What Is Ssl Error
A Simple Explanation of SSL Certificate Errors & How to Fix …
Today there are over 138 million websites with an SSL certificate on the Internet — and this number is expected to increase as more search engines and consumers show preference to these sites.
An SSL certificate is a standard security technology for encrypting information between a visitor’s browser and your website. Because it helps keep sensitive information like passwords and payment information safe, visitors feel safer on sites that are encrypted with SSL. You can identify encrypted sites by the HTTPS in their URLs and the padlock icon in the address bar.
Sites that aren’t encrypted may see hits to their traffic or conversion rates as a result. Not only are these sites flagged as “Not secure” in Google Chrome, they’re also avoided by 85% of online shoppers.
Thankfully, many hosted platforms like the CMS Hub and Squarespace will include an SSL certificate in their plans so you don’t have to worry about installing or renewing it.
If you opt for a self-hosted platform like, most hosting providers will include an SSL in their plans as well. HostGator, for example, includes an SSL certificate in its lowest-tiered plans. If your solution does not include SSL, then you can acquire one from an SSL certificate provider.
Let’s say you’ve chosen a plan that includes SSL certification or installed a certificate on your site. Then you open up Google Chrome and try to visit a page on your site and, instead of the page loading, you get an “ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR” message. What gives?
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In this post, we’ll discuss what this error means and what could be causing it. Then we’ll walk through the different steps you can take to resolve the error and get your site up and running again.
What is an SSL certificate error?
An SSL certificate error occurs when a web browser can’t verify the SSL certificate installed on a site. Rather than connect you, your browser will display an error message, warning you that the site may be insecure.
This message will look different depending on two factors. The first is the browser you’re using. The previous screenshot shows an error message on Google Chrome. The screenshot below is a message you’ll see on Internet Explorer.
The second factor is the type of SSL Certificate error occurring. Let’s take a look at these different types below.
Types of SSL Certificate Errors
There are several different types of SSL certificate errors that might occur on your site. Let’s take a look at the most common ones.
1. SSL Certificate Not Trusted Error
This error indicates that the SSL certificate is signed or approved by a company that the browser does not trust. That means either the company, known as the certificate authority (CA), is not on the browser’s built-in list of trusted certificate providers or that the certificate was issued by the server itself. Certificates issued by the server are often referred to as self-signed certificates.
2. Name Mismatch Error
This error indicates that the domain name in the SSL certificate doesn’t match the URL that was typed into the browser. This message can be caused by something as simple as “” Say the certificate is registered for and you type in. Then you’ll get an SSL certificate name error.
3. Mixed Content Error
This error indicates that a secure page (one that is loaded with HTTPS in the address bar) contains an element that’s being loaded from an insecure page (one that is loaded with HTTP in the address bar). Even if there’s only one insecure file on a page — often, an image, iframe, Flash animation, or snippet of JavaScript — your browser will display an error message instead of loading the page.
4. Expired SSL Certificate Error
This error occurs when the site’s SSL certificate expires. According to industry standards, SSL certificates cannot have a lifespan longer than 398 days. That means that every website needs to renew or replace its SSL certificate at least once every two years.
Otherwise when you try to load your site, you’ll see an error that looks something like this:
5. SSL Certificate Revoked Error
This error indicates that the CA has canceled or revoked the website’s SSL certificate. This could be because the website acquired the certificate with false credentials (whether by accident or on purpose), the key was compromised, or the wrong key was issued. These issues result in the following error message:
6. Generic SSL Protocol Error
This error is particularly tricky to resolve because there are multiple potential causes, including:
an improperly formatted SSL certificate that the browser cannot parse.
a certificate that is not properly installed on the server.
a faulty, unverified, or lack of digital signature.
the use of an outdated encryption algorithm.
a firewall or other security software interfering with the SSL protection.
a problem in the certificate’s chain of trust, the series of certifications that make up your site’s SSL encryption.
In these cases, you’ll see a generic SSL message like this one:
How to Fix SSL Certificate Error
Diagnose the problem with an online tool.
Install an intermediate certificate on your web server.
Generate a new Certificate Signing Request.
Upgrade to a dedicated IP address.
Get a wildcard SSL certificate.
Change all URLS to HTTPS.
Renew your SSL certificate.
