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I can't type in Gmail using Firefox. Why has this problem persisted for years?

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From time to time, I can't type in Gmail using Firefox. Firefox is the ONLY browser that has this problem, and this problem has persisted for years across multiple updates. I appreciate what Mozilla does, but come on. I see on other forums that the "best answers" for fixing are restarting the computer or using a different email system. No, that's not good enough. The problem is with FIREFOX. It's up to you to fix YOUR bugs. Please fix this once and for all. Thank you.

From time to time, I can't type in Gmail using Firefox. Firefox is the ONLY browser that has this problem, and this problem has persisted for years across multiple updates. I appreciate what Mozilla does, but come on. I see on other forums that the "best answers" for fixing are restarting the computer or using a different email system. No, that's not good enough. The problem is with FIREFOX. It's up to you to fix YOUR bugs. Please fix this once and for all. Thank you.

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I have no issues with gmail or hotmail or yahoo email on firefox. So this boils down to a corrupted firefox or bad upgrade of firefox. So your choices are to take to shop to resolve or uninstall all firefox installs and delete the mozilla folder. But in doing that backup your bookmark as when you do this everything will be gone. And then download latest firefox and reinstall it again.

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PleaseFixProblem said

From time to time, I can't type in Gmail using Firefox. Firefox is the ONLY browser that has this problem, and this problem has persisted for years across multiple updates.

How do you usually get it working again?

Have you noticed any pattern in what brings it on, for example, system or browser or add-on update, a crash in another tab, or something else?

If this happens on a regular basis, please keep track of what clears the problem. For example:

If a site is generally known to work in Firefox, these are standard suggestions to try when it stops working normally:

Double-check content blockers: Firefox's Tracking Protection feature and extensions that counter ads and tracking may break websites that weren't built to operate normally without the blocked components.

Do you see a shield icon toward the left end of the address bar, near the lock icon? More info on managing the Tracking Protection feature in this article: What happened to Tracking Protection?.

Extensions such as Adblock Plus, Blur, Disconnect, Ghostery, NoScript, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin or uMatrix should provide toolbar buttons to manage blocked content in a page. There may or may not be a number on the icon indicating the number of blocked items; you may need to click the button to see what's going on and test whether you need to make an exception for this site.

Can you rule out those things?

Cache and Cookies: When you have a problem with one particular site, a good "first thing to try" is clearing your Firefox cache and deleting your saved cookies for the site.

(1) Clear Firefox's Cache

See: How to clear the Firefox cache

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes.

Then try reloading the page with your mailbox and test again. Any difference?

(2) Remove the site's cookies (save any pending work first). While viewing a page on the site, try either:

  • right-click (on Mac Ctrl+click) a blank area of the page and choose View Page Info > Security > "Clear Cookies and Site Data"
  • (menu bar) Tools > Page Info > Security > "Clear Cookies and Site Data"
  • click the padlock or "i" icon in the address bar, then the ">" button, then More Information, and finally the "Clear Cookies and Site Data" button

In the dialog that opens, you will see one or more matches to the current address so you can remove the site's cookies individually without affecting other sites.

Then try reloading the page. Does that help?

Testing in Firefox's Safe Mode: In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox. (On Mac, hold down the option/alt key instead of the Shift key.)

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • (menu bar) Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?