This article describes how to uninstall an extension or theme that can't be removed by following the instructions in Disable or remove Add-ons or Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page.
Table of Contents
Uninstalling add-ons from Firefox Troubleshoot Mode
If you can't access the Add-ons Manager or if the option to remove a certain add-on is disabled, you may need to uninstall it from Firefox Troubleshoot Mode.
Click the menu button , click
, select and click in the Restart Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode? dialog.Note: You can also start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode by holding down the Shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running:firefox -safe-mode
You may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox).- In the Firefox Troubleshoot Mode dialog, click .
Once Firefox has started in Troubleshoot Mode, try removing the add-on again and then restarting Firefox.
Uninstalling add-ons from the Windows Control Panel
Some add-ons are installed by other programs. You may be able to remove the add-on from the Windows Control Panel or Settings page.
- See Microsoft's article, Windows 7 – How to properly uninstall programs.
- See this Microsoft Community post for more help.
- See Microsoft's article, Repair or remove programs in Windows 10.
Managing extensions installed by other software
Sometimes installing or updating other software will add an extension that can't be removed from within the Add-ons Manager because the option to remove it is disabled or not functional.
The software that added the Firefox extension may include an option to remove it. You should visit the support site of the software provider for more information. As an alternative, simply disable the extension in the Add-ons manager if you no longer wish to use it. To disable the extension, click the blue toggle.
Uninstalling manually
If you can't remove an extension from Firefox using the other methods described above, you can manually remove it. First navigate to the folder where extensions are installed:
Open your profile folder:
- Click the menu button , click and select .From the The Troubleshooting Information tab will open. menu, select .
- Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderProfile Directory, click . A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.Your profile folder will open.
Note: If you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox.- Open the extensions folder inside your profile folder. Inside the extensions folder there are folders or XPI files for each extension and theme that you have installed.
- To determine which folder or XPI file corresponds to the extension you want to uninstall, return to Firefox and the tab.
- In the Extensions section, find the extension you want to remove and note the string in the ID column.
- Click the Firefox menu and select .Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select .Click the Firefox menu and select .
- Delete the folder or XPI file that corresponds to the extension ID you noted above.
Managing globally installed extensions
In rare cases, extensions are installed globally into the Firefox installation folder or using the Windows registry. See this article on Extension Workshop for more information. Follow these steps to remove a globally installed extension:
- Click the Firefox menu and select .Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select .Click the Firefox menu and select .
- To find the sideloading directory, go to the C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\ folder and open the Extensions\{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384} folder.
- Follow the steps above to locate and delete the appropriate folder or XPI file.
- Click the Firefox menu and select .Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select .Click the Firefox menu and select .
- To find the sideloading directory, go to Library/Application Support/Mozilla/ and open the Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384} folder.
- Follow the steps above to locate and delete the appropriate folder or XPI file.
- Click the Firefox menu and select .Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select .Click the Firefox menu and select .
- Go to the following folders:
- /usr/lib/mozilla/extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/
- /usr/lib64/mozilla/extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/
- /usr/share/mozilla/extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/
- Follow the steps above to locate and delete the appropriate folder or XPI file.
Based on information from Uninstalling add-ons (mozillaZine KB)