Mobile site does not automatically redirect to desktop version (and not possible to use browser "use desktop view")
Open, MediumPublic
Actions

Assigned To

None

Authored By

	Parent5446
	Dec 13 2013, 12:10 AM

Description

This is something I could have sworn was reported previously, but I cannot find the bug for it.

Going to en.m.wikipedia.org from a desktop browser stays on the mobile site rather than redirecting back to the desktop version. This makes it extraordinarily inconvenient when somebody shares a mobile link and a desktop user follows it.

This also breaks the functionality in Google Chrome Mobile where you can check "Request desktop version".

Developer notes

Right now, Varnish checks whether user agent is mobile and then redirects to the mobile domain. We'd need to do something in the opposite direction.
This requires adding Varnish redirection to every mobile page view.
Varnish would need to run the same regular expression we use to detect mobile on the user agent on urls coming into the mobile domain and negate the result.
Not sure how practical this is and whether a performance issue since it would impact all page views.
Not been prioritised so haven't investigated.

Many people intentionally use the mobile site so we'd need to consider those users.

The mobile redirect code is here:
https://github.com/wikimedia/puppet/blob/production/modules/varnish/templates/text-frontend.inc.vcl.erb#L28

It seems "request desktop site" doesn't set any headers - all it does it set the user agent to a desktop user agent, so we can't explicitly distinguish users who have clicked "request desktop site" and users who want to to view mobile domain on desktop :-(

Details

Reference: bz58425

Related Objects

Mentioned In: T364675: Special:Nearby forces pages to open in desktop view
T253449: Not switching to mobile version by default on smartphone
T238644: "Mobile view" link needs to be at the top of a page, not the bottom.
T214998: RFC: Remove .m. subdomain, serve mobile and desktop variants through the same URL
T195331: Loading mobile links on desktop does not redirect to desktop site
Mentioned Here: T214998: RFC: Remove .m. subdomain, serve mobile and desktop variants through the same URL
T59127: user pref to bypass mobile redirection

Event Timeline

• bzimport raised the priority of this task from to Needs Triage.Nov 22 2014, 2:18 AM

• bzimport added a project: MobileFrontend-stable.

• bzimport set Reference to bz58425.

• bzimport added a subscriber: Unknown Object (MLST).

Parent5446 created this task.Dec 13 2013, 12:10 AM

bingle-admin wrote:

Prioritization and scheduling of this bug is tracked on Mingle card https://wikimedia.mingle.thoughtworks.com/projects/mobile/cards/1506

This is intended behavior - if you've accidentally ended up on mobile site, there's always a link back to desktop. However, mobile site is not restricted to mobile devices and there are even some people who prefer to use it from their PCs.

Bug 49653 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

(In reply to comment #2)

However, mobile site is not restricted
to mobile devices and there are even some people who prefer to use it from
their PCs.

I would think there are far more people who hate clicking links on sites like Reddit only to realise it's a mobile link.

Jdlrobson closed this task as a duplicate of T100701: User preference to force desktop version on larger mobile devices.Jun 10 2015, 9:52 PM

Task T59127: user pref to bypass mobile redirection doesn't seem to be a duplicate of this task, and having in mind, that some users (e.g. https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom;TicketID=9112721#) still would love to get this feature, I'll reopen this task.

Florian edited projects, added MobileFrontend; removed MobileFrontend-stable.Apr 23 2016, 3:30 PM

Florian removed a subscriber: • wikibugs-l-list.

MBinder_WMF added a project: Web-Team-Backlog.Apr 27 2016, 4:19 PM

dr0ptp4kt moved this task from Incoming to 2014-15 Q4 on the Web-Team-Backlog board.Aug 4 2016, 8:45 PM

Aklapper lowered the priority of this task from Medium to Low.Dec 24 2016, 1:27 PM

Jdlrobson merged a task: T59127: user pref to bypass mobile redirection.Apr 13 2017, 8:29 PM

Jdlrobson added subscribers: jayvdb, StudiesWorld, Aklapper and 8 others.

Jdlrobson merged a task: T163649: Detect desktop browser and redirect to desktop website when opening a m.wp link.Apr 24 2017, 2:07 PM

Jdlrobson added a subscriber: The_RedBurn.

Jdlrobson moved this task from 2014-15 Q4 to Tracking on the Web-Team-Backlog board.Jun 29 2017, 9:18 PM

Jdlrobson edited projects, added Web-Team-Backlog (Tracking); removed Web-Team-Backlog.

Jdlrobson moved this task from Untriaged to Discuss further on the Web-Team-Backlog (Tracking) board.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/skip-mobile-wikipedia/

Krenair awarded a token.May 19 2018, 8:14 PM

pmiazga mentioned this in T195331: Loading mobile links on desktop does not redirect to desktop site.May 28 2018, 7:52 PM

pmiazga merged a task: T195331: Loading mobile links on desktop does not redirect to desktop site.

pmiazga added subscribers: Zillionair1, pmiazga, ovasileva.

We should reconsider this task. Now Minerva is a separate skin and can be used without a mobile domain.

Jdlrobson merged a task: T205792: Mobile browsing: The ".m." in the domain should be removed when requesting the desktop site.Oct 1 2018, 6:19 PM

Jdlrobson added a subscriber: Soluvo.

The fact that we don't honor "Request desktop domain" requests annoys me. I think there is something we can do to check headers. I'll have an investigate.

