[Fixed for now – VPN suspected] SSL Error connecting to s3.ultimate-guitar.com (MuseScore 4.5.2, Firefox 140 on Windows 10)
Update – July 21, 2025:
This issue appears to have been caused by a VPN connection (Elisa Turvapaketti / FI). Disabling the VPN resolved both:
browser-based SSL errors when downloading scores, and
MuseScore Studio errors when opening cloud scores.
Issue seems fixed for now, but similar problems have affected other users intermittently, even without VPN. See discussion below for details and links.
Original report:
Hello,
I'm experiencing a recurring SSL error when trying to download sheet music. It occurs when the application or browser tries to load resources from s3.ultimate-guitar.com.
The full error message in Firefox 140.0.4 (64-bit) is:
Secure Connection Failed
An error occurred during a connection to s3.ultimate-guitar.com.
SSL received a record that exceeded the maximum permissible length.
Error code: SSL_ERROR_RX_RECORD_TOO_LONG
The page cannot be displayed because the authenticity of the received data could not be verified.
This issue breaks access to content. I found other user reports mentioning similar symptoms, such as this one, but haven't seen an official response or resolution yet.
System details:
Browser: Firefox 140.0.4 (64-bit)
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
MuseScore version: 4.5.2.251141402 (commit: ac9d3bc)
Could you clarify:
Is this issue known or currently under investigation?
Is MuseScore still using s3.ultimate-guitar.com as a dependency?
Is the problem at MuseScore’s end or on the external host’s side?
Is there a workaround?
Additionally, I received another error when trying to open a score in Musescore:
"Partituuriasi ei voitu avata – MuseScore.com palautti tuntemattoman virhekoodin: 302"
(Translation: "Your score could not be opened – MuseScore.com returned an unknown error code: 302")
As HTTP 302 indicates a redirect, it seems MuseScore Studio is not handling redirects correctly, possibly due to the same issue affecting SSL/TLS connections or internal HTTP handling.
Could both problems be related to the same misconfiguration (e.g. CDN, HTTPS, or redirect logic)?
Thank you for your time and help.
Comments
I understand that some issues can be caused by local misconfigurations or expired sessions. Still, I've tried restarting, logging out/in, and using a stable connection. I’m currently paying for MuseScore Pro+, so it’s frustrating not to be able to download even my own scores. I realize this may be a server or client-side issue, and I’d be grateful for clarification or a workaround.
MuseScore 4.5.2 doesn't download scores
FireFox might, from musescore.com, not from musescore.org
So to to that .com site...
In reply to MuseScore 4.5.2 doesn't… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes,
I am already using musescore.com, not musescore.org. I’m signed in with a PRO+ account, and I attempted to download directly from the .com site, as well as from within MuseScore Studio (version 4.5.2).
I think, that the issue is not at all about confusion between .org and .com, but rather that I receive:
- an SSL error in the browser when attempting to download from s3.ultimate-guitar.com, and
- a 302 error inside MuseScore Studio when trying to open my own uploaded score.
These are technical errors and seem unrelated to the site address.
I’d appreciate further assistance if available – or a bug report escalation to someone on the development side. Thank you again.
I also tested the download using the latest version of Google Chrome:
Version 138.0.7204.158 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Chrome fails with:
This site can’t provide a secure connection
s3.ultimate-guitar.com sent an invalid response.
ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR
So this is not browser-specific. The issue seems to lie with the external resource at s3.ultimate-guitar.com being misconfigured or offline for secure communication.
Both MuseScore Studio and musescore.com seem to rely on this domain, which is currently unreachable by secure connection.
In reply to I also tested the download… by tapioehaavist1
.
I can download this from musescore.com with no errors:
https://musescore.com/user/58480/scores/529126
I'm using Edge browser, Windows 10.
Are you somehow re-directed to ultimate-guitar.com when downloading?
In reply to I can download this from… by Jm6stringer
Yes,
your link is re-directed to
https://s3.ultimate-guitar.com/musescore.scoredata/score/6/2/1/529126/s…-Scott_Joplin-_1902.mscz%22&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=4SHNMJS3MTR9XKK7ULEP%2F20250721%2Fus-west%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20250721T175948Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Signature=ceff9e5bc4c000902b92205b4d88721f7aa13afd564fdf360e03c323cf558c06
...at least when using Firefox.
BUT – although it didn’t work in Chrome earlier, it suddenly started working, and I was able to download my own scores successfully.
ISSUE RESOLVED
After further investigation, I checked my Elisa Turvapaketti security software settings and noticed that a VPN (FI) connection was active. Once I disabled the VPN, the downloads in Firefox started working as well!
So it appears the SSL connection issue was caused by the VPN interfering with secure communication to s3.ultimate-guitar.com.
Final confirmation: the VPN was indeed the root cause.
With the VPN (FI) enabled via Elisa Turvapaketti, both the browser and MuseScore Studio were unable to:
- establish a secure connection to s3.ultimate-guitar.com, and
- open cloud-based scores in MuseScore Studio 4.5.2.
Disabling the VPN fully restored functionality across browsers and Studio.
Thank you again — this issue is now conclusively resolved!
In reply to ISSUE RESOLVED! After… by tapioehaavist1
Not surprised by this discussion as scores not playing has been an intermittent issue for the past year. Usually disconnecting the VPN (if there is one active) works, but some users still had problems regardless. Glad to know it worked in your case.
https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/discuss/5238526
https://musescore.com/groups/improving-musescore-com/discuss/5289751
In reply to Scores not playing has been… by karolcpm
Just tested this score
https://musescore.com/user/7146791/scores/6735685
and this one
https://musescore.com/user/237961/scores/9324814
in Firefox on Windows 10, and both played smoothly for me right now.
I tested both scores again with the VPN active, and playback works fine.
So at least at the moment, VPN did not interfere with playback in my case.
[This seems to be an intermittent server-side issue; the VPN may have exposed it but was not the root cause.]
Yeah I frequently have this problem and it is frustrating. Just installed a third browser hoping it would help but it still doesn't work, and I don't have any vpn, it gets very tiring...