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Device Errors

This is the master page for device errors. We’ll update it over time with new information.

What is a Device error?

It’s when you are trying to purchase something on-line and you are asked to use a different device.

Why does it happen?

We believe it is simply the result of the web site incorrectly thinking you are a bot. Anti-bot technology is hard to manage and it’s easy for a web site to crank their settings up too high so that some people, like our users, who are not using bots, to be incorrectly identified as a bot. It’s a shame, but it’s our reality.

How do they behave?

Sometimes device error rates are cranked up for certain events, certain sale types or certain kinds of presales. Sometimes they are cranked up because a web site is experimenting with a new algorithm. So things might be great for a while and with no change to your process or our browser, suddenly it gets worse. We want to hear about this because sometimes we can make adjustments. 

Avoiding Device Errors 100%

We aim for 90% success rates – or 10% error rates. If we’re in that range, we feel it’s acceptable as it’s simply impossible to shoot for 100%. We try, but to manage expectations, you should be over 90%. Please always include your first pull error rates. After a device error shows up in a tab, it’s likely to happen again. Second and third pulls can help but often it’s best to just abandon a tab with multiple error rates. Insomniac lets you use as many tabs as you want, so just moving on is often the best strategy unless we’ve said otherwise.

Device Error Checklist

The following steps will help you minimize your device error rates: 

  1. Make sure you are on the latest version of the browser. Click ‘Version Info’ in your browser to confirm.
  2. Use good rotating proxies.
    1. Dedicated proxies will lead to more device error rates. If you are using dedicated proxies please mention it in your report. Please don’t just say you are “using proxies and it’s broken” because the kind of proxies matter. If you have a secret proxy source please email it to us so we can investigate.
  3. Don’t duplicate pages after you get into the VWR. Yes, we know it’s easier to get in, solve the captcha, then duplicate. But it makes you look like a bot, so don’t do it.
  4. Try the non-qty style. If you have a way of getting to the qty style page when the regular page is shown to you, great, but that often leads to device errors because they are not expecting that. Qty style pages are great when they work, but it’s not how they want you to use their site, so device errors can result.
  5. Do not log into the site until the step where it’s required. You should never do this anyway.
  6. If you are getting a lot of device errors and going to a new tab doesn’t help, try using the cookie cleaner. Clear your cookies for that tab and try again. If it doesn’t work, clear them for that site. If that doesn’t work try clearing them for Google too. (Don’t clear cookies for the whole browser. It doesn’t work as well and could cause problems in your other tabs).

Reporting Device Error Issues

We take device error reports seriously because we know they are serious. But they’re also time consuming if we are constantly focusing on them when reported by users who do not follow the steps above. We have a lot we want to do for you, so please take the time to follow the guidelines above before reporting an issue, or at least accurately report what you’ve done and have not done so we’re not chasing a false flag. (Seriously, people have flat out lied to us saying they are using residential proxies because they want us to magically find a solution that does not require proxies. This doesn’t really help much and delays us being able to address issues. It’s not common, but please don’t send us on a wild goose chase based on false information). 

So, when reporting device error issues to the forum, please include the following: 

  1. Version number. Let us know what version the ‘Version Info’ button says in your browser and make sure the issues happened after the most recent update if there was one.
  2. Page link. Send at least one example and let us know if it’s isolated to that performer or sale specifically or if it’s more general. 
  3. Error Rate. 6 out of 10 errors, 20% error rate, etc. How long has it been happening? This helps us find the cause.
  4. Connection type. Proxies? Residential or dedicated? Provider? Mobile Hotspot? Same IP as the rest of your team is using? 
  5. Other: Page duplication method; are you logging in to early? Have your tried clearing cookies through the cookie cleaner?

The more users the provide full reports, the better so if another user has given a report, please add yours as a reply. 

What to do when it’s too bad to deal with

First of all, try rotating residential proxies. Many users never try and just keep complaining about device, to which we can only respond by asking what they expected to happen.

If you are using ROTATING RESIDENTIAL proxies (dedicated data center proxies will get errors almost all of the time) If they get really bad, or if we are currently working on new adjustments, we recommend you Insomniac for Firefox as sometimes you will see different results. After that, try Insomniac for Chrome.

Device errors are probably the most annoying issue from the recent past, but we’re here for you. Complete and accurate reports will help our engineers address them more quickly so we appreciate the time you take to provide them.

If you would like to report them, please see if someone else has in the past day or two and reply there, otherwise, you can start a new thread. Thanks!

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