say about the about:blank error. If the page has changed since you last opened it and it's trying to match what it knows with what is, that might be confusing it and it crashes.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Interesting. I do not recall having a problem, but I rarely use my fire here. I will have to check tonight if I remember.


----------



## maryjf45 (Apr 24, 2011)

This just happened to me, on the link to today's FAOTD. I tried it twice, then just went to the App store to get it. The link took me to the Amazon page, then closed Silk, and when I reopened it,it showed the blank about-blank page


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

maryjf45 said:


> This just happened to me, on the link to today's FAOTD. I tried it twice, then just went to the App store to get it. The link took me to the Amazon page, then closed Silk, and when I reopened it,it showed the blank about-blank page


I just tried this and had same results.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm like you, Vydor, I rarely browse KBoards on my Fire, and when I do, I use Tapatalk, which seems to work fine, as NogDog said.

A workaround does seem to be to press and hold on the link and then choose one of the options from the popup, as Ann says.

Betsy


----------



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

This is still happening. I just tried to follow a link in the most influential books thread on my Fire HDX and crashed twice.


----------



## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I've had this happen really often lately.. not from KB but from email links to Amazon from any number of daily emails I get with bargain books,  but also with links to caringbridge.  and it isn't consistent.  

Good to know I'm not alone..


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

So has anyone besides me reported this to Amazon? I did via email, and got an email back asking me to contact them by phone or chat so they could debug in real time, which seems ridiculous to me since it's obvious all they need to do is have someone there open up Silk on a Fire and try some of the links we mentioned here (and which I referenced in my original email). I've got better things to do with my time than do QA/Testing stuff they should be doing.


----------

