igovt passport website failure

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ajbw

14 posts

Geek

Topic # 112464 10-Dec-2012 09:32
Tried to renew my passport online today (and yesterday). The first page 'Check my availabiity' worked fine, then the igovt logon button gave me this: can't find the server at online.passports.govt.nz Tried pinging: ping online.passports.govt.nz ping: unknown host online.passports.govt.nz ping passports.govt.nz PING passports.govt.nz (210.54.54.84) 56(84) bytes of data. No response. telnet passports.govt.nz 80 Trying 210.54.54.84... Connected to passports.govt.nz. Escape character is '^]'. GET index.html HTTP/1.1 200 OK Cache-Control: no-cache Connection: close Pragma: no-cache Content-Length: 188 Request RejectedThe requested URL was rejected. Please consult with your administrator. Your support ID is: 7670277365534499521Connection closed by foreign host. Tried switching off the firewall, and trying firefox, opera and konqueror - same result. A couple of calls to the passport office got the response "sometimes people do have a problem - try a different computer - maybe it's the firewall - I actually get the same response as you, but I think that's a security thing - It seems to work better with Internet Explorer" Anyone else had problems?

4195 posts

Uber Geek

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Reply # 729536 10-Dec-2012 09:47
I'll be trying mine soon, hope it's working by then. Real small niggle in the comms/use interface part: What I didn't like was how the first part is 'check you're eligible to do this'... and then it gives you no confirmation notice (like 'success - you are able to proceed' etc), it just leapt right into filling it out.

1935 posts

Uber Geek

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Subscriber

Reply # 729599 10-Dec-2012 10:46
For a start, the reason it rejected your HTTP test with telnet is because you malformed the HTTP request, and being virtualhosted it had no idea what site you were requesting. Correctly requested, that would be: GET /index.html HTTP/1.1 Host: passports.govt.nz

1 post

Wannabe Geek

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DIA

Reply # 729647 10-Dec-2012 11:50
Hi There This is the Department of Internal Affairs, responding to your issue. We are very sorry you had a problem and we are looking into what went wrong.

14 posts

Geek

Reply # 729656 10-Dec-2012 11:59
Good to hear that. I'm happy to help you out if you want me to do any tests from outside. So far, it doesn't seem to be a cookie, firewall or browser issue.

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Uber Geek

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Reply # 729967 10-Dec-2012 20:40
Just worked fine right through for me.

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Subscriber

Reply # 729970 10-Dec-2012 20:49
I had problems too when I renewed mine a couple of weeks ago. I don't recall exactly what went wrong, but there were a variety of different problems over multiple attempts. My experience with Inland Revenue is that it's easier to fill out paper forms, lick stamps and walk to the post box than it is to try and use their online services so I figured that I would probably have to do the same with Internal Affairs. However I gave it one last try a couple of days later and it worked. If the government is really serious about gaining operational efficiencies by transacting online wherever possible then they really need to do a lot better than this.

14 posts

Geek

Reply # 729976 10-Dec-2012 21:09
I've just tried th stock android browser and opera mobile on an tablet. Both of them found online.passports.govt.nz, and both of them gave 'Your igovt login has not succeeded' even though I only clicked on the link to get to the login, rather than actually doing it. There have been occasional complaints from the browsers about certificate problems...

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Reply # 730702 11-Dec-2012 18:10
I did mine about a week ago and had no problems with the site at all. It did help I already have an iGovt logon for another reason. The only issue I had with the application was the fact my photo, while passing the online test, failed the human test. The problem was flash reflection in my glasses which I had to correct by taking a bunch of photos in daylight and avoiding the use of flash. System One: Popcorn Hour A200, PS3 (US 60G) dead and now replaced with a PS3 SuperSlim, NPVR running on Sempron 3000 (XP), Sony BDP-S390 BD player, Logitech Revue, Pioneer AVR, JVC 56" D-ILA 720P RP TV System Two: Popcorn Hour A110 , Oppo BDP-80 BluRay Player with hardware mode to be region free, Vivitek HD1080P 1080P DLP projector with 100" screen. Harman Kardon HK AVR 254 7.1 receiver, Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player, Roku XS media player Check out my blog at lchiu.blogspot.com