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How do I fix the new update and tab usage?

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The last update of Firefox Android completely broke base functionalities such as tabs, and you now have to go into sliding sub-menues just to open up new tabs, or even switch between tabs.

For the longest time, I've been trying to stave off using Chrome, even as more and more pages seem to flat-out not work, but with this latest update, I really can't excuse using Firefox anymore, as even basic usage now becomes a constant back-and-forth, trying to fight against the application itself.

Is there any way to resolve this, or am I forced to migrate?

Or, if this is not possible and Firefox Android 79 is indeed unusable, how do I upgrade to 68 (which I believe was the previous version) without losing my pre-existing tabs (of which I have oh-so-many).

The last update of Firefox Android completely broke base functionalities such as tabs, and you now have to go into sliding sub-menues just to open up new tabs, or even switch between tabs. For the longest time, I've been trying to stave off using Chrome, even as more and more pages seem to flat-out not work, but with this latest update, I really can't excuse using Firefox anymore, as even basic usage now becomes a constant back-and-forth, trying to fight against the application itself. Is there any way to resolve this, or am I forced to migrate? Or, if this is not possible and Firefox Android 79 is indeed unusable, how do I upgrade to 68 (which I believe was the previous version) without losing my pre-existing tabs (of which I have oh-so-many).

All Replies (14)

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Also, I'm not getting the proper home page when opening up new tabs anymore, whatwith getpocket suggestions and such, which is also a massive downgrade.

Unless this is fixed over the weekend, I don't see how I can keep using Firefox in good faith. It is now beyond trash and there is literally no reason for me to use it anymore. Whoever thought these changes were good should be taken out behind a shed and shot, because they're clearly born of a syphilitic mind.

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Hi

Please can you tone down the language a bit. The people here are(like me) volunteers doing their best to help.

Yes, we have made some interface changes that make browsing quicker and easier. If you wish to remove a top site from the home screen, long press on it and select "remove".

I hope this helps.

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Seburo said

Yes, we have made some interface changes that make browsing quicker and easier.
This is a lie. I don't question the intent, but to say that's what was done is a pretty bold attempt at deception.
If you wish to remove a top site from the home screen, long press on it and select "remove".
This does not relate to the question at all and I have no idea what made you think so.
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I have the same problem and I have to wonder why this change was forcefully implemented instead of being a choice. For a long time and across almost all browsers 'Tabs' have come to mean a selection of items near the navigation bar that allow simple and fast switching between sites or pages. Firefox has take a simple intuitive process (a click or tap) and made it a complicated multi-step process. I've read Seburo's suggestion to try 'Collections' but don't understand how this can be of help. I won't go to Chrome but Opera is looking pretty good as a default browser now. Please rethink this change.

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I downgraded to 68 after a couple of minutes of using 79. My tabs were lost on the phone but I was using sync and they are still the last sync for that device, since downgrading will wipe all settings and register as a new device. So I opened them all on computer.

So I hope that helps for retaining your tabs.

I have heard this update is forced automatic so I have messed around with some about:config settings, setting autodownload to none and release channel to none. I'm not suggesting these are correct settings, but hopefully they are recognised so as to avoid autoupdate.

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I am sorry but after several days of use of newest 69 version I am getting frustrated more and more each day. Nothing is better and it also doesn't work flawless. You cancelled the tabs and we now have to go to see the slides.. ans using the Youtube has now become almost a nightmare. Try to hit the Watch later or Not interested options in YT is now almost not possible as the screen moves when you try to tap the preffered option.. while trying to expand the comments section is somethimes practically impossible... I have seriously started to look for other browsers... but I'm for sure downgradeing to 68.

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My Android 10 phone updated FF this morning and frankly it is a new learning curve just to be able to use it. Previously bookmarked sites that were present when the app opened now have to be loaded manually and saved log in details do not load automatically. Why force users to waste time with an update like this - useless to me. Have used FF since Netscape days but fast becoming disenchanted with the whole scene.

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I found this update this morning and desperately want to downgrade to the previous level as this new change to the UI is complete rubbish. My wife found this update today as well on her phone and agrees with me. This UI is rubbish on a phone and the detail is too small, existing add-ons don't work and the learning curve is too great to bother with. This is an example of the developers doing what they think best rather than trying to find out from users what they need. Its either downgrade or find a new browser which has a decent UI.

Where can I find older versions of Firefox for Android which actually do what I need?

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stuart39 said

I found this update this morning and desperately want to downgrade to the previous level as this new change to the UI is complete rubbish. My wife found this update today as well on her phone and agrees with me. This UI is rubbish on a phone and the detail is too small, existing add-ons don't work and the learning curve is too great to bother with. This is an example of the developers doing what they think best rather than trying to find out from users what they need. Its either downgrade or find a new browser which has a decent UI. Where can I find older versions of Firefox for Android which actually do what I need?

There are instructions on how to manually roll back to the last version in the topic "How can I download a previous version of Firefox for Android?" Here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1300966 but you'll need to know how to install an apk for yourself and then turn off auto update. I've been holding off from doing this in the hope some of the most obvious faults will be fixed fairly quickly. I've also requested that the older version be made available officially under a different name, so we can still use the old one while assessing the progress of the new one - not holding my breath though...

