Solved Google sign in doesn't work on tablet running Android 6.0.1

deb10042

@Ayespy
Previously, my Xperia tablet was running Android version 4.1.1.
When trying to download from or even find the Vivaldi browser in the Google Play Store, it was not even there. So, I assume, Play Store identified my tablet's Android version as being too old and didn't even display Vivaldi in its shop.
Then I decided to do a factory reset on my tablet and then updated its OS to Android 6.0.1.
As soon as I did so, upon opening Google Play Store and searching for "Vivaldi", the browser showed up there and I was able to download and install it. That's why I assume that Android 6 seems to be supported for Vivaldi.
Basically, the Vivaldi browser seems to work quite normal, but the only issue is that I am not able to login to my Google account. So, on one side, compatibility seems to be in place as I was able to install from Google's App Store, on the other side, compatibility is missing, as I cannot login to Google

deb10042

@Gwen-Dragon
Unfortunately, when setting the Google account settings to usage of "less secure apps", it doesn't change anything.
As soon as I try to login to Google, the same error message appears.

deb10042

@Gwen-Dragon
Yes, I am running Chrome browser for Android in parallel on the same tablet.
In Chrome browser I am logged in to my Google account, while it doesn't work for Vivaldi browser.

deb10042

@Gwen-Dragon
I just created a bug report - issue reference VAB-2288

greybeard

I tried to login to my gmail on my Amazon Kindle Fire ver 6.3.1.5 = Android 7.1.2
Works OK, but that is unfortunately no help to you.
Sony, like Amazon, may have tweaked Android to something more in their liking. This is a possibility at least which may cause the issues you are experiencing.
Hopefully Mods or Devs can find a version equal to yours so the issue can be resolved.

mimismum

Ah! A fellow Xperia user.
I have tested and can confirm this issue in the latest Vivaldi Mobile (3.3.2030.28) on my Xperia Z2 Tablet (Android 6.0.1; SGP511 Build/23.5.A.1.291).

The issue does not really affect me as I use Chrome for all Google account related browsing and Duckduckgo+Kiwi+Viv for non-G browsing. But I also like to report I did not experience the same issue in Kiwi using incognito tab and could proceed to the next step to enter password. ( I did not proceed to actually sign in as I had no need).
Cheers, MM

samuvuo

@Gwen-Dragon said in Google sign in doesn't work on tablet running Android 6.0.1:

@deb10042 said in Google sign in doesn't work on tablet running Android 6.0.1:

In Chrome browser I am logged in to my Google account, while it doesn't work for Vivaldi browser.

Really weird effect.

It's not. Chrome is in the list of supported browsers, Vivaldi is not.

Supported browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer and Edge
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7675428?hl=en

samuvuo

In https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7675428?hl=en Google lists as supported browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer and Edge. So Vivaldi is not on the list, as we already knew.

The interesting thing is that while Vivaldi tries to pose as Chrome by omitting itself from the User-Agent string, the information seems to be available somehow.

I typed "show user agent" (without quotes) in DuckDuckGo and got an Instant Answer that showed my user agent as:

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 10; Redmi Note 8 Pro) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/85.0.4183.84 Mobile Safari/537.36 Vivaldi/3.3.2030.28

but if I go to whatismybrowser.com or any other sites showing the User-Agent, I get the same without the Vivaldi bit (in other words: the spoofing is successful).

So my guess is that whatever method DDG Instant Answer used, Google uses the same and knows you are using Vivaldi, not Chrome (or some other supported browser) and won't allow the log in.

samuvuo

I was reluctant to try logging in but tried it, eventually. I had no problem logging in with Vivaldi but I have Android 10, not 6.0.1.

I still find it weird if it was a problem with the Android version, though. Then again, it wouldn't be the first weird thing in this world

samuvuo

Silly me. DDG is a Vivaldi partner, so of course it gets to see the real user agent. This is set in base/vivaldi_user_agent_white_list.inc:

// List of domains that receive the user agen header with the Vivaldi/version
// string.
<snip>
// Vivaldi hosts
"vivaldi.com",
"vivaldi.net",

// This is so various test scripts will see Vivaldi in the user agent
"tests.viv.int",

// Partners with branding for Vivaldi
"duckduckgo.com",
"ecosia.com",
"ecosia.org",
"qwant.com",
"startpage.com",

// VB-64209: Videos on ted.com fail if we use the chrome user agent.
"ted.com",

So... Please ignore me thinking out loud, again

mimismum

@Gwen-Dragon
Since the bug has already been reported as VAB-2288, I just sent an email follow up to [email protected].

deb10042

The problem still exists.
Is there any news about a possibility of a fix?
Thanks!

deb10042

Currently, I'm using Vivaldi version 3.4.2066.108 on my Sony Xperia Z4 SGP712 tablet (OS: Android 7.1.1).
Here are some pictures, which I intentionally didn't do as screenshots, but by using a camera, in order to see, what happens on the tablet...

balachandarsmr

@deb10042 Enable this flag
chrome://flags/#freeze-user-agent

And disable always show desktop site in Vivaldi settings and try to sign in. You can change back to desktop mode after sign in.
If this didn't work enable chrome://flags/#freeze-user-agent in chrome and signin with non desktop mode. Google will ask you to verify this device.

deb10042

@balachandarsmr said in Google sign in doesn't work on tablet running Android 6.0.1:

Enable this flag
chrome://flags/#freeze-user-agent
And disable always show desktop site in Vivaldi settings and try to sign in. You can change back to desktop mode after sign in.
If this didn't work enable chrome://flags/#freeze-user-agent in chrome and signin with non desktop mode. Google will ask you to verify this device.

Wow, that worked! Thanks a lot for this solution
May I switch back the freeze-user-agent-flag after having successfully signed in?

balachandarsmr

@deb10042 freeze useragent means your device name and your original os won't show up in useragent header. It adds extra privacy. It doesn't create any problem.

LiberalerGenosse

Thanks! I had the same problem, after I changed my password for my google account yesterday. And I just needed to disable Desktop mode or whatever it's called (without even the need to freeze the user agent). I am German and based in Germany, so I may not know the exact terms.

krasemircho

@balachandarsmr Thanks. No flag, just by disabling the desktop site, and the Google Account login was successful.