Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
Post Reply
Topic Author
whyme
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:22 pm

Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by whyme »

Is it just me? Using a desktop computer on a mac, the photo-intensive Vanguard splash screen shows up with a place for name and password, and a big red button that says "Log in." Name and password entered, but the log in button is unresponsive. I click around and find a different log in page--same thing. It simply does not register a request to log in to my accounts. Seems like a pretty fundamental problem.

PS: After editing this I found yet another log in screen through a search function, and that one (after first taking me to a "stock screener") did allow me in to the accounts. Still...
Last edited by whyme on Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
bloom2708
Posts: 9861
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by bloom2708 »

https://investor.vanguard.com/my-account/log-on

Did you try different browsers? Safari vs Chrome vs Edge?
Topic Author
whyme
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:22 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by whyme »

bloom2708 wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:59 am https://investor.vanguard.com/my-account/log-on

Did you try different browsers? Safari vs Chrome vs Edge?
Tried that just now, switching to Safari brought up a different log in screen and did a two-factor authentication (i.e., they texted me a code). That worked, though why I didn't go to the same new splash screen, I have no idea.
User avatar
cowdogman
Posts: 2072
Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:44 pm
Location: Washington State

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by cowdogman »

Are you sure you didn't just type your username and password into a phishing page?
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52216
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by nisiprius »

I experienced some weird glitches a day or so ago--vanguard.com brought me to retirement.vanguard.com instead of either vanguard.com-now-choose-your-site or I-saw-your-cookie -and-remembering-to-go-to-personal.vanguard.com.

Logging out and back in cleared the problem.

I believe someone at Vanguard was careless or sloppy about some update, and perhaps since it was transient nobody caught it.
Last edited by nisiprius on Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
khunron
Posts: 137
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:29 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by khunron »

It's just you.
bondsr4me
Posts: 2427
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:08 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by bondsr4me »

I just logged in...no problem.

On the very first screen, I just scrolled down to the login info.

I am using a MBP with Safari....works OK for me.
inverter
Posts: 1021
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 1:40 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by inverter »

Do you have an ad blocker or other plug-in turned on?
KeepingEyesOpen
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:49 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by KeepingEyesOpen »

whyme wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:03 am
...
Tried that just now, switching to Safari brought up a different log in screen and did a two-factor authentication (i.e., they texted me a code). That worked, though why I didn't go to the same new splash screen, I have no idea.
I accessed the Vanguard.com website and logged in this morning. There was initially a new splash page, presenting the choice to direct future log-ins to the Personal Investor website, then redirected to a broken link. The next try worked, no problem.

I suspect that this type of problem is not due to Vanguard's website and is probably due to your web browser's behavior. All web browsers save previously-accessed websites in a local browser cache. When a server's web pages are changed, your browser first loads the old locally-cached page rather than the new website page, resulting in some "wonkiness". If simply trying the top-level website (e.g., Vanguard.com) again does not work, then clear your web browsers local cache and try again.

Unless you have severe bandwidth, data cap or computer hardware constraints, it's probably a good practice to clear your browser cache periodically, anyway.
KeepingEyesOpen
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:49 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by KeepingEyesOpen »

nisiprius wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:07 pm ...
I believe someone at Vanguard was careless or sloppy about some update ...
Not necessarily - more likely a browser cache issue. Please see above post.
NYCPete
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:24 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by NYCPete »

It's not just you. I started noticing within the last week that my usual ways to log in I was getting the unresponsive button thing.

There's a multitude of ways to get to a login page on the website. I've found that some versions of the login page the button works, and some it doesn't. Originally I thought it was just certain pages, but I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason to it. The only consistent way I've found is to start the browser fresh, go to the corporate portal page, click personal investors, and then log in on the next page (which is https://investor.vanguard.com/home for me). If instead I click "login" in the upper right hand corner of the screen, then I get the unresponsive button thing. I'm using the most up-to-date Chrome.