1. Diagnose the problem with an online tool.
To start, use an online tool to identify the problem causing the SSL certificate error on your site. You can use a tool like SSL Checker, SSL Certificate Checker, or SSL Server Test, which will verify that an SSL certificate is installed and not expired, that the domain name is correctly listed on the certificate, and more. To use the tool, just copy and paste your site address into the search bar.
2. Install an intermediate certificate on your web server.
If the problem is that your CA is not trusted, then you may need to install at least one intermediate certificate on your web server. Intermediate certificates help browsers establish that the website’s certificate was issued by a valid root certification authority.
Let’s say you installed an SSL certificate from the popular provider, Namecheap, on your Microsoft Windows Server. Then you can follow this step-by-step tutorial to install an intermediate certificate.
3. Generate a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
If you’re still getting a certificate not trusted error, then you could have installed the certificate incorrectly. In that case, you can generate a new CSR from your server and reissue it from your certificate provider. Steps will vary depending on your server. You can check out this step-by-step guide for generating a CSR on Microsoft Windows Server.
4. Upgrade to a dedicated IP address.
If you’re getting a name mismatch error, then the problem may be your IP address.
When you type your domain name into your browser, it first connects to your site’s IP address and then goes to your site. Usually, a website has its own IP address. But if you use a type of web hosting other than dedicated hosting, your site may be sharing an IP address with multiple sites. If one of those websites does not have an SSL certificate installed, then a browser might not know which site it’s supposed to visit and display a mismatch name error message. To resolve the issue, you can upgrade to a dedicated IP address for your site.
5. Get a wildcard SSL certificate.
If you’re still getting a name mismatch error, then you might need to get a wildcard SSL certificate. This type of certificate will allow you to secure multiple subdomain names as well as your root domain. For example, you could get one Multi-Domain SSL Certificate to cover all of the following names:
6. Change all URLS to HTTPS.
If you’re getting a mixed content error on one of your web pages, then copy and paste the URL into to identify the insecure elements. Once you’ve identified the elements, edit the source code of the page and change the URLs of the insecure elements to HTTPS.
7. Renew your SSL certificate.
If your SSL certificate is expired, you’ll have to renew it immediately. The details of the renewal process change depending on the web host or CA you’re using, but the steps remain the same. You’ll need to generate a CSR, activate your certificate, and install it.
Resolving an Invalid SSL Certificate
As we’ve seen, there are several possible explanations for an SSL certificate that doesn’t work. However, the end result is the same for your visitors — they’ll see a warning in their browser window explaining that the website they’re about to enter is not secure.
Of course, this is far from the best thing for your reputation, so be sure to address the lack of encryption as soon as possible. If the methods above don’t work, we recommend getting in touch with your hosting provider to help you troubleshoot. Chances are, they’ve seen problems like yours before.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Originally published Mar 23, 2021 7:00:00 AM, updated March 23 2021
How to Resolve an SSL Connection Error on Android Devices
Facing a pesky SSL error in Android that won’t go away?
Here are a few potential solutions
If you’re using an Android device, it’s likely that you’ve come across the browser message that says, “your connection is not private. ” Once is fine, twice is okay, but it gets really annoying if you face this message every other day. But don’t you worry — we’ve got you covered. We’ve analysed several possible reasons behind this SSL connection error and have come up with a list of solutions you can easily implement.
In this post, we’ve outlined these seven solutions to help you get rid of this pesky SSL connection error. If one doesn’t work, try the next. Eventually, you should be clear of this warning and start loving your device again.
Let’s get started.
7 Ways to Solve Your Android SSL Connection Error
1. Correct the Date & Time on Your Device
This might sound like the easiest and most
obvious solution, but users frequently face this error because they have an incorrect
date and time set. So, the thing that you need to do is set the data and time option
to automatically update. This will ensure that your date and time settings are always
current
2. Clear Browsing Data of Google Chrome
Your browsing history and cache might be
causing you to receive this SSL error. The way to move past this is to delete
the browsing data. Here’s how you can do it:
Open Google Chrome and then go
to to Settings and
select, tap on Clear Browsing
Data. Check all the boxes and select Clear Data.
3. Reset Your Network Settings
Another thing that might be coming in
between you and the website is your network settings. It’s very difficult to
pinpoint it to any single reason and, therefore, we suggest resetting your
network settings. You can do this by going to Settings and then selecting
Network Settings. There, you should find an option that will allow you
to reset the network settings.
