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Why has my menu button disappeared from my Firefox v 45.0.3?

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The menu button with 3 lines seems to have disappeared from my browser. Anyone know why that might be or how I get it back. Th menu bar is still there ok

The menu button with 3 lines seems to have disappeared from my browser. Anyone know why that might be or how I get it back. Th menu bar is still there ok

Chosen solution

Hi, try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

  • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

SafeMode-Fx35

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.


If that doesn't help, right click in the tab bar (but not on a tab) > Customize - that should open the 3-bar menu, then click on Restore Defaults.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem. Thank you!

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Chosen Solution

Hi, try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

  • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

SafeMode-Fx35

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.


If that doesn't help, right click in the tab bar (but not on a tab) > Customize - that should open the 3-bar menu, then click on Restore Defaults.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem. Thank you!

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The problem was that through the forum any suggestions that appeared might help all started by telling me to click the menu button - but the very problem was that the menu button had disappeared. Also when I clicked to access "customize" through the menu bar I just got a blank page. This morning I managed to access "customize" and right clicked the the menu button in the blue panel and then "move to menu" and its all ok now. Thanks for your response though. I think the real problem was that I don't really know enough about Firefox! (but I know a little bit more now)