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

Lolu chungechunge lwabekwa kunqolobane. Uyacelwa ubuze umbuzo omusha uma udinga usizo.

My tabs don't re-appear if I closed Firefox with the "X" in the upper right corner...

  • 3 uphendule
  • 1 inale nkinga
  • 39 views
  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu cor-el

more options

Hello, dear Firefox Help people!

I keep a lot of tabs open in my Firefox browser (121.0 64-bit for Windows 10). Starting just recently, if I closed Firefox by clicking on the "X" in the upper-right corner of the window, then the next time I start Firefox it opens without my tabs! (It never used to do this before...) It's very disconcerting, but I found that if it starts up without my tabs, Ctl+Shift+N will open Firefox in another window--with all my tabs! I can then close the original window (the one without my tabs), and go on using Firefox in my normal way.

If I have Firefox running with my tabs present, and I close Firefox by using Ctl+Shift+Q, the next time I re-open it, all the tabs are there. (That's also the case when I close Firefox using the three-line menu and "Exit".) But I used to be able to close Firefox by simply clicking on that "X" in the upper-right corner of the window, and next time I started Firefox it would open with all my tabs intact. I'd like it to work that way again... What must I do to get it to return to working that way?

(Please note that under Settings/General/Startup, I do have "Open previous windows and tabs" checked...)

Thank you for any help you can provide...!

Hello, dear Firefox Help people! I keep a lot of tabs open in my Firefox browser (121.0 64-bit for Windows 10). Starting just recently, if I closed Firefox by clicking on the "X" in the upper-right corner of the window, then the next time I start Firefox it opens without my tabs! (It never used to do this before...) It's very disconcerting, but I found that if it starts up without my tabs, Ctl+Shift+N will open Firefox in another window--with all my tabs! I can then close the original window (the one without my tabs), and go on using Firefox in my normal way. If I have Firefox running with my tabs present, and I close Firefox by using Ctl+Shift+Q, the next time I re-open it, all the tabs are there. (That's also the case when I close Firefox using the three-line menu and "Exit".) But I used to be able to close Firefox by simply clicking on that "X" in the upper-right corner of the window, and next time I started Firefox it would open with all my tabs intact. I'd like it to work that way again... What must I do to get it to return to working that way? (Please note that under Settings/General/Startup, I do have "Open previous windows and tabs" checked...) Thank you for any help you can provide...!

All Replies (3)

more options

Ctrl+Shift+N reopens a closed window: History -> Recently Closed Windows/Tabs It is possible that you still have another, possibly hidden, window open.

Use one of these to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox Title bar, especially if you have multiple windows or Private Browsing windows open to prevent losing tabs in unnoticed windows.

  • "3-bar" menu button -> Exit (Power button)
  • Windows: File -> Exit
  • Mac: Firefox -> Quit Firefox
  • Linux: File -> Quit

See also:

more options

Cor-el, thank you for your swift reply. It does seem to make sense that if there was another Firefox window open, it might cause this sort of problem--but nothing on the task bar indicates another window being open, and switching to Cascade Windows or Show Windows Stacked does not reveal any hidden windows.

So I'm still at a loss. Every time I start Firefox after having closed it by clicking on the "X" in the upper right corner of the Firefox window, I get the sort of default opening screen--with just one tab, labeled "New Tab". Only if I use Ctl+Shift+N do I then get a Firefox window with all my tabs. And yet if I close Firefox by using File Exit, or by opening the three-bar menu and then clicking Exit, then the next time I start Firefox I it opens in a window with all my tabs present...

This is really bugging me--got any other ideas?

Thank you...

more options

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or if userChrome.css/userContent.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the Default System theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window