4. Deactivate Your Antivirus App
Antivirus app/software is one of the most
common reasons behind the SSL error. Unfortunately, this problem has only one
solution and that, too, is temporary. The solution is to disable your antivirus
and then trying to access your website. Please note, however, that it’s
never a best practice to disable your antivirus solution because it leaves you
vulnerable to threats.
5. Update Your App/Browser
Again, this is a simple solution that’s
easy to overlook, but it could be the very solution that you may be looking for.
Try updating your app/browser and then the website that’s giving you a hard
time.
6. Visit Website in an Incognito/Private Mode
If nothing’s worked till now, this is a
solution that you must try. Although it’s a temporary solution, you should open
the website in the private/incognito window of your browser.
7. Reset Your Device
Now, this is the last resort. So, carefully
consider whether you really want to go for it or not. Resetting your device
would mean losing all the personal data on your device, so make sure that you
back up all your data before thumping the hammer!
To reset your device, go to Settings
and select General Management. There, you’ll next want to choose Reset
and select Factory Data Reset. Once you read through all of the
information on the next screen, select Reset.
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What is SSL on iPhone? How to Enable SSL on an iPhone
Here’s what SSL on an iPhone means and how you can enable it.
Want to know what SSL on an iPhone is? Well, you couldn’t be at a better place. In this post, we will try to give you a clear idea of what SSL means and how you can enable it on your iPhone (and iPad) emails. You might know that SSL stands for ‘Secure Socket Layer. ’ Some people also call it TLS (Transport Security Layer) but don’t get confused as both mean almost the same – TLS is what succeeded SSL.
What is SSL connection
SSL/TLS is a cryptographic protocol that establishes a secure connection between two parties—client and server in this case. Here, ‘secure connection’ means encrypted, authenticated communication between two end-points. Every piece of information that you send and receive from your iPhone email gets encrypted so that your information cannot be stolen or altered by any unauthorized entity. And even if someone somehow manages to get his/her hands on the data, it wouldn’t be of any use as it’s almost impossible to decrypt data protected using 128/256-bit encryption.
So when you want to enable SSL in your iPhone email settings, that is what happens to the emails you send and receive. Sounds good? Want to do it? Let’s get the ball rolling then.
SSL Error on iPhone
‘SSL Error on iPhone” is an error customarily observed when an outdated version of an SSL certificate in place of the latest TLS version is used by your iPhone to establish communication with a secure website using HTTPS.
Instructions to Enable SSL for Incoming Emails
First, go to Settings
Tap on Accounts & Passwords (tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars in older iOS versions).
Now tap on the account that you want to secure with SSL.
Tap on your email ID.
Tap on Advanced.
Slide down the screen and enable SSL. Change the port to 993 for IMAP and 995 for POP.
Instructions to Enable SSL for Outgoing Emails.
First, go to Settings.
Tap on Accounts & Passwords (tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars in older versions of iOS).
Tap on SMTP.
Turn on Use SSL slider.
Set 465 as the server port.
Tap on Done.
And you’re done! You’ve successfully enabled SSL on your iPhone or iPad. Bravo!
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Buy SSL Certificate at Cheap Prices
Our guide will help you to enable an SSL certificate on your iPhone. You must have an SSL certificate from trusted Certificate Authority.
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Savvy Security Welcome to Savvy Security, a blog focused on providing practical cybersecurity advice for website owners and small businesses. Our team brings you the latest news, best practices and tips you can use to protect your business… without a multi-million dollar budget or 24/7 security teams.
Frequently Asked Questions about what is ssl error
How do I fix SSL connection error?
7 Ways to Solve Your Android SSL Connection ErrorCorrect the Date & Time on Your Device. … Clear Browsing Data of Google Chrome. … Reset Your Network Settings. … Deactivate Your Antivirus App. … Update Your App/Browser. … Visit Website in an Incognito/Private Mode. … Reset Your Device.
What does SSL error mean on iPhone?
‘SSL Error on iPhone” is an error customarily observed when an outdated version of an SSL certificate in place of the latest TLS version is used by your iPhone to establish communication with a secure website using HTTPS.May 22, 2018
What does SSL error occurred mean?
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, a security protocol that encrypts the connection between the server and your browser. … So when you get SSL connection error, it means the internet connection on your phone is preventing the browser from loading the page for security and privacy.Nov 22, 2019
