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"Error 400 Bad Request" When Using Blogger / BlogSpot

In terms of vague, monolithic error messages, I don't know of a more mysterious error. The referential WikiPedia article List of HTTP status codes tells us simply
The request contains bad syntax or cannot be fulfilled.
The relevant clue here may be that "4nn" errors are "Client Request" errors.

If you Google for information, you'll get dozens of supposed explanations. Here, a sample:
The problem with the Error 400 is that it is seen in very low volume - maybe 1 or 2 reports / week. It's consistent in volume - we simply don't see an affinity.


If you're seeing this, first try one of the most universally prescribed nostrums in Blogger land - clear cache, cookies, and active logins, and restart the browser. An alternative would be to try using a different browser - if this helps, you could rule out your computer in general, your Internet service, and Blogger in general being the primary cause of the problem.


Next, help us to help you and others - and answer as much as possible. Partial answers are better than no answers.
  • What are you doing - are you using Blogger (maintaining your blog), BlogSpot (viewing a blog), or a non BlogSpot URL (also viewing a blog, but one published externally)?
  • Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error? If so, are you logged in using a GMail based Google account, or a non GMail based account?
  • What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using? Do you have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed?
  • What anti-malware / anti-virus / personal firewall product do you use?
  • Where are you located (city, county / region / state, and country are useful here)?
  • What ISP do you use? Does your ISP offer any bandwidth enhancement, download accelerator, or speed increasing option?
  • How often do you see this error? How often do you not see this error? When did you start seeing this error?
  • If the problem goes away mysteriously, you could tell us that, later, too.
    • Seeing a report "I am having this problem." is good.
    • Seeing two reports - "I am having this problem.", later followed by "I am now not having this problem.", is better.
    • Seeing two reports - "I am having this problem.", later followed by "I am now not having this problem - and this is what I know changed recently:", is better still.
    Again, help us to help you.


(Update 2011/06/30): Today, we are seeing a significant increase in Error 400 and related symptoms, reported from some portion of the Blogger community.

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Comments

Unknown said…
•What are you doing?
--trying to upload pictures to a post.
•What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using?
IE 8
•Where are you located (city, state, and country appreciated)?
Anchorage, AK
•What ISP do you use?
GCI.
•How often do you see this? How often do you not see this?
I have seen it every single time I try to load pictures. It has been two weeks.
Tabitha said…
Trying to upload pics to my blog via blogger, Internet Explorer, LaCrosse, WI, Centurytel, I've had this error every time I've tried to upload pictures for the last 2 weeks. Really want some help! Thanks-
trying to upload pics to a new post, happened yesterday four time for the same group of photos and today again once.

iMac OSX 10.5.6

los angeles, ca

time-warner cable

several times in the last few days
Nikhil Mahajan said…
The error frequently occurs while publishing a new post or editing an existing one. On refressh, everything becomes normal, but as I move on to publishing a new post, it again appears out.
electronicfly said…
* What are you doing - Trying to upload photos on Blogger

* What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using? - Firefox 3.5.2 on Windows XP

* Where are you located (city, state, and country appreciated)? - Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.

* What ISP do you use? - TM

* How often do you see this? - Every time the past week.

How often do you not see this? - Never before this week
rebecca said…
What are you doing - I get the error when I post a blog entry - either a new entry or after I edit an entry.

What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using? IE

Where are you located (city, state, and country appreciated)? Moorpark, California, USA

What ISP do you use? AT&T

How often do you see this? How often do you not see this? It happens at least half the time when I publish a blog post. When I get the message, the post and/or the edits to my post still appear on my blog, I just have to get through the error screen first.

Also, when I try to post a picture using Picasa "BlogThis!" button, I get script errors (or no error message, it just doesn't work) every single time. I have not been able to use "BlogThis!" for months now. Both problems began at the same time.
ROLLERWRITER said…
Every time I go to post a new blog entry I am getting the "bad request" page. I use Comcast. Have been noticing message for 2 weeks, each time I post.
electronicfly said…
* What are you doing - Trying to upload photos on Blogger

* What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using? - Firefox 3.5.2 on Windows XP

* Where are you located (city, state, and country appreciated)? - Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.

* What ISP do you use? - TM

* How often do you see this? - Every time.

