Need AOL help: upgraded from IE7 to IE9, but useragentstring shows IE7

Is there a misunderstanding here?

When you talk about AOL, are you referring to the AOL desktop?

AOL Desktop Version 9.7 - Download It Today!

From looking at your screenshots it looks like it is to me.

derekimo said:

Is there a misunderstanding here?

When you talk about AOL, are you referring to the AOL desktop?

AOL Desktop Version 9.7 - Download It Today!

From looking at your screenshots it looks like it is to me.

AOL 9.7 is installed on the Windows 7 laptop in Boston, where that particular screenshot was taken to see just what "useragentstring" would be on that machine.

But I upgraded the Vista machine in Florida only to AOL 9.5, because it's "less intrusive" and works fine. Kind of the last "standalone" AOL which is NOT a "desktop", as I understand it. I have several other friends who are long-time AOL users and they won't leave 9.5 even though both are running on Win7.

ThrashZone said:

Using normal ie9,
Click on the Gear symbol on the top right and click on Manage add-ons,
Click on Show All add-ons,
Post a screen shot of the pages on Toolbars and Extensions.

Yeah, I wasn't so much concerned with the version as I was trying to point out that the AOL you are talking about is separate from IE itself.

andrew129260 said:

Why are you using the AOL software at all? Do you have dialup? It is unnecessary if you have high speed internet. Its complete bloatware to begin with. You can check your email by going to aol.com or using windows live mail or another email program.

Of course. All this is true. And in fact when they travel and check into a hotel and use the hotel's "office" computers they check their mail using AOL.COM web mail through whatever browser happens to be on that machine.

But people are creatures of habit, especially long time AOL users. They will never give up that "comfortable feeling" of something familiar, including the cartoony icons, etc. That's what makes them know how to do things and what it should look like. And that's EXACTLY what AOL wanted when they developed this crap.

So... "the customer's always right" (when possible). Hence, I am trying to fix a browsing problem dealing with a web page "viewed in a browser" triggered by a link in an email being read through AOL's "read" email client, all launched within their AOL 9.5 ecosystem.

That's what "the client" grew up always using, and so that's what "the client" wants.

Ever have to deal with WAF?? (she's not mine, but you get the point)

I'm beginning to wonder if I should have upgraded to 9.5 using more of a "clean install" option, rather than "upgrade an existing install on this machine" (which of course made the most sense).

That's how it automatically transferred everything from the 9.1 setup to the new 9.5 setup, with me doing ZERO.

I just wonder now if since the 9.1 setup was on IE7, whether that also got copied into the upgraded 9.5 environment, and whether that would not have happened if I'd taken some kind of a cleaner install option. But I wanted that "organizer" and all settings to be automatically moved to 9.5. You wouldn't think the environment issue of IE7 vs. IE9 would be "fixed", and not automatically upgraded as well if that was the current situation following a MS Windows Update.


I also investigated this particular MS page regarding a very similar issue, where IE9 was always presenting itself as IE7. The "solution" was to DISABLE the presumed checked option to "ALWAYS display Internet pages in compatibility mode".

Well, if that option WAS checked then I could understand the resulting behavior.

But in fact, that option was NOT checked. It was un-checked.

And besides, the "problem Nordstrom page" displays PERFECTLY when using external IE9 on the machine. It's only when running underneath AOL as a browser window that it presents itself as IE7.

So either there's a way for AOL to force IE to run in compatibility mode, or something about the upgrade of AOL from 9.1 (with IE7 at that time) to 9.5 (which now has IE9 running in the Vista machine) is forcing IE9 under AOL to announce as IE7 and compatibility mode. Again, this is what I want to turn off and reset... if anyone here knows what I'm talking about, and how to do it.

Can't believe I'll have to wander off of SevenForums and onto an AOL forum to see if this is a known issue with a solution.

Valid points, whether or not the computer in question is yours. The issue is now clearer and getting rid of AOL software is not an option.

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you but I hope you find one now that things are clearer for those looking at this thread.

Just found this VERY interesting web page on the useragentstring.com web site.

It shows that using AOL 9.5 there is no way IE9 can be presented properly in the "useragentstring" value!!

Apparently, you must be using AOL 9.6 in order to present even IE8 (which is the maximum value possible with AOL 9.6). This is higher than IE7, and may well be acceptable to the Nordstrom site which doesn't support IE7 any longer.

And you must be using AOL 9.7 if you want to present IE9.

Well, she's already used to running with AOL 9.7 on her Windows 7 laptop with IE10, and she's therefore used to it. Interestingly my earlier screenshot from that laptop actually showed IE10, not IE9 which is shown on this page as the so-called highest value which is valid. So maybe this page is a bit out of date.

But if it is the version of AOL itself which is the limiting factor, and 9.6 or higher is required to communicate an IE higher than 7, it's certainly worth a try. Seems like there's nothing to lose. Worst case, no change.

I'll report back after the current 140-item Windows Update (first one after Service Pack 2!) completes. Could be a while.

Good find, hope that fixes it for you.