The Forced Encryption Upgrade
In a push for a more secure web, Google Chrome strongly prefers HTTPS (secure) connections over older, unencrypted HTTP connections. To enforce this, Chrome includes a feature called “HTTPS-First Mode.” When this is enabled, if you type an old `http://` address into the URL bar, or click a legacy link, Chrome will automatically intercept the request and redirect it to the `https://` version of the site. While this protects your data on 99% of the modern web, it completely breaks access to older legacy websites, local network devices (like older routers or NAS drives), or development servers that do not have SSL certificates installed, throwing a scary privacy warning instead of loading the page.
Disabling HTTPS-First Mode
To regain access to legacy, unencrypted websites on your local network or the broader internet, you must stop Google Chrome from automatically redirecting HTTP requests to HTTPS.
Open Google Chrome. Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner and select Settings. In the left-hand navigation menu, click on Privacy and security. In the main panel, click on the Security section to expand it. Scroll down until you find the “Advanced” heading. Underneath this, look for a toggle switch labelled Always use secure connections (Upgrade navigations to HTTPS and warn you before loading sites that don’t support it). If you are experiencing forced redirects on local IP addresses or legacy sites, this toggle is likely turned on. Click the toggle to switch it to the Off position (it will turn grey). Chrome will now respect the exact protocol you type in the address bar; if you explicitly request `http://`, it will load the unencrypted version without interference.