I don't mind using another browser, but if it's browser related, VG should really fix this pronto. Chrome accounts for almost 2/3rds of the browser market, 3x as much as Safari.

Best,
Peter
To the extent that a fool knows his foolishness, | He may be deemed wise | A fool who considers himself wise | Is indeed a fool. | | Buddha
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52216
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by nisiprius »

KeepingEyesOpen wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:50 pm
nisiprius wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:07 pm ...
I believe someone at Vanguard was careless or sloppy about some update ...
Not necessarily - more likely a browser cache issue. Please see above post.
Never say never, but I don't think so, because a browser cache issue would not retrieve a site and a page that I had literally never seen before. I think I have never seen it before because it had some blarney about a "reimagined Vanguard experience" that filled me with dread. And also because it was conspicuously image-free, while other sites I peek at--the "raw" vanguard.com, personal.vanguard.com, advisors.vanguard.com, institutional.vanguard.com, all have some kind of big visual decoration at the top.

And it would still be sloppy anyway, because--I no longer remember the technical details--the server can tell the browser to reload the page instead of using the cache.
Last edited by nisiprius on Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:37 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
User avatar
iceport
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:29 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by iceport »

whyme wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:58 am Is it just me? Using a desktop computer on a mac, the photo-intensive Vanguard splash screen shows up with a place for name and password, and a big red button that says "Log in." Name and password entered, but the log in button is unresponsive. I click around and find a different log in page--same thing. It simply does not register a request to log in to my accounts. Seems like a pretty fundamental problem.

PS: After editing this I found yet another log in screen through a search function, and that one (after first taking me to a "stock screener") did allow me in to the accounts. Still...
It's not just you!

I'm having the same issue on a desktop PC (not Apple) using Firefox.

The login button is intermittently non-responsive. If I try refreshing the page, no luck. If I completely shut down the browser and start again, being careful to let the page fully load before hitting the log-in button, things usually work out OK.

Note that I always log into Vanguard with a new browser window, after it's been completely closed down. I do that because the browser is set to clear the cache with every shut-down. So this isn't a cache memory issue.

Bad programming...
"Discipline matters more than allocation.” |—| "In finance, if you’re certain of anything, you’re out of your mind." ─William Bernstein
fortunefavored
Posts: 1425
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:18 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by fortunefavored »

I had this happen too.. I assumed it was my browser/ad blocker or something, clicking around randomly eventually let me log on.

They may be running some A/B testing or something which confuses browsers.
User avatar
TomatoTomahto
Posts: 17158
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by TomatoTomahto »

iceport wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:16 pm It's not just you!

I'm having the same issue on a desktop PC (not Apple) using Firefox.
Me too. I did better going at it via Chrome.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
sycamore
Posts: 6360
Joined: Tue May 08, 2018 12:06 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by sycamore »

Worked okay for me just now. Chrome on Windows, using uBlock Origin ad blocker.

One thing I noticed on the home page is the login area now has a teal-ish background color. Maybe they rolled that out a while ago, I dunno. But perhaps they are deploying updates to their site...
User avatar
Matahari
Posts: 725
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:09 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Matahari »

Thank you to everyone reporting this issue.
I freaked out today when my login button did not work despite clicking on it several times. This was through Firefox. I thought maybe my laptop is going. Normally I have no trouble accessing Vanguard.com on my laptop via Firefox or via Chrome.

Anyway, I rebooted my computer and retyped everything carefully and got in pronto.
User avatar
celia
Posts: 16774
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by celia »

I was up in the middle of the night last night (PC with Firefox), and logged in my usual way only to see another large-print login screen I’ve never seen before. I hesitated and went back to the original screen only to see it happen again, while watching the URLs change. So I entered my username and password again and THEN it sent me my 2-factor authentication message and I was on my way.
meebers
Posts: 501
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:20 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by meebers »

I had trouble last week with login that was non responsive. Fixed the problem by erasing FF cache. Just tried a moment ago, no problem.
User avatar
Metsfan91
Posts: 1019
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 11:33 am
Location: Rust Belt

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Metsfan91 »

New desktop? or Old? I do not know. But, I logged in today during market hour. I had no trouble. I did whatever I wanted to do. Then logged out.