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Thanks for the pointer. I have found an apk and installed it. However my concern about this is that eventually this release will become the norm. The developers have no idea what they are doing changing a UI so radically. My issue is that my wife has a real problem with change, she has been using Firefox for some 3 years on her phone and has managed to learn how it works despite being severely dyslexic and very left handed but is very intelligent! She cannot recognise symbols like we see so much of these days and has to teach herself that when she touches a certain part of the screen a certain function happens. So a radical rewrite of the UI is a genuine and severe issue for her, especially as this update was forced on her with no prompting as to whether or not she wanted it, at least on a desk/laptop you have the option. On top of that the new start page has minute icons instead of the Top Site ones she was used to, even I struggle on a 10inch tablet to make them out. Having worked all my life as an IT specialist I can handle stuff like this albeit it annoys the hell out of me when such inconsiderate changes are made to a UI. This is going to raise so many issues especially for people with dyslexia or sight impairment I'd be surprised if they don't simply move to a new browser which is more considerate to the end user.

Modified by stuart39

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bobovap819 said

Seburo said

Yes, we have made some interface changes that make browsing quicker and easier.
This is a lie. I don't question the intent, but to say that's what was done is a pretty bold attempt at deception.
If you wish to remove a top site from the home screen, long press on it and select "remove".
This does not relate to the question at all and I have no idea what made you think so.

I have to agree. I've been a Mozilla user for over 20 years, but this current release of FF is unusable. It's absolutely NOT "quicker and easier." Somebody completely missed the point of TABS. If I have to navigate somewhere to see them, they are not tabs. Tabs should be in plain site above the navigation window at the top.

No, you guys only made Firefox SUCK. Roll it back, or make it easier to down grade, because this ain't progress.

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Agreed with most the posters here... this update destroyed one of the key reasons I have neen using firefox almost exclusively for well over a decade--the UI layout.

Was always able to manage to make it look/feel like the standard layouts way back in the days of MSIE... address bar, navigation, tabs, and a few breakout buttons/menus for things like bookmarks, printing, etc. across ONE bar along the top of the screen. A very minimalist design that reserved the precious screen real estate for viewing content, not menus and links to features.

Thankfully it has been preserved on PC so far... but IDK how long I will be able to do this on mobile. Have already removed a default browser in Android so it prompts me for which browser to use from Google searches and such so I am only using FF selectively for just a couple sites now.

Please... take us back towards the previous layouts. I really liked being able to use FF across all my devices.

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What has Mozilla done to Firefox?!? It is virtually unusable now. Personally I am switching to Chrome now as it looks more like the old Firefox and will uninstall Firefox.

I hope Mozilla doesn't mess up the desktop version.

Modified by barryd2

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Seburo said

Hi Please can you tone down the language a bit. The people here are(like me) volunteers doing their best to help. Yes, we have made some interface changes that make browsing quicker and easier. If you wish to remove a top site from the home screen, long press on it and select "remove". I hope this helps.

Thank you for trying to assist / guide unhappy users with these EXTREMELY UNPOPULAR FIREFOX-FORCED UPDATES.

What is needed, however, is not a tutorial on how to use FF 79+. We, that are complaining the loudest about the forced user-interface changes are OVERWHELMINGLY your most loyal and experienced customers, not just common follow the herd users. We are the people that made Firefox so widely popular and broadly used.

Like most of the other complainants here, I was with Firefox when it was still the NETSCAPE browser and took the leap-of-faith to a new browser with a new philosophy - - to build the best browser possible, improving it in increments. We followed Firefox's lead all this time, but tossing out the complete user interface with no warning and with no reasoning: THIS IS "A BRIDGE TOO FAR".

I strongly agree that Firefox needs to be "forked" with one fork returning to the most previous user interface, and this "cluster..." needs to sink or swim on it's own merits. May I assure you, my opinion here is extremely widely held. Most people will select another browser, and the biggest beneficiary will be OPERA.

If Firefox truly wishes to survive, we will require that the sitting CEO of the Firefox organization answer this and other messages directly and personally; further, that person will need to explain how to obtain the back-coded forked version and what the Firefox organization intends to do going forward. A cautionary note: putting all of Firefox's eggs in the basket of this RADICAL, IRRATIONAL, UNREASONABLE set of user interface changes will only end one way - - the Firefox brand will wither and die. Please do not do this.

Let the new user interface live or die on its own. Keep Firefox the most dependable, user friendly browser brand with a time-tested user interface; in short, let the world's most popular browser remain that, an stop trying to make it into a poor cousin of INTERKNOT-EXPLODER or SCREWGLE-CHROMEDOME.

Bring Firefox back to the most previous user interface. Until I see that Firefox has been restored, I will park my browser somewhere else. I will NOT fudge my way around this half-witted substitute.

BTW, I am a retired Network Designer and Microsoft Certified - - with over 30 years of experience. So don't trifle with me.