Chrome: "The extension failed to load properly. It might not be able to intercept network requests."

[Truesh00ter]

I'm getting a big 'error' message in Chrome (Version 126.0.6478.127 (Official Build) (64-bit)) in the top right corner. Which points towards:

If I then open the extension page and press 'reload', nothing happens:

I have the Developer mode on ON and if I check out the console of the service worker I see no errors whatsoever:

I think I've been having this issue for a week or so now, but since I'm lazy I was counting on it that someone else was facing the same issue and would report it ;) but so far this looks more like a Chrome (Chromium) issue than a Privacy Badger.

If I lookup the error itself I find a broad spectrum of users with issues and 'tips' to solve it. If I specifically search for the error message and specify the last week the most relatable result is: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/798823/adblock-plus-in-google-chrome-failed-to-load-properly/

This issue probably gets closed (rightfully) but nevertheless I wanted to document it somewhere for future reference.

[ghostwords]

Hello and thank you for opening an issue!

This does sound like a Chrome bug. Does it help to visit chrome://extensions and then toggle Privacy Badger off and then back on?

[Truesh00ter]

This does sound like a Chrome bug. Does it help to visit chrome://extensions and then toggle Privacy Badger off and then back on?

I've also tried that, but forgot to mention it.

[Truesh00ter]

The closest I'm coming to something relatable is this: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=327980.msg1720566#msg1720566 which is also very recent. But that should've been solved by a new virus definition version of Avast which I also have applied.

[ghostwords]

Do you have other blockers installed in the same browser as Privacy Badger? Could you try temporarily disabling the other blocker extensions in chrome://extensions and then toggling Privacy Badger off and then back on?

[Truesh00ter]

Do you have other blockers installed in the same browser as Privacy Badger? Could you try temporarily disabling the other blocker extensions in chrome://extensions and then toggling Privacy Badger off and then back on?

I'm also running uBlock Origin 1.58.0, I've tried turning it off and on again ;) (while testing PB in between) but that didn't help either.

[ghostwords]

Does uninstalling and reinstalling help?

[Truesh00ter]

Does uninstalling and reinstalling help?

It does seem to remove the error (also exported/imported settings). I'll set a reminder and check back tomorrow and post results after a full system restart, thanks so far.

[Truesh00ter]

Seems fixed, no more errors. Solved by exporting settings, uninstalling, reinstalling and importing settings.