No problem here!
"Know what you own, and know why you own it." — Peter Lynch
UpperNwGuy
Posts: 9479
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Safari works fine for me. I don't use Firefox or Chrome, as I don't trust either of them.
Moochy
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 2:44 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Moochy »

NYCPete wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:51 pm It's not just you. I started noticing within the last week that my usual ways to log in I was getting the unresponsive button thing.

There's a multitude of ways to get to a login page on the website. I've found that some versions of the login page the button works, and some it doesn't. Originally I thought it was just certain pages, but I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason to it. The only consistent way I've found is to start the browser fresh, go to the corporate portal page, click personal investors, and then log in on the next page (which is https://investor.vanguard.com/home for me). If instead I click "login" in the upper right hand corner of the screen, then I get the unresponsive button thing. I'm using the most up-to-date Chrome.

I don't mind using another browser, but if it's browser related, VG should really fix this pronto. Chrome accounts for almost 2/3rds of the browser market, 3x as much as Safari.

Best,
Peter
I am having the same problem in the last two days on any browser.
User avatar
heartwood
Posts: 2700
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:40 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by heartwood »

The site works for me, but the first logon today brought me to a new splash page and then to a new account page with no account details. Several clicks later I was back at my usual overview account page or my balances and holdings page.

I then logged out, logged on again and was taken to the usual balances page.
bondsr4me
Posts: 2427
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:08 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by bondsr4me »

I logged in today, no problems.

I am using Safari on MBP.
cogito
Posts: 311
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by cogito »

I have been unable to login with the big red button on Chrome for two days but, but Edge browser works fine. Somebody at Vanguard broken something somewhere.
KeepingEyesOpen
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:49 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by KeepingEyesOpen »

whyme wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:58 am ... PS: After editing this I found yet another log in screen through a search function, and that one (after first taking me to a "stock screener") did allow me in to the accounts. Still...
whyme wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:03 am ... Tried that just now, switching to Safari brought up a different log in screen and did a two-factor authentication (i.e., they texted me a code). That worked, though why I didn't go to the same new splash screen, I have no idea ...
nisiprius wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:07 pm I experienced some weird glitches a day or so ago--vanguard.com brought me to retirement.vanguard.com instead of either vanguard.com-now-choose-your-site or I-saw-your-cookie -and-remembering-to-go-to-personal.vanguard.com.

Logging out and back in cleared the problem. ...
Matahari wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:52 pm ... Anyway, I rebooted my computer and retyped everything carefully and got in pronto...

My interpretation is that these are typical symptoms of browser-related or browser-server dynamic factors, almost unavoidable these days. By browser-related I mean factors related to servers interacting with local web browsers and redirecting accordingly - webpage caching, cookies, local browser settings (various blockers, javascript disablers and others I don't know about or understand).

Examples:
1. Try typing in "Vanguard.com" in the address block of your web browser in different computers or different browsers, then look at the webpage address (URL) after the webpage loads . One person's computer will load a plain-vanilla Vanguard corporate webpage while another's computer (or iPad, or phone) will access a different webpage, perhaps a login page. The server communicates with the user's device/browser and adjusts accordingly, while the browser communicates with the server and adjusts accordingly.
2. Many web pages are not directly user-accessible - they may be accessed only through a link (or re-direct) provided by the server. A brief check of my 1Password account revealed the following variations of Vanguard's login page that were automatically saved at various times in the past for my account vs. my wife's account:
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/PMLogin
https://investor.vanguard.com/my-account/log-on
These login page variants were obviously not typed in by me - they are re-directed page links created after Vanguard's server interacted with a local web browser. If you try to bypass the server's "Proper" access portal and instead try to go directly to a previously-saved login page, unexpected behavior may result.

