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Android no longer columnizes text on website

nottsphil
nottsphil Posts: 761 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
edited 15 December 2025 at 11:33PM in Techie Stuff
For years I have been able to read MSE easily on my phone because the text was automatically arranged in columns like in the second picture. A few weeks ago, it inexplicably switched to displaying text I can hardly read, as in the first picture. Changing to another browser doesn't fix it, and other websites aren't affected either. I've checked the MSE site technical sub-forum but no one else seems to have had this problem. I can't even find my own site settings on MSE! 


Comments

  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 6,894 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I read MSE via the browser on my smartphone - Chrome shows this if I screenprint your post.



  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 6,894 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Do you have the desktop site option, on or off? Mine appears as an option in the kebab menu on the top right?


  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 6,894 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 16 December 2025 at 2:43AM
    If I check the desktop site box, I get this, which is much more difficult to read.


  • Exodi
    Exodi Posts: 4,405 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Hung up my suit! Home Insurance Hacker!
    Emmia beat me to it (again).

    My immediate thought is that you've accidentally enabled desktop mode.

    There has been no changes to the websites.
    Know what you don't
  • Thanks both of you, that worked instantly.
    I've endured weeks of constantly changing to widescreen and manually zooming in when I could have got the solution within three hours ☺️
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