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Firefox updates automatically

  • 9 replies
  • 13 have this problem
  • 10 views
  • Last reply by John99

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I have Firefox 23.0.1. When I go to Help/About Firefox/Check for updates, it automatically applies the update. I just want to be able to click "check for updates" & then decide whether or not to install. It used to be that Firefox would check & tell me whether my add-ons were compatible. Now it installs the udpate & may tell me that a particular add-on isn't compatible.

I would like to have the option to install AFTER I know whether an add-on will be disabled or not? How can I change this behavior? Thank you,

I have Firefox 23.0.1. When I go to Help/About Firefox/Check for updates, it automatically applies the update. I just want to be able to click "check for updates" & then decide whether or not to install. It used to be that Firefox would check & tell me whether my add-ons were compatible. Now it installs the udpate & may tell me that a particular add-on isn't compatible. I would like to have the option to install AFTER I know whether an add-on will be disabled or not? How can I change this behavior? Thank you,

All Replies (9)

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This is not easily changeable.

You should find removing the update URL in about config, from all profiles will stop updating. But is is very important to update, and most addons should give no problems.

There is always a problem with some security related add-ons but it is only the secondary features; and they are of speculative value; that are a problem. The security software for instance carries on with the AV work.

  • Is it a particular addon that you are having problems with ?

It appears when writing this question you did not follow the prompt to include full troubleshooting information, so this question is not displaying the full list of your extensions.

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Thank you so much for your response. I'm not having a problem with a particular add-on right now. My question really isn't about compatibility of add-ons.

When I used to click on Help/About Firefox/Check for updates, it would then ask me if I wanted to update. And even if I selected "yes', it would then check to see if all add-ons were compatible and then let me decide if I wanted to update.

I would like to have that behavior back. When I click on "check for updates", I don't want it to update automatically. How can I change this? Thank you,

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Thanks for your reply. I'm not worried about compatibility right now. I just don't want Firefox to update automatically when I check for updates.

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If you check for updates by opening the Help > About window then Firefox will automatically download an update when one is available. You would have to use other ways to check if there is a newer version.

You can find the full version of the latest Firefox 23 release in all languages and for all Operating Systems here and compare the version number with the version that you have installed:

Note that it is recommended to update Firefox to the latest version to get all bug and security fixes.

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You have this extension installed - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/is-it-compatible/ - why not view it / use it before opening Help > About Firefox?

Is It Compatible? 0.5.3
" Are your addons compatible with the next version of Firefox? Find out straight from the Addons window!"

Automatically checking and installing an update from that window isn't anything new, its been like that for almost two years now- IIRC.

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Thanks again for your reply, cor-el. I guess I would just prefer to use "check for updates" to just check & then make a decision. I suppose I can just use True Image's "Try & Decide" every time I check for updates & then undo everything if something breaks. But if that's the way it works, I'll just have to accept it or check for new versions by using the link you provided.

Thank you again for your time & expertise. I appreciate it. -- Phil

Modified by phrab

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Thanks edmeister. I appreciate the response. I will look at that the next time there's an update. Funny, many of the add-ons are listed as compatible with Firefox 24, but I thought only Firefox 23.0.1 was out.

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Firefox 24, 25 & 26 are available. Firefox 24 is on the beta channel and stable. Anyone above a basic user may in my personal opinion benefit from using it. It is intended as the next version of Firefox.

You get benefits of any improvements six weeks earlier, and if anything goes wrong then an experienced Firefox user will probably have few problems with downgrading again to the Release. So unlike those on the main Release channel Beta channel user always has a secure downgrade path.

Personally I use the Aurora Channel version for day to day browsing, and even that is pretty stable. It is the Nightly that is the most experimental version