How often do you not see this? - Never before this week


Update for my case: Only happens when I use this account, but I can upload photos perfectly with another account. Not tried another PC yet though.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THIS!? I GET IT EVERYTIME i POST ....IT KEEPS TALKING ABOUT SOME CRAP BUT THE SERVER RETURNED BAD 400
Hemingway said…
I ran into this error for the first time today while updating my music score library.

Individual composer pages posted fine, but my cumulative page "Recent Additions (sorted by posting date)" returned the error when I tried to save it. I observed that I was able to change the posting date of the original file (without updating its content). Then I was able to create a new post with the new information for today's postings.

My conclusion is: There is a size limit to individual posts. Exceed this limit and you get the "Bad Request. Error 400" message. This would explain why it happens so much when adding a photo to the post. If the photo is too large, your post exceeds the limit.
Jelena said…
I'm getting this error practically every time I publish a new post. This has been going on for several months already. Most of the time the blog gets published regardless. There was no such problem before the Blogger look was updated some time ago.

I'm using IE 7.0.5730.13 with XP (SP3). Comcast in Maryland. Same error occurs on my other PC at work, which also has XP/IE7.
Evil Genus said…
• What are you doing – trying to post to a blog I am a member of or trying to sign in
• What browser and operating system Windows XP and IE 7.0
• Where are you located Miami, FL USA
• What ISP do you use? Comcast DSL
• How often do you see this? How often do you not see this? Never saw it until today, now I am having problems on multiple computers when trying to post
On another note, is that on my gmail I have been for the past week getting 008 errors when trying to send emails. Strangely when I sign out the drafts are sent…
Aaron Jansen said…
Hey, I'm in Saigon using IE8 with Vista, and I'm getting a ton of these messages. Usually it's when I try to edit a post. I'll continue to get the error every time I press "Publish" but usually after the third or fourth attempt the changes will actually be made, in spite of the error message, so in this way I've been able to work around it.

I have no idea what ISP I'm using right now (whatever wireless the hotel provides), so that could very well be a contributing factor.
Maya said…
1) I was viewing Blogger blogs and trying to comment on them (I'm assuming this means published externally?)
2) I was logged in to Blogger, using a GMail based account.
3) I was using Safari with the OS 10.4.11. I don't believe I have any ad-ons like that installed.
4) No firewall product and I don't think I have any anti-virus programs installed, either. I have a Mac.
5) North Bay Area, CA, USA
6) I use Comcast, wireless, not sure about bandwidth enhancements.
7) I got this error for the first time about 10:00 last night. It's now 2:40 the next afternoon and I still can't comment on any Blogger blogs or even access blogger.com or my own Blogger blog.

When I tried using Firefox right now I was able to comment on the blogs (I was not able to last night; I didn't get any error, but nothing I typed showed up).
山頂2号 said…
It reoccured when I was editing a post on my blog (blogspot).
I could not save as draft, tried several times, then I tried to open it in a new tab, then it appears again, 'bad request, error 400'. Since then, every blogspot/blogger blogs i opened has 'b r' on top left corner.
It seems to have disappeared as I clear all my recent history from the browser.
Very annoying.
What was I doing: Initially posting a blog and then after getting the first error I couldn't even access blogger.com without getting the error
Browser : Seamonkey v2.0.2
Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom

Never had an issue with seamonkey and blogger before. Used other browsers to see if it was a common problem and it worked fine on Firefox and Avant. Left it a few hours and problem persisted on Seamonkey. Cleared out cache, cookies browsing history the lot and the problem was solved.

I hppe this helps.
Nitecruzr said…
Thanks, Devil.

I think that you're maybe the third person who has mentioned clearing cache, cookies, maybe authenticated sessions as having an effect here. I'm adding that recommendation, in a more obvious display.
Dozka said…
What are you doing - viewing my blog.

Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error? No. There is a Bad Request sign on the top left of the page. But I cannot see the top navigation bar either to even log in.

If so, are you logged in using a GMail based Google account? No.

What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using? Safari 4.0.4. However, The same error does not happen when I'm using Firefox 3.0.10

Do you have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed? Not sure. I'm on a Mac - no additional enhancements installed.