I now make it a practice to access important (e.g., financially-related) websites using only a "front door", plain-vanilla method. Maybe you would call this a "Boglehead" website access method :happy . For Vanguard, I just type in "Vanguard.com" and avoid the temptation to click on a previously-created bookmarked link or a link saved in my password manager. And when I'm really paying attention (sadly, not all of the time :happy ), I will clear the browser's cache and cookies if I know that Vanguard (or other important website) has made changes. The various login pages will change over time as the websites are re-programmed for security and other reasons. Note that Vanguard has conspicuously advertised website changes recently.

YMMV, but this works for me ... most of the time.

nisiprius wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:06 pm
... a browser cache issue would not retrieve a site and a page that I had literally never seen before ...

And it would still be sloppy anyway, because--I no longer remember the technical details--the server can tell the browser to reload the page instead of using the cache.
I personally would not necessarily attribute unexpected results to sloppy programming. It would be impossible to program around the myriads of variables out there - browser differences, old caches, browser settings, content/popup/javascript/ad blockers, different device types and different access methods by uses such as old saved or bookmarked weblinks.

If I have trouble with a website - financial or otherwise - after clearing browser caches and cookies plus accessing the web portal through the "front door" method, only then I would think about "sloppy programming".

BTW - Yes, the server can direct the browser to force-load the webpage. And by the same token, you can "hard refresh" any webpage to bypass the cached page using keyboard shortcut Command(⌘)-Option-R (for Safari web browser). Another method involves holding down the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Refresh button in Safari. Another tactic: to prevent a website from using browser-stored caches, and other data, view the website in a private window: Choose File > New Private Window (again, this is for Safari).
egrets
Posts: 888
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:56 pm
Location: Rhode Island

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by egrets »

celia wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:08 pm I was up in the middle of the night last night (PC with Firefox), and logged in my usual way only to see another large-print login screen I’ve never seen before. I hesitated and went back to the original screen only to see it happen again, while watching the URLs change. So I entered my username and password again and THEN it sent me my 2-factor authentication message and I was on my way.
I just got a giant print giant amount of white space login screen which took a long time to load. That to me always means the website was redesigned for phones because we people who use laptops or pcs don't exist. I could log in and got to normal looking pages.
User avatar
Matahari
Posts: 725
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:09 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Matahari »

I confess to not being a tech-savvy person, so am asking this question: Are people concerned at all about copycat websites when there is a redesign? Why wasn't there a nice message saying "Welcome to the newly-redesigned Vanguard.com login page, blah blah blah" like one often sees at other newly-redesigned websites?

When faced with a new-looking website, does having fully typed in "Vanguard.com" and using 2-step authentication eliminate that concern?

When I sign in using Vanguard's phone app, I use Face ID and that works very smoothly.
User avatar
Harry Livermore
Posts: 1937
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2019 5:32 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Harry Livermore »

I just logged in and it looked all normal to me.
Mac/ Firefox.
Cheers
User avatar
bertilak
Posts: 10726
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:23 pm
Location: East of the Pecos, West of the Mississippi

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by bertilak »

Matahari wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:52 pm Thank you to everyone reporting this issue.
I freaked out today when my login button did not work despite clicking on it several times. This was through Firefox. I thought maybe my laptop is going. Normally I have no trouble accessing Vanguard.com on my laptop via Firefox or via Chrome.

Anyway, I rebooted my computer and retyped everything carefully and got in pronto.
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
Moochy
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 2:44 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Moochy »

cogito wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:18 pm I have been unable to login with the big red button on Chrome for two days but, but Edge browser works fine. Somebody at Vanguard broken something somewhere.
I am a Firefox user, cannot log in to Vanguard. Chrome doesn't work either. Only Edge works.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52216
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by nisiprius »

Transient error again today.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
User avatar
jhfenton
Posts: 4754
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:17 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by jhfenton »

bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:09 am
Matahari wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:52 pm Thank you to everyone reporting this issue.
I freaked out today when my login button did not work despite clicking on it several times. This was through Firefox. I thought maybe my laptop is going. Normally I have no trouble accessing Vanguard.com on my laptop via Firefox or via Chrome.

