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Firefox 57 Is Slow, Laggy and Unusable

  • 32 replies
  • 50 have this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by kenoracle

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Hi, I'm hoping so much you guys can help. I sadly got the update to Firefox 57 this morning and it's pretty much made it useless. I have an Intel i5-4258U CPU @ 8GB of RAM running Windows 10 and prior to this update I never had an issue with Firefox. Don't get me wrong the update looks nice and I'm sure it would be great but this version has pretty much broken being able to use it as it is just so slow and laggy the browser is unusable. When I type anything I have to wait for the browser to catch up which can take minutes. I can't browse a shop website because it's so slow. Scrolling is horrible as it scrolls a little then stops and scrolls a bit more then stops. I tried watching stuff on Youtube and the page plays the video sound but the image is still until it's caught up.

I uninstalled the browser and reinstalled it but no change. I managed to find 56 on the site and installed that again after removing 57 and it worked but straight away it had downloaded the 57 update again and as soon as I opened it again the 57 had been installed again. I've not seen a way to completely stop any auto update?

I don't put this down to my computer because it's more than capable of running Firefox and has never let me down. Chrome Opera and Edge all run fine still while Firefox grinds to a halt.

Hi, I'm hoping so much you guys can help. I sadly got the update to Firefox 57 this morning and it's pretty much made it useless. I have an Intel i5-4258U CPU @ 8GB of RAM running Windows 10 and prior to this update I never had an issue with Firefox. Don't get me wrong the update looks nice and I'm sure it would be great but this version has pretty much broken being able to use it as it is just so slow and laggy the browser is unusable. When I type anything I have to wait for the browser to catch up which can take minutes. I can't browse a shop website because it's so slow. Scrolling is horrible as it scrolls a little then stops and scrolls a bit more then stops. I tried watching stuff on Youtube and the page plays the video sound but the image is still until it's caught up. I uninstalled the browser and reinstalled it but no change. I managed to find 56 on the site and installed that again after removing 57 and it worked but straight away it had downloaded the 57 update again and as soon as I opened it again the 57 had been installed again. I've not seen a way to completely stop any auto update? I don't put this down to my computer because it's more than capable of running Firefox and has never let me down. Chrome Opera and Edge all run fine still while Firefox grinds to a halt.

All Replies (12)

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reward9130 said

Install older version 52.5. fixes slow problem

Reward9130: This issue has already been solved. Read the Bob E.K. post.

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reward9130 said

Install older version 52.5. fixes slow problem

The older versions like 52.5 are quick, but suffer from Shockwave Flash crashes even with the latest Flash update installed. Otherwise it's a workable "make-do" fix if you don't need to access Google Finance, for example.

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Had this same issue, Firefox became completely unusable. Bob E.K. solved this for me. If you can't find his response, here's what I did, copied from his post:

  • Click the menu button Fx57Menu and choose Options.
  • Select the Privacy and Security panel.
  • Go to the "Permissions" section.
  • Check the Prevent accessibility services from accessing your browser checkbox.
  • Restart Firefox.

My Firefox is back to its wonderful norm!

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I still have a problem, Bob EK solution didn't work for me. I know it is not a graphics driver problem and I've tried the accessibility thing. I'm afraid to do a full reset or delete and re-install because I'm using Webroot and I've had to get help re-installing it too many times. Will Webroot remain active if I do a reset? Will it remain active if I delete and reinstall? Does anyone know if Webroot could be part of the problem? I'm not a computer superuser so if you have any suggestions please give detailed instructions.

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bjgillig said

I still have a problem, Bob EK solution didn't work for me. I know it is not a graphics driver problem and I've tried the accessibility thing. I'm afraid to do a full reset or delete and re-install because I'm using Webroot and I've had to get help re-installing it too many times. Will Webroot remain active if I do a reset? Will it remain active if I delete and reinstall? Does anyone know if Webroot could be part of the problem? I'm not a computer superuser so if you have any suggestions please give detailed instructions.

If you have had to reinstall Webroot so many times, perhaps it is not the anti-virus program that is right for you. Stick with a top-rated a/v program such as (pay) Norton, or (free) AVG or Avast.

Sounds, though, as if there is a greater issue with your computer.

