Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Denc nañu waxtaan wii. Yónneel yeneen laaj soo soxlaa ndimbal.

Firefox not restoring previous tabs even though "Restore Previous Session" is selected

peterjahn1979
peterjahn1979
more options

I run FF on both a Windows machine and a MacBook Pro. On the MBP the browser does not save my tabs, despite "restore previous session" being selected. I do not have this problem on the Windows machine.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the browser but it has not made a difference.

I'm running the latest version of the browser and the OS is Big Sur.

I run FF on both a Windows machine and a MacBook Pro. On the MBP the browser does not save my tabs, despite "restore previous session" being selected. I do not have this problem on the Windows machine. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the browser but it has not made a difference. I'm running the latest version of the browser and the OS is Big Sur.

peterjahn1979 moo ko soppali ci

Saafara biñ tànn

Note that on Mac closing Firefox can be more complicated because you can close all open windows, but keep Firefox running with the menu bar visible or minimized in the Doc.

Make sure to use "Quit Firefox" with all windows still open, especially if you want to use "Restore Previous Session". Otherwise check "History -> Restore Previous Session" and "History -> Recently Closed Tabs/Windows".

Jàng tontu lii ci fi mu bokk 👍 1

All Replies (3)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
more options

Hi, are you losing any other history between sessions, or only open tabs?

Are you ending your session by keeping your windows open and using Firefox > Quit from the menu? I believe on MacOS, if you don't Quit with the windows you want restored still open, restoring your session doesn't bring back any of the closed windows. It still might be possible to restore them using the History menu. Either:

  • (menu bar) History > Recently Closed Windows
  • "3-bar" menu button > History > Recently Closed Windows
  • "Library" toolbar button > History > Recently Closed Windows

Note: Each window also has its own Recently Closed Tabs list.

(But I don't use Mac, so I can't put hands on to test.)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Saafara yiñ Tànn

Note that on Mac closing Firefox can be more complicated because you can close all open windows, but keep Firefox running with the menu bar visible or minimized in the Doc.

Make sure to use "Quit Firefox" with all windows still open, especially if you want to use "Restore Previous Session". Otherwise check "History -> Restore Previous Session" and "History -> Recently Closed Tabs/Windows".

peterjahn1979
peterjahn1979 Ki laajte
more options

Thank you for your replies. FF does indeed seem to save my tabs upon reopening if I "quit" the application as opposed to closing the windows.