D2L: Troubleshooting D2L
- Tyler Kron-Piatek
On this page, you will find some tips on troubleshooting D2L. While these tips deal with D2L specifically, they can also be useful when troubleshooting other web-based software.
Tip #1: Clear your Browser History
Browsers typically save what are collectively known as "cookies" (also known as browser history or browser cache) to your computer. These cookies could be images, PDF documents, authentication tokens, and more, all in an effort to save you some time when you go back to a website. In rare instances, these cookies can interfere with the webpage and prevent it from loading, particularly if the cookies are old, and clearing out cookies can help. Click the links below to find out how to clear the cache for your particular browser.
Tip #2: Keep your Browser Up-To-Date
Like any software, generally for the best experience you want to keep your browsers up-to-date. Not only is this important from a security standpoint, but often websites like D2L have update schedules that are out of your control and may not work with older versions of browsers.
Tip #3: Have a Second Browser
While D2L does work with many different browsers, it prefers Chrome and only supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. However, updates to the browsers or D2L can make it so D2L does not play nicely when viewed, even on the supported browsers. It is always a good idea to have a second browser installed on your computer just to ensure that something funny is not going on with D2L (or any other website for that matter). Note: Safari is excluded from this list because it is the default browser for all Apple products and is unavailable for Windows. It is also usually updated automatically.
Tip #4: Try Accessing D2L on a Different Computer
Sometimes D2L just does not want to work on your computer. This could be due to a number of reasons including poor connection to the wifi/bad ethernet cable, use of a VPN, a program you recently downloaded, etc. Trying to access D2L on a different computer can help determine if it's simply your computer. You can try accessing D2L on any of the campus computers or simply ask a friend if they are able to access D2L. If you are able to access D2L from a different computer or your friend is able to, you may want to try restarting your computer and/or updating your computer.
Update Windows - Make sure you are using the correct Windows version!
Tip #5: Contact Helpdesk
If none of the above works, it is time to contact Helpdesk. In some cases, they may simply tell you to wait or they may tell you that, for whatever reason, D2L is down. Either way, it is important that you contact Helpdesk and inform them of the issue.