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DeeArcy
Contributor ⭐
September 3, 2026

Request Header or Cookie Too Large Error

Since the last conversation was closed without resolution, I would like to open this up again. I am now getting the error message on both Google Chrome and Apple Safari, where before it was just Chrome. It is NOT an issue of clearing cache. My Macbook just rebooted and I’m getting this error on both browsers now. I have a background/career in software development and I know this can be fixed by a programmer if they would just be assigned the task. Also note that this happens only on the Daily Puzzle that I”ve seen. The Mini Crossword page that I also do every day is working fine, if that helps the developer. 

 

 

    4 replies

    DeeArcyAuthor
    Contributor ⭐
    October 12, 2026

    I have a workaround that seems to work. According to Google: 

    What Causes the Error?

    • Oversized or Corrupted Cookies: Every time you visit a website, your browser sends saved cookies along with the request. If a site accumulates too many cookies or a specific cookie becomes corrupted, the combined size of the request header goes over the server's limit (often 8KB on servers like Nginx).

    How to Fix It

    • Clear site data: Delete the cookies and cache specifically for the website giving you trouble.
        
    • In Safari (Mac): Go to Safari > Settings (or Preferences) > Privacy > Manage Website Data, then search for and remove the data for that specific site (or remove all).
        
    • In Chrome / Edge (Mac): Click the icon in the address bar that looks like two opposing slide switches (to the far left of the address) > Cookies and site data > Manage On-device site data > delete the "stayingsharpgames" domain's entry.

    Your Chrome page may look different depending on the version and device. The above was for Mac. This is a possible solution for a laptop running Windows: 
    • In Chrome on a PC: Click the small padlock icon to the left of the website URL in the address bar > select Cookies and site data (or Site settings) > clear the data for that domain.

    AARPCK
    AARPCK
    Community Manager
    September 30, 2026

    Hi @DeeArcy, I wanted to follow up since we did have our internal team and QA look into the issue you reported with the Daily Puzzle. 

    They tested the game but were unable to reproduce the error you’re seeing. Based on their testing, the Daily Puzzle is currently running as expected. 

    One possibility they could not completely rule out is an interaction with an ad blocker or browser privacy settings that may differ from the settings used during testing. If you use an ad blocker, you may want to temporarily disable it for AARP.org to see if that makes a difference. 

    I know this doesn’t explain why you’re seeing the error, but I wanted to close the loop and let you know we investigated your report. Thank you for taking the time to provide the details and screenshot.

    DeeArcyAuthor
    Contributor ⭐
    October 5, 2026

    Hey, thanks for your follow up and attention. All I can say is that I play three AARP games every day: Daily Puzzle, Mini Crossword and Daily Crossword. This issue has presented only with Daily Puzzle. And it happens only in Google Chrome. It did happen in Safari but resolved with a reboot. I do not have any ad blocker programs running. At times rebooting has helped, but only temporary. And finally at certain random times, the page would appear to load, I’d get the AARP banner at the top with a generic “An error occurred...” message. Then, when I refresh the page, I’d get the “400 Bad Request” message with no AARP banner, so it’s being stopped even before AARP page load. Hope this helps.

    SereneSeagull
    SereneSeagull
    Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
    September 3, 2026

    Please work for them ​@DeeArcy .  Pretty please. 👍

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