Ancestry - Unable to view family trees

[James Milne]

Hi, I have been unable to view any of my family trees on Ancestry for the last week or so. I get the message "Check back soon. We're sorry but this feature is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your patience at this time. Check back with us shortly." I contacted Ancestry support chat who asked 1. If I was using a mac, and 2. if I was using Safari. Well I use both. Their answer was "We are not supported with Safari anymore so please use our recommended browser like Google Chrome and Mozila firefox." Anyone else come across this?

[SGilbert]

Although I do not have any trees on Ancestry, I use it several times/week using my Mac & Safari. No problems.
I DO have a problem, however, with their upcoming mandatory two factor identification. It's not a bank or brokerage account! I consider it a royal PIA!

[Herb]

I can access Ancestry just fine using Safari. Support personnel saying that they recommend Firefox or Chrome is a pretty standard excuse - and not just from Ancestry. In 99%+ of the cases that is simply not true. That said, I don't have any suggestions for you other than the usual: Clear cache, close and reopen Ancestry, close and reopen Safari and reboot your computer. If none of those work, the problem is most likely with Ancestry, not you

[Herb]

SGilbert: I think that is for Ancestry DNA only. And, yes, it is (will be) a PIA

[cookp]

I have received the "Check back soon. We're sorry but this feature is temporarily unavailable" from Ancestry on a Firefox browser using Linux OS in the past many times. So that issue is not limited to Safari but it does not happen all the time that you have mentioned.
If I may suggest, have you tried the Firefox browser on your Mac to access your family tree and was it successful?
The issue is unlikely to be the Safari browser, as I am using Safari to access Ancestry all the time (as I suspect are many other people), but maybe it is a safari extension or as Herb suggests, clearing the history and cache in Safari maybe a good first step.
Also, check that "Enable JavaScript" has been enabled in Safari settings (see screenshot of Safari Settings > Security). Ancestry will allow you to log in but the "Check back soon" message will appear after logging in.
You may also have a safari extension blocking java scripts, e.g. "StopTheScript", so disabling that for Ancestry website is an option to consider, if applicable.

Regards Paul

Screenshot 2023-11-22 at 9.07.55 am.png

[cookp]

Although I do not have any trees on Ancestry, I use it several times/week using my Mac & Safari. No problems.
I DO have a problem, however, with their upcoming mandatory two factor identification. It's not a bank or brokerage account! I consider it a royal PIA!

Will the two factor authentication be required for all Ancestry accounts or just AncestryDNA accounts (following the theft of millions of user records from DNA genetic testing giant 23andMe)?

Ancestry emailed customers saying the company will “require two-step verification” for customers signing in by sending a code to their phone or email address. “Ancestry is requiring all AncestryDNA customers who want to view their DNA matches to use multi-factor authentication to log into their account.
(https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/07/23...heir%20account)

[Bob White]

I'm on Ancestry using Safari probably an average of five days per week. Zero problems related to Safari. I see that temporary unavailable message probably several times per week..... almost always related to Hints.

Solution is to refresh the page or to click/tap their try again link. As a long experienced IT guy, my guess is that the record is still being updated for the hint that I just approved and that the coding is to prevent entry until the update has completed. (Note: I don't wait to do this; by the time that I move mouse or finger to click/tap, a second or two, it lets me in. In other words, I'm the problem by moving fast which many of us do when we are ultra familiar with an action.)

[James Milne]

Thank you for all your suggestions, which unfortunately did not solve my issue. Seems I have been neglecting to update my software. To be honest it's something I dread doing because of the possible implications. I prefer to spend my time using software rather than trying to iron out the bugs, like compatibility issues. Anyway I updated to the latest version of Big Sur and was then prompted to update Safari which I did. That seemed to resolve my problem, and I am now able to view Ancestry family trees in "Tree View" without any issues. Thanks again everyone.