net::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID - Forced HTTPS On Local IP Site

[OriginSaint]

Description of the issue:

Some time ago, unsure of when exactly, I stopped being able to access my Unraid server on my local network in Brave. It forces HTTPS, which I think is the main culprit, even when I have the Shield set to “Don’t upgrade HTTP connections”, but the issue persists even when Shields are down.

I cannot just hit “Advanced” and choose to continue anyway, as that interferes with Unraids own security expectations and I get a 404 error:

I tried enabling the localhost access experiment option, but that did nothing:

Unsure what to do next, but it’s becoming frustrating to have to use Edge or Chrome just to access an IP on my own local network. Any advice and assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Exact URL of the website in question:

192.168.50.91 / Belcher-Server.local - The local network access IP / hostname for my Unraid server.

Did the issue present with default Shields settings? (yes/no)

Yes.

Does the site function as expected when Shields are turned off?

No.

Is there a specific Shields configuration that causes the site to break? If so, tell us that configuration. (yes/no):

No.

Does the site work as expected when using Chrome?

Yes, and Edge.

Brave version (check About Brave):

1.79.118

[OriginSaint]

Small bump/update:

Also should mention the same thing is happening when I try to connect to my routers local IP configuration page:

Once again, connecting to it works just fine in every other browser, having Shields up or down makes no difference, and setting it to not upgrade HTTP connections to HTTPS also makes no difference.

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

Probably Brave Browser does not trust the TPLink Certificate Authority (“CA”) ← that is self-signed by TPLink.

Reading material

‘https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2598/’

‘https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/setting-certificate-authorities-firefox’

‘https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-add-a-trusted-certificate-authority-certificate-to-chrome-and-firefox/’

‘https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/stories/detail/1188’

[OriginSaint]

I’m not doubting that that’s true or may be true, but that only really addresses one of the two issues I’m encountering, and the bigger point, is this all used to work just fine. I’ve never needed to try to give Brave my CA’s or anything like that to access my router homepage or my media server before, it just worked.

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

‘This site cannot be reached - #6 by 289wk’

‘This site cannot be reached - #4 by 289wk’

[OriginSaint]

I did follow the steps on your second link before I posted here, actually. Found them when I was googling the issue. They did not manage to fix the issue unfortunately.

The first link that leads to the marked solution for that post doesn’t seem applicable to me, as I’m not on a Mac, this is Windows 11, and I don’t see anything like that Local Network access enable menu anywhere in my Windows settings.

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

Given that your local area network (“LAN”) (router’s) gateway IP address is 192.168.50.1

Exact URL address to Belcher-Server.local would most likely be one or more of:

• http://192.168.50.91
• http://Belcher-Server.local
• https://192.168.50.91
• https://Belcher-Server.local

When you PING Belcher-Server.local that should resolve locally and show in the results, that you are PING’ing 192.168.50.91

Test PING Belcher-Server.local - do you get that result - showing 192.168.50.91?

[OriginSaint]

Yes, that’s what I see:

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

OK. So, using another Internet browser, that browser succeeds at connecting to both:

• http://192.168.50.91
• http://Belcher-Server.local

But BB does not succeed (though it used to) ← correct?

[OriginSaint]

Yes, exactly. Here is Edge for example:

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

OK (and thanks for the screenshots).

Then the issue would most likely be one or both of:

• the TPLink certificate
• BB clinging to bad or old site data

I would disable the “Continue where you left off” setting, and in a BB New Window, go to the Advanced tab at brave://settings/clearBrowserData and clear for “All time”:

Exit / Quit everything and restart the computer ← trying to shake off the site data “dust”

Test the issue.

When that fails, if that fails, test by using a new BB user Profile. When that fails, if that fails, test a Brave Browser Beta installation . . . after you pause for something to drink and possibly a pizza.

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP PLUGING AWAY at making BB work.

While I would instead of the Brave Browser Beta test, use the Internet browser that works where BB fails. I have a TPLink router, and the moment it could not be administered via BB, I fell back to Firefox.

[OriginSaint]

I will give this a shot. Something of note I hadn’t thought to try earlier - Brave works fine IF I access the sites in a “private window” instead.

I’ll report back, and I appreciate the help!

[289wk]

@OriginSaint

Your private window finding - indicates a site data issue.

I use BB Private Browsing / Private Windows all the time, except when selecting some settings and / or testing some BB issues.

[OriginSaint]

Followed your steps, disabled Continue where you left off, cleared literally everything I could from the browsing data for all time, quit all of Brave, restarted my PC - issue persisted.

Didn’t test the new BB user profile (wasn’t sure how to do that), but I did test the Beta Browser and it worked fine there, but still not in the regular browser.

I think I’ve decided to avoid these issues and go back to using Vivaldi, but I do appreciate your help very much.