How can I change the user agent for the stock browser?

Question

I am constantly annoyed by websites that force me into the (often terrible) mobile version of the site and provide no way to switch to the full version. I know Dolphin for example allows changing the user agent string of the browser to trick websites into delivering the full site, but I don't want to switch. Is there a way to do this with the stock browser? I'm open to hacks, and I have a Galaxy S Vibrant running 2.2 (Nero v5 with TouchWiz).

Answer 1

For Galaxy devices, you can simply enter about:useragent into your browser's URL bar. I don't think this "sticks" across reboots, but it's relatively painless to do and doesn't require extra software/hacks/etc. I don't own a Galaxy so I'm not keen on some of the specifics.

If about:useragent doesn't work, then other phones can typically to this instead:

• Enter about:debug into the URL bar to activate debug mode in the browser (you won't see any kind of confirmation that this has worked)
• Go into Menu->More->Settings and scroll all the way to the bottom. You should see a new menu item called UAString
• Tap the UAString menu option and select a different user agent from the provided menu

I have IE6, "Mac Desktop" and "Linux Desktop" as options for mine, all of which give me full versions of websites.

See also this question with info on some of the goodies in debug mode.

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The about:debug menu also works on Honeycomb (or later), but the menu is organized a little differently. You enter about:debug the same way, then go into the Settings and you'll find a new settings tab (on the left) simply named "Debug". UAString is one of the first options in this tab.

Answer 2

On my HTC Desire running 2.2 I have an option under the stock browser menu>more>settings called "Mobile view" which Enables mobile versions of web pages.

For example with this this enabled I get the mobile version of Tumblr, with it disabled I get the full site.