SSL Cipher Mismatch and "Too Many Redirects," Explained

ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH

Your browser and the server could not agree on how to encrypt the connection. Every HTTPS connection starts with a handshake where both sides pick a shared encryption method (a "cipher suite") and a TLS version. This error means they found no method in common.

• Outdated server TLS configuration. Older servers, especially older shared hosting stacks, sometimes support only outdated cipher suites that current browsers refuse to use for security reasons.
• An SSL certificate installed incorrectly, pointing at the wrong domain, or with a broken certificate chain.
• A CDN or proxy (Cloudflare, a WAF) with an SSL mode misconfigured relative to what the origin server actually supports.

This is a server-configuration problem, not something a visitor or even the site owner can fix by clearing cache or trying a different browser. It needs to be corrected on the server or at the CDN/proxy layer.

ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS

The browser followed a redirect, then another, then landed back somewhere it had already been, and gave up after enough loops to know it will never reach a real page.

• HTTPS redirect loop. A "force SSL" plugin or .htaccess rule redirects HTTP to HTTPS, but the server sitting behind a proxy (Cloudflare, a load balancer) does not realize the connection is already HTTPS, so it redirects again, forever.
• Site URL mismatch. WordPress's Site Address (URL) setting does not match the domain visitors actually use (www vs non-www, http vs https), causing it to keep redirecting toward itself.
• Two redirect systems fighting each other, a plugin and a manual .htaccess rule, or the hosting panel's own redirect settings layered on top of WordPress's.

The one setting that fixes most of these

If you use Cloudflare (or a similar CDN) in front of your site, check SSL/TLS → Overview. It should be set to Full (strict), not Flexible. Flexible mode is the single most common cause of both a cipher mismatch and a redirect loop happening together.