Posts made by johnymacclen

That fresh-profile test is the most useful clue here: if a completely fresh profile fails in exactly the same way, the problem is very unlikely to be your local Sync data, so rebuilding that folder again probably will not help.

The wrong-password error also tells us something — your sign-in itself is working, but Sync then is not completing. A couple of things worth checking next:

1. Open opera://sync-internals and look for any error shown there, and whether it says Sync is running at all. That usually shows whether this is an account or server problem rather than a browser one.
2. If you have another device where your passwords and bookmarks are still present, make sure they are backed up or exported first. Then, in your Opera account, reset your synced data and sign back in — that clears the server copy that the fresh profile is still failing to read.
3. As a quick check, try signing into Sync in Opera (the standard build, not GX) with the same account. If it works there, the issue is specific to GX; if it fails there too, it is almost certainly on the account or server side, and Opera support would need to look at it.

The greyed-out passphrase option fits with that too — it only becomes usable once Sync has actually connected.

Thanks for reporting this so clearly. The fact that it worked yesterday and broke today, with the same message for every query, points to something on the server side rather than your phone — especially since you say the same thing happened back in July.

A few things worth trying while this is looked into:

• Tap the "click here" link in that message, if you can, and send the feedback through it, so the report reaches Opera with your details attached.
• Try another search engine from the same search bar, if you have one set up, to confirm that only Google Search is affected.
• If you can, say whether other sites still load normally in Mini — that helps show whether it is just the search service or the connection in general.

Hopefully someone from Opera can check the Mini proxy servers, as it sounds like the same kind of outage as in July.

That pattern is a useful clue — the main page works but a sub-page such as /tallinn does not. Location permission in Opera for Android is granted per site, and the page that actually asks for your location is not always the address in the address bar: a map loaded in a frame can come from another origin, so allowing the main site does not always cover it.

A few things worth trying, in order:

• In Android Settings > Apps > Opera > Permissions, check Location is allowed while using the app and that precise location is switched on.
• In Opera, check Settings > Site settings > Location for the sites that fail, set them to Allow, then clear the stored data for one failing site and try again, accepting the prompt when it appears.
• Switch off Opera's built-in VPN and ad blocker for a failing site and test again, in case either is getting in the way of the location request.
• Note whether the failing pages are on HTTPS and whether the map itself is embedded from another domain — that domain would need permission as well.
• Try the same pages in a private tab, and compare with Chrome on the same phone. If they work in Chrome, that points to an Opera permission or a blocked third-party origin rather than the phone's own location settings, so it is worth reporting with your Opera and Android versions and the exact failing addresses.

That would be a welcome addition, and I agree that following the system setting is the most natural way to do it.

At the moment I also switch manually, which is easy to forget in the evening, and then a light theme feels too bright. A "Follow system" option in Settings > Appearance would solve that without adding another daily task.

It would work even better if Opera let us choose which theme to use for light mode and which for dark mode, rather than forcing one theme to do both jobs. Some themes look good in one mode and not the other, so pairing a lighter theme with a darker one would keep the switch looking right.

A simple schedule as a fallback would also help people whose system does not change automatically, but following the system should be the first step.

That re-enabling itself is exactly the frustrating part — disabling it once clearly is not enough if an update puts it back in Startup.

On your question about the standalone install: no, updating a standalone install should not bring the Assistant back. The Assistant is only bundled with the standard installer, which is why burnout426 suggested a standalone install in the first place. Its own updates update Opera itself; they do not re-run the standard installer.

So if you do try that route, install it standalone in its own folder and do not run the installer as administrator, then check Task Manager > Startup apps and Settings > Apps > Startup after the first update, just to confirm it has stayed off. The trade-off burnout426 mentioned still applies: a standalone install is not registered as the default browser, so you would need the Portable Registrator tool susanm mentioned if you want it as your default.

If you stay with the standard install instead, I would check Startup again after every Opera update, since that is when it seems to come back for you.

That is frustrating, especially with a dozen shortcuts to rebuild. I have seen updates reset custom search entries before, so it is worth checking the list before re-adding everything.

In Settings, go to Search engine, then Manage search engines, and look under Site search. If your shortcuts are still listed there, check whether they have been switched off and switch them back on one at a time, testing each with its keyword in the address bar. If an entry has vanished completely, add it again with the same keyword and the site's search address, using %s where the search term goes.

If they disappear again after a restart, it is worth checking whether an extension is interfering by testing with extensions temporarily off, and reporting it as a bug from the browser's Help menu with your Opera version included, since a dozen entries switching off at once after one update sounds like a regression rather than something you did.

That change in behaviour is worth narrowing down first, because a new window can be triggered in a few different ways.

It would help to know whether it happens only when you open a link, or also when you use the plus button and Ctrl+T for a blank tab. If it is only links, try a middle-click and a right-click followed by Open link in new tab, and see whether both behave the same way.

Beyond the extension check already suggested, a couple of quick tests usually separate a browser setting from a profile or input problem:

• Try a private window with extensions off, then try again in a new Opera profile if you can. If the problem disappears in the new profile, the cause is more likely in your current profile or an extension.
• Check whether the tab is being dragged slightly when you click it. Even a small drag downwards can detach a tab into its own window, and a sticky mouse button or touchpad can cause the same effect, so trying another mouse helps rule that out.
• Also check whether any mouse or touchpad software is set to open links in a new window, and whether the issue happens with the keyboard shortcut as well as with the mouse.

If you can say which of those cases still opens a new window, it should be much easier to pin down the cause.

