How To Fix Captcha Error? Captcha Not Working!

Captchas were introduced as a method to stop spambots from overloading and damaging a server. Once these little buttons and puzzles were so easy to solve, but these are becoming extremely difficult to solve these days. Here, I shall discuss why you may see captcha not working, and how to fix captcha error in your browser.

Why Is Captcha Not Working?

An acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA), these tools were created as a way of preventing spambots from visiting a web space. Once upon a time, these were actually very easy to solve, and even the simplest captchas were enough to deal with complex spambots.

As pointed out in this article from The Verge, machine learning is developing very quickly as artificial intelligence improves over time. This means that the captcha (and now reCAPTCHA) needs to be trained to be more difficult, so that it can combat more difficult threats.

However, there are certain triggers which do not sit well with the new API that Google has developed. These will lead to false positives being recorded, meaning that your request will be classified as one from a bot. These triggers vary in nature, but we have collected some of these from our readers, which are listed as below:

• One of the most common reasons is issues with the browser compatibility, when the captcha fails to register the input if you are not on the latest version of the browser.
• Browser cache is another reason why captcha won’t load on your browser, as a broken or corrupted Chrome browser profile may be interfering with the requests you send.
• If your IP is banned, the captcha will not load however hard you try. Check out solution X for a quick workaround.
• Network interference from proxy connections may be causing the error, as captcha don’t work properly when you have an active VPN connection.
• Certain malware have been known to corrupt the requests you send, therefore leading to this error.

How To Fix Captcha Error?

Now that you have a brief idea about why you may be facing this error, it is time to look at the solutions that you can try in order to fix captcha error on your computer.

Solution 1: Reload

One of the first things that you need to try is reload the capture in order to get a new security code. have many times the page may not have loaded correctly, which leads to the solutions that you enter being registered as incorrect.

reload the page to get a new verification captcha. solve this one to visit your intended page. most of the times a simple reload should fix your error.

Solution 2: Update Your Browser To The Latest Version

if reloading the page did not load the captcha, check if you are on the latest version of the browser that you’re using. it is possible that the captcha won’t load due to compatibility issues with your browser version. This can be narrowed down to security issues, as eat new version update contains a tonne of security patches.

visit the about section of your browser from the hamburger menu, there you should find the browser update automatically running. once your browser is up to date, Try reloading the page. your captcha error should now be resolved.

Solution 3: Clear Browser Cache

As mentioned above, corrupt or missing browser cache may interfere with the captcha loading, therefore preventing you from visiting the website. If you suspect this is the case, clear the browser cache and reload the page to check if the error persists.

Solution 4: Turn Off Proxy Network

If you are using a proxy connection to visit the page and updating the browser did not solve captcha not working error, you need to turn off the proxy service if you are using one. You may see captcha not loading while using many free VPN services, where the tunneling protocols are not very secure.

If you get this error while using a premium service, contact the developers at once. Premium VPN services use advanced protocols, which helps flagging the request as genuine. Notify the developers about how to connect to the website without getting flagged as robot.

The same instruction applies if you are using a proxy service, and you will require to turn off the proxy service in order to bypass the captcha. 

Solution 5: Reset IP Address Manually

There is a possibility that too many requests to a website may lead to The IP address being blocked. There are many services available now which keep a record of suspicious IP addresses. unfortunately, if you are nearer such suspicious addresses, you may be flagged as a spam bot and denied access to the website.

Luckily, getting a new IP address is not a huge deal nowadays do too many Internet service providers using dynamic IP addresses. a simple disconnect should a reset your IP address. if not, contact your service provider and ask them to register a new IP address for you.

If you are already using a DHCP client, you can manually reset your IP address by clearing the winsock data. follow these steps for the same:

1. open an elevated command prompt from the start menu, or the WinX menu if you have replaced PowerShell with CMD.
2. in the command line interpreter, enter the following commands in order and press enter after each one:
   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /flushdns
   ipconfig /renew

After the reset, new IP and DNS data will be registered for your device, and you should see the captcha service working normally again.

Solution 6: Check For Malware

If none of the solutions above helped you, there is a chance that your computer is infected with a malware that is sending fraudulent requests. A hidden malware is a risk to your data and your privacy, so you should immediately check if there is a hidden virus or malware on your computer.

if you do not own a premium antivirus service, you can use a host of free antivirus services such as Avast and Malwarebytes. scan your computer for malwares and remove any potentially unwanted programmes from your computer.

once you have removed the risky files and programmes from your device, reload the page and cheque if the error persists. your error should now be resolved.

Solution 7: Reinstall Google Chrome

if you do not have malware on your computer and still see captcha not working, you will have to reinstall Google Chrome after deleting the residual data. you can use a third party cleaning software such as CCleaner, or use batch uninstallers to remove the residual data while uninstalling the browser.

Next, visit the Google Chrome website and download a fresh copy of the browser from the website. Install the browser, and check if the error persists. Your error should now be resolved.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it. Now you know how you can troubleshoot if you see captcha not working on your browser, using one or a combination of the solutions provided above. Comment below if you found this useful, and to discuss further the same.