How to load Desktop version of webpage through mobile PHP page (user agent settings?)

Question

I have a PHP page (which is displayed through a mobile/android browser) - however, when accessing a link to an external site - it automatically redirects to the mobile version.

I want the link to take user to the desktop version of the webpage even when accessed through a mobile browser.

Is there a way i can specify useragent/or any other setting in my PHP page code to acheive this? Thanks.

Answer 1

Spoofing the user agent string will be a challenge, as it requires you to control the behavior of the browser. You might be able to do it with JavaScript or something, but I doubt it.

If it's just one site, you may wish to take a look at how they're handling redirection of mobile devices. Often, sites will provide mechanisms for overriding the redirect script.

For example, sites using the UC Mobile Web Framework (http://mwf.ucla.edu/) allows you to override their redirect script with a query string parameter. The UCSF Library (http://library.ucsf.edu/) is using that framework for mobile redirects. If you are on a mobile device and go to http://library.ucsf.edu/ then you will be redirected to the mobile version of the site. However, if you go to http://library.ucsf.edu/?ovrrdr=1 then you will get the desktop version.

Answer 2

What you are describing, no. You do not have control of an external site therefore you cannot control what is being served.