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mozilla thinks i'm in USA, but I'm UK how do I change it?

  • 15 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by John99

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I will not use google as they are getting more intrusive, so this applies to mozilla firefox, mozilla thinks i'm in USA, but I'm UK how do I change it? when viewing uk sites and looking at offers I get messages that say I'm in USA and the offer is UK only. all browsing either duckduckgo, yahoo or others always results in USA search in dollars and links to USA Ebay!

How do I fix it?

I will not use google as they are getting more intrusive, so this applies to mozilla firefox, mozilla thinks i'm in USA, but I'm UK how do I change it? when viewing uk sites and looking at offers I get messages that say I'm in USA and the offer is UK only. all browsing either duckduckgo, yahoo or others always results in USA search in dollars and links to USA Ebay! How do I fix it?

Chosen solution

Hi Linuss & olddivedog If you are still watching this.

The default DuckDuckGo DDGis loosely based on Yahoo searches and like most search engines it has settings to change the search results. Above your webpage search results and next to DDG's own search bar is an icon with a dropdown list to Filter by Region, use that to select United Kingdom, the icon then switches to a Union Flag with a slider to toggle the filter on and off.

Other alternatives are to specifically add other search engines.

Note also you may install a en-GB version of Firefox. One of the things you will then notice is that not all language versions of Firefox have the dictionary installed by default so go to the add-ons and search for a British dictionary.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (15)

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Hi olddivedog Have you tried going to preferences ->content and changing your default language?

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Thanks Liamkenn, No I had not checked that but was set to English en, I changed it to English US restarted Firefox, changed it back to EN restarted again but unfortunately no change, all searches are .com no .co.uk and ebay sites are rover/ebay.com

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You can use websites like these to see how your location is reported via a reverse DNS look up of your IP:

You can check the connection settings.

If you do not need to use a proxy to connect to internet then try to select "No Proxy" if "Use the system proxy settings" or one of the others do not work properly.

See "Firefox connection settings":

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies from websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Options/Preferences).

"Clear the Cache":

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove the Cookies" from websites that cause problems.

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > "Use custom settings for history" > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
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Hi olddivedog just seen your original question. I've had the same problem with search engines since a Firefox update removed my McAfee security search engine. I'm currently using DuckDuckGo which is ok but, as I too live in the UK, want to be shown UK retailers/sellers not US, Canadian, european sites. I don't even get as far as viewing UK sites. All I want is to be able to go to co.uk sites initially. Did you ever receive an answer to correct this problem? Regards Linuss 28.8.16

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Chosen Solution

Hi Linuss & olddivedog If you are still watching this.

The default DuckDuckGo DDGis loosely based on Yahoo searches and like most search engines it has settings to change the search results. Above your webpage search results and next to DDG's own search bar is an icon with a dropdown list to Filter by Region, use that to select United Kingdom, the icon then switches to a Union Flag with a slider to toggle the filter on and off.

Other alternatives are to specifically add other search engines.

Note also you may install a en-GB version of Firefox. One of the things you will then notice is that not all language versions of Firefox have the dictionary installed by default so go to the add-ons and search for a British dictionary.

Modified by John99

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Oh Eureka John 99. At long, long last, following your instructions my search engines now show websites for UK, e.g. moneysupermarket.com is a UK based comparison site. When I typed it into the search box, that site and numerous others for the UK ending in co.uk came up. Am I a happy person. Now I can relax when browsing. Once again so many thanks for your very quick and oh so useful knowledge.

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Hi  olddivedog   (if you're still whatching this),
Would you please be so kind as to mark   John99's   answer as   Chosen Solution,  so others will know and can benefit from it   ?
Thank you   !

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Hi Happy112 this is Linuss. I'm still a novice computer user even though my youth has now passed me by and I've had many years using computers. My question to your query to olddivedog is - "Does this mean that, by replying to John99, I have somehow marked his answer as Chosen Solution?" If I did can you tell me how I did it so that I'll know if I have to ask for help again. Many thanks in advance of your assistance. P.S. the time now in UK is 1905 hrs, i.e. five past seven on a Sunday evening

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Linuss said

Hi Happy112 this is Linuss. I'm still a novice computer user even though my youth has now passed me by and I've had many years using computers. My question to your query to olddivedog is - "Does this mean that, by replying to John99, I have somehow marked his answer as Chosen Solution?" If I did can you tell me how I did it so that I'll know if I have to ask for help again. Many thanks in advance of your assistance. P.S. the time now in UK is 1905 hrs, i.e. five past seven on a Sunday evening

Hi   Linuss,
John99's   instructions solved your problem, didn't they   ?
Olddivedog   (the one who posted the question to begin with)   had the same problem, so, one can only assume that his/her problem is solved as well.
But only   he/she   can mark this as   Chosen Solution,   hence my request.
You mentioned the time:   well, over here in the Netherlands it's   20.36hrs   (or 8.36PM) right now.
Anything else you want to know:   all you have to do is ask;   that's why we're here.
Enjoy the rest of your evening   !

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We only allow a person asking a question to mark it as solved. (Mods or Admins can change: add or remove the marking of solutions, but will only do so only in exceptional circumstances - for instance the chosen solution is potentially dangerous or malicious).

For all we know the OP olddivedog may have had a malware problem, or have been using a satellite connection from a dive boat for instance. We have no idea if any of these answers helped, or even whether they were seen.

We suggest those want an answer ask their own question that way we know what answers work IF they get back to us. Those questions may then be marked solved by the person asking the question. It is only such solved questions that show in basic internal searches, or external Google or DDG searches.

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What I was hoping to achieve with my request to   olddivedog   (in case he/she is still following this), that he/she would let us know if   John99's   answer did indeed solve the problem.
In that case:   by marking   John99's   answer as   Chosen Solution   others might benefit from it.

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This is a message for Happy112 and John99. I do appreciate your time and information on how to proceed with queries when they have helped.

I had completely forgotten that I had posted my first and only query to the forum in 2013. When I checked my emails (yes I do keep all relevant emails no matter what date they are) I found my query that I had not 'Marked as Solved'. I had left it open for other forum users - then completely forgot to contact the forum that it was solved. i have now replied to that email because my query had been archived and I couldn't 'Mark as Solved' from the email.

Once again, very many thanks for everyone's assistance Linuss

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Linuss said

This is a message for Happy112 and John99. Once again, very many thanks for everyone's assistance Linuss

You are such a sweet man;   you sure put a great, big smile upon my face   !
Have a lovely day   !

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Many thanks John99, I was on holiday and came back to find a solution that seems to work fine, that got rid of my post holiday blues. Again thanks for a sensible solution

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Great, glad to know it worked, so thanks for posting back to let us know.

We do often need to guess somewhat when proposing solutions because we are rarely sure what the actual solution will be for an individual problem or what has already been tried.