Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

Yes... as I say the issue is intermittent but It is happening in safe mode. I also thoroughly cleaned Firefox (cache etc) before starting in safe mode.

Would you take a look at this thread, please :

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1137673

@Happy112 that thread doesn't really apply to me. Pages are loading in a timely fashion and working normally but when they have loaded I just don't have a reload button, just the stop loading button; and tab flicker a bit. I often use the reload button to refresh a page like a news website or a forum and recently started noticing it often wasn't there. It's just a minor irritation really I was just curious if it was a bug or just related to my installation of Firefox.

BlazingReynard said

@Happy112 that thread doesn't really apply to me. Pages are loading in a timely fashion and working normally but when they have loaded I just don't have a reload button,

I gave you the link to that thread because of that screenshot - thought it might be possible that you (just like the OP in that thread) hadn't seen the reload button ....... When you click on the 'X' - the reload button doesn't show up  ?

Would you take a look at this article, please - especially the section :

Restoring the default toolbar set

No clicking 'X' does not reveal the reload button but the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl+R' does reload the page OK so I am able to reload pages. It's just some new and unexpected behaviour and I wondered what was causing it.

I haven't changed anything on the toolbar so my toolbar looks just like the default one except I now also have the screenshot icon.

BlazingReynard said

I haven't changed anything on the toolbar so my toolbar looks just like the default one except I now also have the screenshot icon.

That article I gave you the link to also applies to the reload button (it's mentioned in the header of that article ) .......

In 'Customize', have you tried clicking on 'Restore Defaults'  ?

OK I've now tried restoring defaults but it made no difference.

BlazingReynard said

OK I've now tried restoring defaults but it made no difference.

This is so weird - cause Firefox uses a combined Stop/Reload button, and you do get the 'Stop half' ......

Complete stab in the dark :

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration in Firefox. Since this feature was added to Firefox it has gradually improved but there are still a few glitches.

You will need to restart Firefox for this to take effect so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.,) and then perform these steps:

1. Click the menu button and select Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac, Linux).
2. Select the General panel.
3. Under Performance, uncheck Use recommended performance settings. Additional settings will be displayed.

   

4. Uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available.
5. Close Firefox completely and then restart Firefox to see if the problem persists.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

If the problem is resolved, you should check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in these Knowledge base articles:

• Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems

• Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL

If the above doesn't solve the mystery :

Let's try this : https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/refresh-firefox-reset-add-ons-and-settings

Hmm, this is bizarre. I tried your suggestion of turning off hardware acceleration and started Firefox in safe mode, it made no difference. So I restarted in normal mode, still with hardware acceleration disabled, and initially all six tabs loaded and had reload buttons but they have all now changed to having a stop loading button instead?!

I'm reluctant to refresh Firefox as this is a trivial problem—I can still reload pages using the keyboard—and I currently seem to be the only one experiencing it.

Thanks for all your help @Happy112 but I think I'll wait and see if the problem resolves itself for now. I believe there is a major update in a couple of weeks hopefully that might solve the problem. I'll keep an eye on this page though in case more people report this issue.

The default is for the stop/reload to share a space on the toolbar. While the page is loading, you would see the stop. Once the loading is done, you would see the reload.

There are add-ons that will place both icons on the bar at the same time.

@FredMcD if the page was genuinely still loading though would I be able to interact with it or scroll it? The pages act normally it's just that I don't have the reload button, I have the 'X', but if I click on the stop loading button nothing happens so I don't think the pages are still loading. I've just looked at a typical one—the login page for Zoho mail, a very simple page—and there is nothing in the developer tools console to suggest a problem. I'm stumped!

Thanks for the suggestion but rather than install another extension I think I'll just use the keyboard shortcut.

Once the Tab changes from a red X to a grey X you can start scrolling anytime and even before. I have been to sites that never want to stop loading and stay with a red x the whole time I am there reading, scrolling clicking links so that can through you off if sites are not properly coded as per W3C.org Web Standards.

It does seem that you would be more comfortable with both stop start buttons. If so look for the addon.

Well this issue seems to have resolved itself. Since the update to Firefox 57 the combined stop/reload button is working normally. Thanks to all the contributors who tried to help.

Good to hear.