You are right on both counts, I am afraid. Sync is two-way only, with no setting to make one laptop the master source, and importing a bookmarks file merges with what is already there rather than replacing it.

The closest manual workaround I have used is to treat the home laptop as the master by exporting its bookmarks regularly, then, on each other laptop, back up its current bookmarks first, delete the existing set, and only then import the exported file. It is fiddly, and it is worth keeping Sync switched off on those laptops while you do it, otherwise a deletion on one machine can spread to the others.

If you do turn Sync back on afterwards, it will merge again, so it only really works as a one-off tidy-up rather than a lasting one-way arrangement. Keeping a dated export from the home laptop is still the safest safety net before you delete anything.

You are not necessarily doing anything wrong — this is a common limit with filling into other apps.

A few things worth checking:

• Only one autofill service can be active at a time on your phone, so check in your phone settings that the browser is actually set as the default autofill service, and that no other service is also trying to fill the same field.
• Some fields, especially in security-sensitive apps, deliberately block filling or are not recognised as password fields, so the prompt can appear and still put nothing in. That would explain why it works with copy and paste but not with filling.
• Try tapping the field first, waiting a second for the prompt, and then choosing the entry, rather than tapping straight into it. If that still puts nothing in, try the long-press fill option if your phone offers one.
• For the safe itself, unlocking it from inside the password manager app is usually the more reliable route, since its own unlock screen is not meant to be filled from outside.

It would help to know which phone and system version you are on, whether the browser is set as your default autofill service, and whether filling works in an ordinary app, such as a notes app, so it is easier to tell whether this is a setting problem or a blocked field.

That error usually means the Preferences file in your profile has become corrupted, which is why a reinstall on its own did not help if the old profile folder was left behind.

First, check that Sync is actually bringing your bookmarks back: open Settings, go to Synchronisation, and make sure you are signed in to the same account you used before and that Bookmarks is switched on. Give it a few minutes, as a large set of bookmarks does not always appear straight away.

If nothing appears, the hard part is that deleting all user data also deleted the local copy, so only what had already been synced can come back. If you still have the old profile folder anywhere, for example in a backup, look for the Bookmarks file inside it and keep a copy before you try anything else.

One other thing worth checking: if you were signed in to a different account, even by a small spelling difference, Sync would restore a different, empty set of data. It is worth double-checking the account name shown in Synchronisation before trying another reinstall.

That is an annoying one to lose, especially when you are used to it. Since the advanced shortcut setting is already on, a few checks are worth trying:

First, try turning the advanced keyboard shortcuts setting off, restarting Opera, then turning it back on again. A setting can look enabled after an update without actually taking effect until it is toggled.

Second, check whether another application or a system shortcut on the Mac is now capturing the 1 and 2 keys, and try the shortcuts with the browser window itself in focus, rather than with the address bar or a text field selected.

Third, open Settings and look at the Shortcuts section to see whether 1 and 2 are still assigned to cycling tabs, or whether they have been changed or left blank. If they are listed differently, reassigning them there should restore the behaviour.

As a workaround in the meantime, Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab should still move forward and back through tabs.

It would also help to know which Opera version this started with, and whether it stopped straight after an update, as that would point to a change in that version rather than a local setting.

I understand the frustration — in Opera GX that combination does not always behave as a hard refresh, especially if another shortcut or extension is intercepting it. A couple of reliable alternatives are worth trying first: press Ctrl+F5, or click into the page first so the browser window has focus and then try Ctrl+Shift+R again. If you still see the old cached page, open the developer tools with Ctrl+Shift+I, then right-click the reload button and choose the hard reload option that clears the cache for that tab. It is also worth checking Settings, then Shortcuts, to see whether Ctrl+Shift+R has been reassigned, and testing briefly with extensions disabled to rule out a clash. Let us know which of those worked for you, and on Windows or Mac, as the expected shortcut can differ.

That looping identity confirmation is a known pain after a fresh Windows install. The key thing to understand: formatting wiped the local encryption key the old Windows installation used to protect the password vault, so Sync can no longer unlock it on its own. That is why bookmarks come through fine while the passwords stay locked — Sync can see the encrypted data but cannot decrypt it, hence the cryptographer error and the "Needs passphrase" flag.

A few things worth trying before you go near any reset option:

1. In the sync settings on the laptop, make sure password syncing is actually ticked, then log out of your Opera account inside the browser, close Opera completely, and log back in. A fresh login often breaks the loop where the confirmation tab just closes.

2. When the confirmation prompt appears, try the password your Opera account had around the time the vault was created, not necessarily the current one — the vault may have been encrypted under an older password.

3. Check opera://sync-internals after each attempt. While it still says "Needs passphrase", the vault is locked and no local step will reveal the passwords.

Honest heads-up: if none of the passwords you can remember unlocks it, and there is no other device holding the original data, those passwords cannot be recovered without resetting the synced passwords on the server. That reset only clears the passwords, not the bookmarks — but you would have to save them again. So it is worth a proper effort on the password attempts first.

If you do get it unlocked, consider setting a custom sync passphrase and keeping it somewhere safe — it makes surviving the next reinstall far less painful.

First make sure you are signed in to the same Opera account on your phone and on your new laptop, and that Sync is switched on with tabs included on both devices. On the laptop, open the Tab Menu (the icon in the top-left corner of the window) and you will see your phone listed there with its open tabs. You can open several of them at once by holding Ctrl and clicking the ones you want, or by middle-clicking them, which opens each one in a new background tab, so you do not have to click through them one by one. Give the sync a few minutes to finish if the list is empty at first, and keep both devices online while it transfers.