What anti-malware / anti-virus / personal firewall product do you use? Not sure. I'm on a mac - no additional installed.

Where are you located (city, county / region / state, and country are useful here)?
New York City

What ISP do you use? Does your ISP offer any bandwidth enhancement, download accelerator, or speed increasing option?
Time Warner

How often do you see this error? How often do you not see this error? When did you start seeing this error?
Started seeing it weekend just gone. I see it everyday, everytime in Safari on my blog and every blog associated with Blogspot. But not in Firefox. I have cleared cache and all history - it's still there.

Please help!
BLHcollection said…
-----------
I have a theory regarding the mysterious appearance of "Error 400":

THE ERROR OCCURS WHEN THERE ARE TOO MANY BYTES IN EACH POST.
---------------------------------------------

Although google says Blogger doesnot have a word/size limit per post. I find that whenever I post a very long paragraph of txt (book length), or a very large picture/multiple pictures.

Here is what happened to me:
I was pasting a very long story to one post (copied from one website), and the error occurred. I tried to delete the formatting of the text (e.g. make it plain txt, rich txt, html, etc.) and copy again, the same error still occurs.

However, when I cut my story to 3 pieces and tried to post 1/3 of it, the post was published no problem. -- so it seems that it is the length/size of the post content that determines whether you encounter an "error 400". --At least this is one of the reason.

GOOGLE needs to check whether there is an implicit word/byte limit to each post!!!!!

It is ridiculous that so many supposedly smart people cannot figure out such a simple error!!!
Nitecruzr said…
THE ERROR OCCURS WHEN THERE ARE TOO MANY BYTES IN EACH POST.

I don't think this is the sole cause, as there are too many people reporting it (intermittently), and you are the first who has explicitly noted a long post.

"Error 400" is a transient problem. If you see it now, and don't see it later, it could be similar to my cure for wandering elephants.
BLHcollection said…
Thanks chuck!
Just to clarify: I am not saying that "byte size limit" is the sole cause of "error 400". But as I mentioned in my last post, I am pretty certain it caused my problem.

I have experimented several times: when a article is very long (in my case 112,489 characters), I saw the error consistently. However, when I post only part (e.g. 1/3) of the article--all other things held constant--I can publish successfully with no problem.

I know ppl encounter the error 400 in various scenarios, and fixing the "implicit byte limit restrict" alone won't solve all "error 400" problems. However, at least it is a place to start. I hope Blogger.com still address this issue. As you said "error 400" is a complicated problem, one cannot expect the problem being solved by just one fix, however, the technical team should not ignore an obvious possible cause either just because it doesn't concern everyone. For instance, I think getting rid of the byte limit will at least help a portion of the "error 400" victims.
Anonymous said…
I'm encountering the error 400 when I try to use the "follow" gadget on anyones blog, the minute I click on the follow button I get the error 400. I can't even follow my own blog! not sure why?
The McNamara's said…
I am using Blogger to put a new post up with pics under the size limit.

Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error? Yes

I am logged in with a GMail based Google account

Chrome 5.0.375.70 and IE vers 8.0.6001 Windows XP pro SP3

I do not have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed.

Avast antivirus, malwarebytes (manual)
Located in San Ramon, CA Northern California.

ISP ATT uverse no accelerators 5.5 mbps down 1.5up

I only see the error in the picture upload window. Every time I try to upload a pic to a new draft post.

I have tried this on multiple computers from my home not from another ISP

Started seeing this yesterday.

If the problem goes away mysteriously, you could tell us that, later, too. Sure
The McNamara's said…
What are you doing - are you using Blogger (maintaining your blog), BlogSpot (viewing a blog), or a non BlogSpot URL (also viewing a blog, but one published externally)?
Adding a new post with pics under size limits

Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error? If so, are you logged in using a GMail based Google account, or a non GMail based account?
Yes gmail account

What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using?
Windows xp SP3, Chrome 5.0.375 and also IE 8

Do you have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed?
NO

What anti-malware / anti-virus / personal firewall product do you use?
Avast malwarebytes manual

Where are you located (city, county / region / state, and country are useful here)?
East bay SanFrancisco, CA

What ISP do you use? Does your ISP offer any bandwidth enhancement, download accelerator, or speed increasing option?
ATT uverse no acceerators.

