How to Fix Err_Cert_Authority_Invalid Error

El ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error is a warning error that appears regularly when network connections are not protected.

However, this does not mean that you are browsing a dangerous site, this error may be related to the browsers or the operating system. Windows 10.

For example, websites that do not have an SSL certificate, the certificate has not been updated, or the browser does not recognize the certificate, produce the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error to stay protected.

Also, this error may appear on all websites that do not have the SSL certificate installed.

To clarify your doubts, in this guide we are going to talk about the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error. You will get detailed information and you will know why it occurs and the possible solutions that you can apply.

What does the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error really mean?

This error is related to the network connection and is also known as SSL error. Although the problem also appears when the validity of a website's SSL certificate is not verifiable by the browser.

An unsecured website will not configure the certificate, and this error is more likely to appear over HTTP.

What causes this error?

The possible reasons for this error appearing on your screen are as follows:

• Expiration or outdated SSL certificate.
• The SSL certificate is self-signed and cannot be verified by the browser.
• The SSL certificate has been generated through untrusted sources.
• By local configuration settings in the browser.
• The antivirus you have installed is causing the problems.
• Browser extensions.
• The date and time settings are incorrect and are interfering with the browser's capabilities.

With this clear, you can now follow the instructions below to get a solution to this error.

How do I fix the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error?

Typically, users experiencing this error tend to use the Chrome browser, but this is not limited to this browser alone.

As we mentioned, you may get the error variations in all browsers. It doesn't matter which browser you use, the fixes will work in any case.

1.- Reload the page

In some cases, the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error may appear on your screen and go away on its own when you reload the page after a few minutes.

There are those who claim that this simple method worked for them.

So, you can test it. Just try to open the website in another window or incognito mode, if the page opens, most likely the error is due to the outdated version of the browser cache.

2.- Clear the cache and cookies

If you fix the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error when you migrate your browser to a private window, the problem is probably related to your browser cache.

For this reason, you must clear the cache and cookies to get everything working again. Please note that the steps vary from one browser to another.

Clear cache in Chrome

• Click on the Thee Dots option located in the upper right corner, locate the more tools option, a submenu will open where you have to press “clear browsing data, cache, cookies”.
• Press the button next to clear browsing data.

Seconds later, the Chrome browser cache will be empty.

Clear cache in Mozilla Firefox

• At the top right you have to click on the hamburger icon; select history, a menu will appear where you must choose the option to delete recent history.
• You can also press CTRL + SHIFT + DEL > to bring up a pop-up window. In the drop-down menu of the time range to clear, you have to choose Everything. Just check the cache box and click on clear now and everything will be deleted.

3.- Check date and time

Other major causes of the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error are incorrect date and time settings. Make sure to verify that both options are correct on your computer.

When the date and time are incorrect, it interferes with the browser's ability to verify the website's certificate.

So, follow these steps to update the date and time on your computer:

• In the system tray, right click on the system time, choose the adjust date/time option.
• A new window will appear on your screen, select the option that says synchronize now within synchronize clock, click on it.

• After this, Windows makes sure that the date and time are set correctly.

To avoid this problem, enable the option to set time automatically.

4.- Use a different network

When you are using a public network, you may more easily get the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error. Public networks do not route traffic securely and produce the error.

Therefore, if you get the error when using a network of this type, you can access the data through a mobile data network and check if the problem continues to appear.

If this is not the case, great, but if you get the error, switch to different networks, you can use a virtual private network (VPN) to protect your data, even when you access unsafe websites.

In this case, You can use an ExpressVPN connection, is one of the most advanced and is considered one of the most used services.

5.- Assign a DNS configuration

Other possible solutions for the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error are to assign the DNS settings.

Follow these steps to get it:

• Click on the Cortana icon > when you are in the search box you have to enter network and sharing center.
• In the left sidebar select where it says “change adapter settings”.

• Then, position yourself over the adapter that is active and right click > choose properties.
• After this, you must select the Internet Protocol version 4 > Properties section.

• Click where it says use the following DNS server address, type the public DNS servers Google (8.8.8/8.8.4.4/XNUMX; XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX)
• Save the new settings and reboot the system.
• Check if the error is resolved or if it continues to appear on the screen.

6.- Clear the SSL status of your computer

If you continue to receive the error when browsing the web, you can try clearing the SSL state of the system.

When you browse any website, your computer caches some copies of the certificates for these sites, so that verification is not performed every time you access them.

Sometimes SSL states or cache tend to get corrupted and you encounter errors. For this reason, to fix these invalid certificate authority errors you must do the following:

• Click where it says clear SSL state, close the window and reload the website.

Many users claim that this method has worked for them to fix the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error.

7.- Disable the antivirus

In case none of the solutions mentioned above work for you, another method you can apply is to disable the antivirus programs you have installed on your PC.

Also, if you are using a VPN, you should temporarily turn it off and try to access the website again and force refresh it, this way you can prevent the website from loading from the stored browser cache.

After you disable both programs, if the error stops appearing, you can enable the services once again and check if the problem appears or not.

Doing this allows you to find out the reason for the error, you can also contact the support team or simply update the application.

8.- Run an SSL server test

This solution is basically for website owners, in case you have installed an SSL certificate before the error occurred, something might have gone wrong during the setup process.

This happens when you install the certificate manually, so you need to verify the certificate and see if it was installed correctly.

• There are completely free SSL verification tools like Qualys SSL Labs. Within it you have to enter the domain where the error occurs and click where it says submit.
• Wait a few seconds and you will see the results, you will also get a score for the certificates, it should appear A+.
• In case your score is not perfect, you should go to the bottom of the screen where the list of certificates is, there you will see a section that shows whether your certificate is trusted or not.

When you get a negative score, you should install a certificate from trusted sources to fix the problem.

9.- Obtain a trusted authority certificate

This is important when you want to obtain an SSL certificate from a trusted authority.

If you are using a self-signed certificate, you will most likely see the invalid certificate authority error on your screen.

Fortunately for you, there are some websites that provide these certificates for free, but you must renew them frequently, while the Premium ones have more facilities such as encryption for multiple domains, greater security, and more.

10.- Renew your SSL certificate

To enhance the security of your computer, you need to renew your SSL certificate as often as possible.

The renewal process allows you to identify the identity of your domain. If you do not do so, the certificate will lose its validity and you may receive the error ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID.

When you use free certificates, you must renew them every 90 days, while Premium or paid certificates have a validity of one year.

Most web hosting providers let their users know when a certificate expires and when you need a manual one.

After you renew your certificate, you must reload the web portal again to verify that the error has disappeared.

Conclusions

As you can see, these solutions for the ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error are quite simple to implement.

While this is a somewhat unpleasant error, we recommend that you make sure to follow each of the fixes we have provided to you to the letter.

I hope this article works for you and you manage to solve this problem. If you have any advice or recommendations, feel free to leave them in our comments section. See you in our next guide.