Anyway, I rebooted my computer and retyped everything carefully and got in pronto.
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
I've noticed this too at times on various sites. I don't have to delete and re-enter the entire username/password, but I have to delete
and retype at least one character. It's as if the website doesn't realize that characters have been entered by the password manager. I don't recall if it's happened on Vanguard.com or not. It certainly doesn't happen all the time.
User avatar
iceport
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:29 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by iceport »

Last night again:

— Open Firefox with a cleared cache.
— Type username and password.
— No response.
— Re-load page.
— Re-type password.
— No response.
— Close browser, clear cache.
— Re-open Firefox.
— Type username and password.
— Login success.

:annoyed
"Discipline matters more than allocation.” |—| "In finance, if you’re certain of anything, you’re out of your mind." ─William Bernstein
prd1982
Posts: 1786
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 3:43 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by prd1982 »

On one non-financial site i use i find that the page does not work if i press the entrr button while the oage is downloading scripts in the background. I assume the code to handle the button has not been downloaded. Have you tried wait a bit before pressing submit?
User avatar
bertilak
Posts: 10726
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:23 pm
Location: East of the Pecos, West of the Mississippi

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by bertilak »

iceport wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:41 pm Last night again:

— Open Firefox with a cleared cache.
— Type username and password.
— No response.
— Re-load page.
— Re-type password.
— No response.
— Close browser, clear cache.
— Re-open Firefox.
— Type username and password.
— Login success.

:annoyed
The key step seems to be "clear cache" but I don't understand how you clear (the browser's?) cache while the browser is closed or are those two things actually done in the opposite order? Or is some other cache involved? And if clearing the cache works here how does that differ from the very first step -- which doesn't work? Or is that apparent inconsistency the point?
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
User avatar
iceport
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:29 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by iceport »

bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:08 pm
iceport wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:41 pm Last night again:

— Open Firefox with a cleared cache.
— Type username and password.
— No response.
— Re-load page.
— Re-type password.
— No response.
— Close browser, clear cache.
— Re-open Firefox.
— Type username and password.
— Login success.

:annoyed
The key step seems to be "clear cache" but I don't understand how you clear (the browser's?) cache while the browser is closed or are those two things actually done in the opposite order? Or is some other cache involved? And if clearing the cache works here how does that differ from the very first step -- which doesn't work? Or is that apparent inconsistency the point?
The browser is set to clear the cache every time it closes (completely, all windows). It does work. So I don't know why the second time works but not the first time.

Image
"Discipline matters more than allocation.” |—| "In finance, if you’re certain of anything, you’re out of your mind." ─William Bernstein
User avatar
Matahari
Posts: 725
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:09 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Matahari »

bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:09 am
Matahari wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:52 pm Thank you to everyone reporting this issue.
I freaked out today when my login button did not work despite clicking on it several times. This was through Firefox. I thought maybe my laptop is going. Normally I have no trouble accessing Vanguard.com on my laptop via Firefox or via Chrome.

Anyway, I rebooted my computer and retyped everything carefully and got in pronto.
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
No, I don't.
But I'm going to go through and clear all of my temp files and clean things up a bit for all of my other logins.

