Overriding eBay Mobile Redirection

The eBay Mobile App

If you have the iPhone eBay Mobile App installed, clicks are directed to the app.

On Android phones, clicks can be directed to either a browser or the eBay Mobile App.  The phone will prompt you to select the app to handle eBay links and can remember this setting.  To change the default app setting, go to Settings->Application Manager->eBay->Clear Defaults.

 

The eBay Mobile Website

If you’re using a mobile device, you may see the eBay site forcing you to the mobile version when you view items. Redirection bugs are unfortunately pretty common on eBay mobile. eBay changes their code and, without warning, existing link formats end up broken or pointing to the wrong locations. These bugs are usually mobile device specific, based on the browser’s useragent (a code that tells the server what type of device you are using).

eBay provides an override that you can use to return to the classic site. Look for the link at the bottom of most eBay Mobile pages designated “classic site”.

Or just bookmark this link:  http://www.ebay.com/?redirect=mobile

Click the bookmark/link anytime eBay starts forcing you to a mobile site to reestablish the mobile redirection bypass. This should work most of the time, but there may still be some eBay pages out there that ignore the preference.

There are other approaches too:  If your mobile browser has a feature to change the useragent, set it to a desktop useragent, such as Firefox or Chrome. If your browser has an option to request desktop mode, turning that feature on may also solve the problem. But these options affect all sites visited, so they may impact sites where you prefer a mobile interface.

We try to set the linking formats on our end to eliminate or reduce these issues, so please report any links in our software that land you on the wrong page so they can be quickly corrected.

Updated for eBay Mobile App