How often do you see this error? How often do you not see this error? When did you start seeing this error?
Whenever I try to upload photo the error is in the pic upload window. Started seeing it 2 days ago

Thanks for the help, frustrating...
Kristy said…
When I try to upload pictures to post on my blog I get error 400
Meghan said…
Trying to upload pics from my camera onto blogger and get bad request error 400. It doesnt happen when i upload pics already on my comp, just when getting them from the camera. First time was a couple days ago. Will only let me do one from the camera at a time. Used internet explorer and firefox, same prob. Comcast, ben lomond california
bb said…
What are you doing?
I'm logged into Blogger, attempting to update my blogroll.

Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error? I'm logged in via Gmail.

What browser and operating system (name and version please) are you using?
Firefox 3.6.13

Do you have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed?
I don't believe so.

What anti-malware / anti-virus / personal firewall product do you use?
No idea. Sorry.


Where are you located (city, county / region / state, and country are useful here)?
Milwaukee, WI 53202 USA

What ISP do you use? Does your ISP offer any bandwidth enhancement, download accelerator, or speed increasing option?
AT&T at work, Time Warner at home

How often do you see this error? Every time I try to add something to my Blogger template sidebar.

When did you start seeing this error?
Not sure. It's been at least a month.

If the problem goes away mysteriously, you could tell us that, later, too.
Will do.
thailiz said…
Two years later this problem is still occurring - I've been getting the frustrating error 400 message for about a month now with no success clearing my cache etc. Answers to your questions:
I'm trying to maintain my blog with blogger, specifically trying to upload pictures. I've tried Chrome, Firefox, IE and Safari; they all produce the error. Operating Windows 7 Starter. Located in SLC, Utah, internet provider is Qwest. I see this message every time I try to upload any picture to my blog, have been for the past month. HELP.
Laura said…
What are you doing

Trying to create a blog post

Are you logged in to Blogger when you see the error?

Yes and with a non-gmail account

What browser and operating system

Safari Mac OS X 10.5.8

Do you have any download accelerator, download manager, or speed enhancement add-on installed?

No

What anti-malware / anti-virus / personal firewall product do you use?

Whatever is already on my Mac

Where are you located (city, county / region / state, and country are useful here)?

USA, Oklahoma

What ISP do you use? Does your ISP offer any bandwidth enhancement, download accelerator, or speed increasing option?

Cox Cable, yes

How often do you see this error? How often do you not see this error? When did you start seeing this error?

Started today, seeing it every time I try to go to the website. Opened up firefox and it works, but it is not working with Safari and I prefer to use the Safari browser.
kitty said…
I was logged in on firefox via my gmail account to blogger in draft and the error showed up; clearing the cookies, active logins and site preferences from the past two hours solved the problem.
Funder said…
Just got the 400 Bad Request. I was commenting on a blogspot blog when I got it - then I couldn't log in to blogger.com. Chrome 12, OSX 10.6.7. I worked around by using Safari, then appeared to have fixed it by clearing cache/cookies on Chrome. Thanks for this post - I'll comment again if the problem recurs.
Erin said…
I got this error code while uploading and arranging .jpeg pics in my blog. I use Firefox as my browser, so I opened IE, and was able to access my blog from there. I went back over to Firefox, cleared all my recent activity from the last 4hrs and was immediately able to load blogger and access my page.
Anonymous said…
For me using Firefox it worked out by creating and using a new profile.
Luboš Motl said…
Four hours ago, I was writing a new blog entry on my motls.blogspot.com - and suddenly, the connection was kind of lost, error saving draft messages followed, and so forth.

Then I started to get Error 400 Bad Request in my Chrome.

It turned out that I could approach all the blogger.com servers without any problem on another computer. Later, I realized that the error still persisted on the first computer, but only in Chrome - I didn't get the error in Firefox.

I decided it had to be cookies so I went to Chrome/WrenchMenus/Options and searched for "Cookies". In cookies, I searched for all cookies containing blogger.com, erased them, and the problem went away!

So the advice to everyone who thinks that the problem could be on the client side: erase the cookies from the given domain, or all cookies, if you don't have time for cherry-picking. ;-)

Cheers, LM

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