Jdlrobson updated the task description. (Show Details)Oct 1 2018, 6:35 PM

Volker_E subscribed.Oct 1 2018, 6:38 PM

jhsoby awarded a token.Oct 2 2018, 12:04 AM

Jdlrobson renamed this task from Mobile site does not automatically redirect to desktop version to Mobile site does not automatically redirect to desktop version (and not possible to use browser "use desktop view").Nov 5 2018, 3:38 PM

Jdlrobson raised the priority of this task from Low to Medium.

Jdlrobson merged a task: T208699: Remove .m from url on desktop view.

Jdlrobson added a project: Puppet.

Jdlrobson added subscribers: Capankajsmilyo, xSavitar.

Capankajsmilyo awarded a token.Nov 5 2018, 4:21 PM

Capankajsmilyo rescinded a token.

Capankajsmilyo awarded a token.

Jdlrobson mentioned this in T214998: RFC: Remove .m. subdomain, serve mobile and desktop variants through the same URL.Feb 5 2019, 10:11 PM

In T60425#604115, @MaxSem wrote:

This is intended behavior - if you've accidentally ended up on mobile site, there's always a link back to desktop. However, mobile site is not restricted to mobile devices and there are even some people who prefer to use it from their PCs.

Why do you think there are people who prefer to use the mobile site on their PCs? I can't seem to find any information on desktop users preferring to use the mobile site.

Why do you think there aren't such users?

After a few minutes of searching:

Aklapper mentioned this in T238644: "Mobile view" link needs to be at the top of a page, not the bottom..Nov 19 2019, 12:00 PM

Jdlrobson moved this task from Inbox to Tracking on the User-Jdlrobson board.Mar 2 2020, 10:49 PM

Gloin_Oin subscribed.Apr 10 2020, 5:40 AM

Jdlrobson mentioned this in T253449: Not switching to mobile version by default on smartphone.Jul 23 2020, 9:05 PM

Jdlrobson moved this task from Backlog to Tracking on the MobileFrontend board.Jul 24 2020, 2:42 AM

Jdlrobson edited projects, added MobileFrontend (Tracking); removed MobileFrontend.

Jdlrobson merged a task: T262787: While viewing Wikipedia page on Mobile, selecting "Desktop site" from browser menu does not switch to Desktop site.Sep 17 2020, 7:02 PM

Jdlrobson added a subscriber: Arjunaraoc.

Aklapper added a project: Infrastructure-Foundations.Jun 21 2021, 9:00 PM

Bugreporter merged a task: T285829: Automatic redirect from cell-phone site.Jun 30 2021, 7:24 AM

Bugreporter added a subscriber: Ran_Cohen.

Rummskartoffel subscribed.Aug 6 2021, 9:56 AM

Jdlrobson moved this task from Discuss further to Move to Backlog on the Web-Team-Backlog (Tracking) board.Dec 7 2021, 7:34 PM

Jdlrobson edited projects, added Web-Team-Backlog; removed Web-Team-Backlog (Tracking).Dec 7 2021, 7:45 PM

Jdlrobson moved this task from Tracking to Incoming on the Web-Team-Backlog board.

Jdlrobson moved this task from Incoming to Tracking on the Web-Team-Backlog board.Dec 7 2021, 7:50 PM

ovasileva removed a project: Web-Team-Backlog.Feb 10 2022, 3:21 PM

There's already a mobile redirect code, with a cookie check for people who never want to be redirected to the mobile version (stopMobileRedirect, set when we click on the Desktop version link at the bottom).

So it seems easy to also do the opposite when the mobile redirect code doesn't match and the current version is the mobile version. A cookie would also be checked (stopDesktopRedirect) and set when we click on the Mobile version link at the bottom of the page.

Jdlrobson merged a task: T315251: "Request Desktop Website" Safari iOS browser setting ignored; shows mobile site instead.Aug 15 2022, 9:38 PM

Jdlrobson added a subscriber: Proeksad.

In my view, that hares magically turn into the river (Opera, iOS 15, redirects https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lièvre - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lièvre, https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Зайцы - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Зайцы and etc), this is not very good. For example, in Firefox requests correct.

Many readers and editors are having problems with redirecting to desktop version. Some of them even tried to cut "m." every time (https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=&diff=prev&oldid=124804001).

Iniquity awarded a token.Aug 17 2022, 12:47 AM

Iniquity subscribed.

In T60425#5179124, @MaxSem wrote:

Why do you think there aren't such users?

After a few minutes of searching:

https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/2hpxr8/the_mobile_version_of_wikipedia_looks_better_in/

https://lifehacker.com/use-wikipedias-mobile-site-for-easier-split-screen-rese-1562962205

https://www.designernews.co/stories/67798-using-mobile-wikipedia-on-desktop-is-a-much-better-experience

Considering that a new vector is being developed, all these cases can be ignored :)

(Update )The "Request desktop site" feature is a little misleading. In browsers it sets a desktop user agent, which is designed to change the viewport setting for a page and make a responsive page un-responsive. It is not designed for switching from a mobile to desktop domain.

I think this ticket should be merged into T214998 ( to avoid fragmenting the conversation) or marked as invalid, as it's based on the assumption that the browser feature is not working and it's simple to fix, when that's far from the truth.

I see it was voted on in the wishlist so please see T214998#4929700 onwards for making progress towards potential solutions.

Izno merged a task: T338746: Sometimes, even if it is checked, the address requesting the desktop version of the website to visit the desktop version will still jump to the mobile version of the interface.Jun 11 2023, 5:55 PM

Izno added a subscriber: • I.

jbond removed a project: Infrastructure-Foundations.Nov 13 2023, 3:48 PM

Tonymetz subscribed.Apr 28 2024, 10:04 PM

Jdlrobson mentioned this in T364675: Special:Nearby forces pages to open in desktop view.May 14 2024, 7:31 PM