Suggestion: Take it to a reputable, local computer repair shop (NOT a computer chain with a small repair desk) and have them evaluate it for viruses, worms, trojans, etc. Webroot is an anti-virus tool - these tools do not necessarily have the ability to scan for malware - they are good for a/v activity. There are several anti-malware tools that each look for their own arena of malware.

Your computer may be infected. Good luck.

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I went to geek squad support and found out that webroot and the new firefox are conflicting and I will have to wait for a patch from either FF or WR. FF and WR are working on it... GeekSquad did a few tweaks that allow me to run video now, but FF is still painfully slow.

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That is precisely why I said "Take it to a reputable, local computer repair shop (NOT a computer chain with a small repair desk)", without naming any computer chain stores.

They know how to sell anti-virus software that they are 'recommended' to sell by their management. Remember, they are primarily a retail product outlet.

I will not necessarily fault the Geek Squad - I am sure they do the best that they can with what they are given to work with. But...

If you re-read and follow the guidelines in my post, there will probably be a much better outcome.

PS: Some anti-virus programs DO interfere with other programs (including other a/v programs) that are on computers. Be sure that you have ONE and only ONE anti-virus program on your computer. Multiple a/v programs tend to conflict with each other. The result? Low or no a/v protection, or other problems.

Remove any TRIAL a/v programs that came with your computer. Even if you think they are inactive, there is a good chance that they are still active, and hurting your protection. Remove any EXPIRED a/v programs - they are some of the worst offenders. Just as few hints for you.

PPS: The above is NOT necessarily a solution for the Firefox issue. The symptoms of that issue clearly point to the Firefox program.

Example: If other installed programs are working more sluggishly now than before, then there may be a system-wide issue. If ONLY Firefox demonstrates sluggishness, then the cause will most likely be with the ONE program (common sense).

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As noted above, disallowing accessabilty access fixed problems for 57. Today Firefox upgraded to 57.0.1 and all problems are back. https://sourceforge.net/speedtest/ shows upload and DL spedds are decreased aboput 20%, but the real kickers are latency which increases about 10 to 100fold, from 16ms 223 and then 1236ms, and packet loss consistently at 4 to 5%. After left open a while the firefox processes use up 100% of disk resources and whole computer becomes unuseable. Quitting and restarting firefox improve this but even at fresh restart, speedtest shows these awful latency and packet loss results immediately. Quitting firefox and same speedtest w Chrome I get lateny26ms, packet loss 0%, DL and UL about 20% faster. I am reposting this on a few similar threads.

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I have tried all suggested solutions (identify true or false accesibility protocol; complete uninstall/delete/re-install Firefox; & prevent accesibility solutions). None have worked.

I use a standard Norton anti-virus program which, in the past, does not seem to have generated any conflicts with Firefox.

Any other options before I give up on Firefox, which I have loved using for many, many years?

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Here is what worked for me...

Enter "about:config" in the address bar.

Agree to enter the CONFIG area.

Find "accessibility.force_disabled".

Change value to "1".

Restart Firefox.

Problem resolved (for me). Try it and report back in a post.

PS: This issue has nothing to do with anti-virus programs. Norton is OK. Add Emsisoft Anti-malware for the best protection.

Modified by kenoracle

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"Try it and report back in a post."

I'm using FF ESR 52.7.0 (64-bit), on Win 7, and have no complaints. It appears to be some kind of "Stable Release", but I don't have much more. Mostly FF ESR does everything expected of it, except FF ESR (like all FF releases) seems to be hated by Shockwave Flash, as used in Google Finance, which I can do without. I tried your "accessibility.force_disabled" as suggested. Not sure what its function is, and the change doesn't make any difference to how my FF ESR works. After all is said & done, FF ESR 52.7.0 is still much easier to live with than current releases such as FF 57.

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My system is W10 (latest update).

I was using 64-bit FF 58.2 - Today, it updated to FF 59. Still going strong. No FF lagging.

FF 57 is technologically old, and may have been causing issues.

Try updating to today's FF (59). Then, be sure the "accessibility.force_disabled" has been changed.

Perhaps upgrade to W10 (personal choice, of course).

Let me know!

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