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When browsing, my tabs will suddenly open in a new window for no reason

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  • Nzaghachi ikpeazụ nke renatae

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Over the last few weeks, Firefox 47 and now 49 will suddenly and randomly open a tab I have either just navigated to or was already browsing in, in a new window. Blam! I'm reading, the tab shuts down and a new window appears with the same tab that shut down in my original window. It no longer appears in the original window.

This often happens when I am doing a task which requires me to switch back and forth between a couple of tabs. This really makes makes my tasks so much more difficult. This used to only happen when I was hovering over tabs, but now will happen just about any time.

Over the last few weeks, Firefox 47 and now 49 will suddenly and randomly open a tab I have either just navigated to or was already browsing in, in a new window. Blam! I'm reading, the tab shuts down and a new window appears with the same tab that shut down in my original window. It no longer appears in the original window. This often happens when I am doing a task which requires me to switch back and forth between a couple of tabs. This really makes makes my tasks so much more difficult. This used to only happen when I was hovering over tabs, but now will happen just about any time.

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Hello,

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.

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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Thank you! I will try this, and report back!

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I wound up having to disable some extensions. It seems the "Honey" app was doing it. I had recently installed it, and after I disabled it and one more recent extension, everything went back to normal - for now at least!

Thank you!