Reset or Clear Browser Cache and Cookies

Browser Cache & Cookies Guide

Why Clear Your Cache? Overview of browser caching and troubleshooting
Quick Hard Refresh Fast keyboard shortcuts for single-page reloads
Desktop Browsers Full clear & single-site instructions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Mobile Browsers Clear steps for iOS Safari & Android Chrome

Why Should I Clear My Cache and Cookies?

Your browser stores temporary files (cache) and session data (cookies) to make your web browsing faster. Over time, cached data can become outdated or corrupted, causing issues such as page layout errors, missing updates, or continuous login loops on services like Canvas, MYFAU, or Microsoft 365.

Quickest Method: Forced Cache Refresh (Hard Refresh)

If a single web page is misbehaving or not displaying recent updates, perform a hard reload to force your browser to fetch the newest version without clearing all your saved login credentials across other sites:

  • Windows / Linux (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave): Press Ctrl + F5 or Ctrl + Shift + R
  • Mac (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave): Press Cmd + Shift + R
  • Mac (Safari): Press Option + Cmd + E (clears cache), then Cmd + R to reload

Desktop Browsers

Note: Clearing all cookies will log you out of active accounts across most websites. The global key shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac).

  • Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge:
    1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac).
    2. Set the Time range to All time.
    3. Check "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files".
    4. Click Clear data.
  • Mozilla Firefox:
    1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac).
    2. Set Time range to clear to Everything.
    3. Check "Cookies" and "Cache".
    4. Click OK.
  • Apple Safari (macOS):
    1. In the top menu, go to Safari > Settings (or Preferences).
    2. Select the Privacy tab and click Manage Website Data...
    3. Click Remove All > Remove Now.
    4. To clear history: Select History > Clear History... > All History.

Clear data for just one problematic domain without signing out of your other active sites:

  • Chrome & Edge:
    1. Open the website you want to refresh.
    2. Click the tune/settings icon (or padlock icon) to the left of the URL in the address bar.
    3. Select Site settings.
    4. Click Clear data (or Delete data).
    5. Reload the page (F5 or Cmd + R).
  • Firefox:
    1. Click the padlock icon to the left of the address bar.
    2. Select Clear cookies and site data...
    3. Click Remove to confirm, then reload the page.
  • Safari (macOS):
    1. Go to Safari > Settings (or Preferences).
    2. Click Privacy > Manage Website Data...
    3. Search for the domain name in the search bar.
    4. Select it, click Remove, and reload the page.

Recommended if you are developing, testing web content, or normal shortcuts fail to refresh cached assets:

  1. Press F12 (or right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect).
  2. With Developer Tools open, right-click the Reload button next to the address bar.
  3. Choose Empty Cache and Hard Reload (or Hard Reload).

Instructions for Mobile Browsers

  • iPhone / iPad (Safari):
    1. Open the Settings app.
    2. Scroll down and tap Safari.
    3. Tap Clear History and Website Data.
    4. Tap Clear History and Data to confirm.
  • Android (Chrome):
    1. Open the Chrome app.
    2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner > History.
    3. Tap Clear browsing data...
    4. Set time range to All time.
    5. Check "Cookies and site data" and "Cached images and files".
    6. Tap Clear data.

Important: After clearing your browser data, close and reopen your browser completely before attempting to log in to FAU services again.

 

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