I do use a VPN, which some websites (such as BoA) won't allow, but not Vanguard.
Cm_hd1
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:19 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Cm_hd1 »

I wasn't able to log in either. If you use NoScript, whitelisting vgdynamic.info (in addition to vgcontent.info and vanguard.com) got it to work for me.
KeepingEyesOpen
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:49 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by KeepingEyesOpen »

jhfenton wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:58 am
bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:09 am
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
I've noticed this too at times on various sites. I don't have to delete and re-enter the entire username/password, but I have to delete
and retype at least one character. It's as if the website doesn't realize that characters have been entered by the password manager. I don't recall if it's happened on Vanguard.com or not. It certainly doesn't happen all the time.
This is good point. Some websites (although not Vanguard.com) require a manually-entered user name and/or password, not copy-pasted or automatically entered by a password manager. This is probably a deliberate security-related requirement, perhaps to prevent "bots" from doing a brute-force access method. I have encountered two examples:

1. The Treasury Direct website uses a variant of this. The user must enter the password by clicking on a website-displayed virtual keyboard. There is no text entry box and no way to use the keyboard or a copy-paste method to enter your password.
2. A few years ago I paid my mother's assisted living facility monthly bills. After the first month or two I was unable to access the payment website due to rejected password entry. It took a bit of troubleshooting to discover that "pasted" or automatically-entered login credentials were rejected. After the first login, my password manager would automatically enter the username and password, only to be rejected. The website would accept only a manually-typed user name and password. I pointed this out to the facility manager, who thanked me profusely for pointing out the problem. Apparently other users encountered similar login problems but no one had discovered the cause or solution.
User avatar
Doom&Gloom
Posts: 5417
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Doom&Gloom »

KeepingEyesOpen wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:26 pm
jhfenton wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:58 am
bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:09 am
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
I've noticed this too at times on various sites. I don't have to delete and re-enter the entire username/password, but I have to delete
and retype at least one character. It's as if the website doesn't realize that characters have been entered by the password manager. I don't recall if it's happened on Vanguard.com or not. It certainly doesn't happen all the time.
This is good point. Some websites (although not Vanguard.com) require a manually-entered user name and/or password, not copy-pasted or automatically entered by a password manager. This is probably a deliberate security-related requirement, perhaps to prevent "bots" from doing a brute-force access method. I have encountered two examples:

1. The Treasury Direct website uses a variant of this. The user must enter the password by clicking on a website-displayed virtual keyboard. There is no text entry box and no way to use the keyboard or a copy-paste method to enter your password.
2. A few years ago I paid my mother's assisted living facility monthly bills. After the first month or two I was unable to access the payment website due to rejected password entry. It took a bit of troubleshooting to discover that "pasted" or automatically-entered login credentials were rejected. After the first login, my password manager would automatically enter the username and password, only to be rejected. The website would accept only a manually-typed user name and password. I pointed this out to the facility manager, who thanked me profusely for pointing out the problem. Apparently other users encountered similar login problems but no one had discovered the cause or solution.
I have run across a couple of sites that do that--don't remember which ones which means that I don't access them frequently. I despise them as the net effect is that I use shorter and simpler passwords because of the effort to squint to read them (some characters can be confused with others, eg. 1/l) from my PW manager and then manually enter them into the site's login page. Absolutely maddening!
EHEngineer
Posts: 1085
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 3:35 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by EHEngineer »

bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:08 pm
iceport wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:41 pm Last night again:

— Open Firefox with a cleared cache.
— Type username and password.
— No response.
— Re-load page.
— Re-type password.
— No response.
— Close browser, clear cache.
— Re-open Firefox.
— Type username and password.
— Login success.

:annoyed
The key step seems to be "clear cache" but I don't understand how you clear (the browser's?) cache while the browser is closed or are those two things actually done in the opposite order? Or is some other cache involved? And if clearing the cache works here how does that differ from the very first step -- which doesn't work? Or is that apparent inconsistency the point?
FYI - CCleaner will clear cashe when browser is closed
https://www.ccleaner.com/
Or, you can ... decline to let me, a stranger on the Internet, egg you on to an exercise in time-wasting, and you could say "I'm probably OK and I don't care about it that much." -Nisiprius
Mike83
Posts: 161
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:37 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by Mike83 »

