Troubleshoot app not loading

This article will help you resolve the issue where Benchling fails to load with the following error page:

Suggestions

Check your browser cache

Your browser stores local copies of website assets to speed up page loads. Sometimes this has the adverse effect of preventing the page from loading altogether.

1. A quick fix is to perform a "hard reset": with the Benchling page open, hit Ctrl-Shift-R on Windows/Linux or ⌘-SHIFT-R on macOS.

2. A more nuclear option is to clear your entire browser cache. See this article for instructions on Chrome.

Check your browser extensions

While Ad Blockers are beneficial to end users that want to protect their privacy, some browser extensions can be overzealous in what content they block.

1. A quick check is to open Benchling in "private browsing" or "incognito" mode. This disables the browser cache as well as most browser extensions.

2. If this does not work, try turning off any extensions that are enabled in incognito mode and then seeing if Benchling loads. Once you've identified which extension is causing issues, there's likely an option to disable it for Benchling.

Check your browser

1. Make sure you are using the latest stable version of your preferred browser.

2. Try using a different browser (one of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge). If Benchling works, this indicates that there is some configuration issue with your preferred browser. Consider reinstalling it.

See: What browsers are supported by Benchling?

Check your internet connection

Do other websites you regularly visit also have issues with loading correctly? If so, try out the following suggestions:

1. If you are on a wireless network, make sure you have a strong connection (e.g. move closer to your router if possible).

2. If your router has both a 2.4 GHz and a 5 GHz network, try using the other one.

3. If you have access to another wireless network or are able to tether on your phone, try that as well.

Check your network firewall

If you find that Benchling fails to load on your work / school internet, while it does load at home or when tethering from your phone, then it is very likely that there is firewall blocking access. Contact your IT and ask them to help you verify if any of the network resources are being blocked.

Check your device

Managed company devices might include a network policy that could cause loading issues. Try accessing Benchling on a separate device. If this resolves the issue, contact your IT team to see if there's a shared policy that's causing issues.

Contact Benchling Support

After completing the above steps, if you're still having issues, send us an email at support@benchling.com and include the following information:

1. Capture the HAR file when loading the page as instructed by this help article.

2. If you are an academic user, share the information listed in https://benchling.com/debug/browser . If you are enterprise user, share the information listed in https://<company>.benchling.com/debug/browser

3. Which of the suggestions listed above you tried out and if any were successful.