Fix: Google Certificate Error

As we all know, browsers exchange information only if they possess certain digital certificates. Take Google Chrome as an example; it only exchanges information if it has valid certificates and the receiving device also has the required certificates. If any of those certificates are incomplete or go astray, Chrome will display an error telling you that either the certificate is invalid or incomplete.

There are several reasons why this might occur on your computer. It can be because of time, certificate revocation settings etc. We have listed down all the solutions to solve this issue. Take a look.

Solution 1: Checking your Computer’s Time

Web browsers always take into account the computer’s time when they are transferring data. This is necessary to keep records of when what information was accessed. Furthermore, they are also used as a time stamp. If your computer’s time is not set correctly, you might experience the certificates error. First, we will check if the time is correct and then make sure that Windows Time service is up and running.

1. Press Windows + R, type “control” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in control panel, select “Date and Time” or “Clock and Region” according to the type of control panel selected.

3. Once the clock is opened, click “Change date and time”. Now set the correct time and also select the correct region.

4. Press ‘Apply’ after implementing all the changes and check if you can successfully start browsing the website without any errors.

Also, if you are unable to use the option “Set time zone automatically” or Windows is giving weird behavior upon changing time, you can make sure that Windows Time is up and running. This is Window’s own time service and makes sure that the time is uniform in all cases.

1. Press Windows + R, type “services.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in services, look for the service “Windows Time”. Right-click it and select “Properties”.
3. Now make sure that the startup type is set to Automatic and if the service is stopped, get it back running by pressing Start.

4. Restart your computer and check if the problem got solved.

Solution 2: Changing Certificate Revocation Settings

A certificate revocation list is a list of digital certificates which have been revoked by the certificate authority before their scheduled expiration date and should no longer be trusted. There is a setting in Windows which allows the operating system to revoke certificates and also check for publisher’s certificate revocation. We will disable this feature and see if this solves the problem for us.

1. Press Windows + R, type “inetcpl.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Click on the Advanced tab and uncheck the options “Check for publisher’s certificate revocation” and “Check for server certificate revocation”.

3. Press Apply to save changes and exit. Restart your computer and reload the page. Check if this problem got solved.

Solution 3: Disabling Antivirus Software/Third-party programs

There are several antivirus software which provides an additional layer of security to your browser. This extra layer of security might sometimes conflict with the existing layers in the browser and thus cause the error message under discussion.

In this solution, you have to explore yourself and see if there are any settings in your antivirus which might be proving that extra layer. Basically, you are looking for anything which monitors your internet activity.

There are also several third-party applications which attempt to intercept your network activity. You can try disabling or uninstalling these programs such as CCleaner etc. Press Windows + R, type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter. Here all the apps will be listed. Identify which might be giving the problem. Right-click and select Uninstall. Restart your computer and try accessing the website again.

If you are unable to still fix the problem, you can disable the antivirus completely. You can check our article on How to Disable your Antivirus. Restart your computer after disabling and see if you can access the sites without any problem.

Solution 4: Reinstalling Chrome

If all the above methods don’t work out, you can try reinstalling Chrome. This will remove all the current files and folders of the application and force to install new files when you install the whole package. Remember to backup all your bookmarks and important data before following this solution. Hopefully, all the existing configurations will be wiped clean and our error will be solved.

1. You can download the latest installation file of Google Chrome by navigating to the official website.

2. Press Windows + R, type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
3. Search for Google Chrome through all the applications, right-click it and select “Uninstall”.

4. Now launch the installation executable and follow the on-screen instructions for the installation.

In addition to the above methods, you can also try:

• Creating a new user profile and check if you can access all the sites without any problems there.
• Disable any type of third-party application which may be interfering. Close all background tasks.
• Disable VPN connections and make sure your network is working perfectly.

If the error persists on a normal website (normal website means websites which are not giants like others such as Google, Youtube etc.), it probably means the problem with the server side. Here you cannot do anything except notify the owner so he can change the configurations to fix the issue.