The site works for me with the setup you describe. But the tendency to put in splashy screens with smiling faces or loads of unneeded white space can be a real distraction from getting down to the business at hand. Scrolling to find the login fields is a particular nuisance.
sycamore
Posts: 6360
Joined: Tue May 08, 2018 12:06 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by sycamore »

Mike83 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 11:57 pm The site works for me with the setup you describe. But the tendency to put in splashy screens with smiling faces or loads of unneeded white space can be a real distraction from getting down to the business at hand. Scrolling to find the login fields is a particular nuisance.
Agree about the white space & scrolling issue. Instead of browsing to vanguard.com, I go to straight to https://investor.vanguard.com/my-account/log-on if I want to login.

I've been doing that so long I didn't notice the VG home page has a link "Online navigation made simple. Check out what's new" to a page describing what & why they changed. It's for users, not techie folk.

But I mention all this because that page has a link "Love it? Thoughts on improvement? Let your voice be heard. Fill out our survey to provide your feedback."

So, please, fill out the survey and tell 'em what you think! :)
KarenC
Posts: 264
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:25 am

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by KarenC »

Doom&Gloom wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:31 pm
KeepingEyesOpen wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:26 pm
jhfenton wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:58 am
bertilak wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:09 am
Do you use a password manager. Note that some browsers have a built in capability to remember and automatically enter ID/PW for you.

Th reason I as is that I had a similar problem (on a non-Vanguard site). I had to manually clear the automatically entered ID/PW and actually type them in to get it to work.
I've noticed this too at times on various sites. I don't have to delete and re-enter the entire username/password, but I have to delete
and retype at least one character. It's as if the website doesn't realize that characters have been entered by the password manager. I don't recall if it's happened on Vanguard.com or not. It certainly doesn't happen all the time.
This is good point. Some websites (although not Vanguard.com) require a manually-entered user name and/or password, not copy-pasted or automatically entered by a password manager. This is probably a deliberate security-related requirement, perhaps to prevent "bots" from doing a brute-force access method. I have encountered two examples:

1. The Treasury Direct website uses a variant of this. The user must enter the password by clicking on a website-displayed virtual keyboard. There is no text entry box and no way to use the keyboard or a copy-paste method to enter your password.
2. A few years ago I paid my mother's assisted living facility monthly bills. After the first month or two I was unable to access the payment website due to rejected password entry. It took a bit of troubleshooting to discover that "pasted" or automatically-entered login credentials were rejected. After the first login, my password manager would automatically enter the username and password, only to be rejected. The website would accept only a manually-typed user name and password. I pointed this out to the facility manager, who thanked me profusely for pointing out the problem. Apparently other users encountered similar login problems but no one had discovered the cause or solution.
I have run across a couple of sites that do that--don't remember which ones which means that I don't access them frequently. I despise them as the net effect is that I use shorter and simpler passwords because of the effort to squint to read them (some characters can be confused with others, eg. 1/l) from my PW manager and then manually enter them into the site's login page. Absolutely maddening!
I've experienced the same, and also some sites that don't allow to select and copy displayed text. I haven't experienced enough pain to install it yet (so I can't personally attest to it), but there is a browser extension called StopTheMadness that purports to ameliorate these sorts of issues. Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive ($9.99) for an extension but it might be worth it to you. You can find it at https://underpassapp.com/StopTheMadness/
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool." — Richard P. Feynman
User avatar
dual
Posts: 1383
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:02 pm

Re: Vanguard new desktop site doesn't work

Post by dual »

I had trouble with the non-responsive red login button yesterday. After several attempts, I switched browsers from Firefox to Edge. The Edge browser also did not work but I got a popup message saying that my password was too long and that it should be limited to 20 characters. I have a 32 character password. So I tried again using the first 20 characters of my password and that got me into the website after going through my usual text message code two factor authentication. I switched back to Firefox and entered the 20 character password and that also worked.

I have not experimented with it more such as by using only 18 characters of my password. This all makes me highly nervous as it really gets the heart of the website security.
Post Reply