Firefox Community Forum

Suddenly I cannot search from the search bar. It defaults to the address bar. why "fix" something that was not broken. Being forced to use the address bar is frustrating. If you go directly to the address bar, it tells you it cannot find that site.

How do I get searches (my default is Google) to STOP going to the address bar? This started out of the blue and it is making me crazy. I don't want to be asked which search to use, and I don't want it to search in the address bar. I want it in the search box. Thanks.

I am reopening the question from 2020 as the solution described no longer seems to apply. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1284577

I am running Windows 11. Firefox 144.0 (64-bit)

When entering search terms into the search bar in the centre of the page, the information typed appears in the address bar, even after following the fix described in 1284577.

Treating the address bar as the search bar appears to be the default. While the user can additionally deselect the search engine in the address bar, that is an unnecessary and undesired additional step for every search (the primary reason I am using Firefox)

Is there a way to permanently set the default for what I enter into the search bar to remain in the search bar and not to be managed by the address bar? Thanks, Rich

I can't seem to locate how to activate the microphone in the AI sidebar. I have Gemini selected, and when I hit the microphone to dictate I get the following message.. Unable to access the microphone. Please check settings.

I looked through Firefox settings and my laptop's but I don't see where it is turned off or asking for activation.'

Tom Z.

Previous solution: switch browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar to false does not work anymore.

Please help.

Regards, Victor

These icons appeared recently in my Firefox browser I can't remove them. The only recent changes included uninstalling SuperAntiSpyware after finding that Microsoft PC Manager is a better option, which has performed excellently without issues.

Additionally, a free VPN (Proton) was briefly used from the Firefox browser without installation, but after finding it complicated to set up, it was deleted. A few hours later, I noticed the two icons as the windows were misbehaving and they are causing a slowdown in the PC's performance. They do not seem to be add-ons or extensions.

How do I remove the icons and return to the previous performance?

"I’ve been having trouble with choppy YouTube videos in Firefox. It happens on both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections. My system is running Windows 10, and I’ve already tried disabling hardware acceleration and clearing my browser cache. The issue persists even when I’m in Safe Mode. I’m using the latest version of Firefox (XX.XX). Any suggestions on how to fix this?"

I am having a problem with Firefox. Some websites do not load correctly and certain extensions do not work as expected.

I have already tried restarting Firefox and checking my internet connection, but the issue still happens.

Please advise how to fix this problem. Thank you.

Firefox has been my browser of choice for well over 20 years. I have a game I play every day (from FaceBook) just this week when I try to go to it on my laptop - it says your browser does not support WebGL. it has always opened using Firefox - this is a new error message. and the computer is only 5 months old and has Windows 11 on it. I do not want to switch to Google or Edge.

Like I said - opening the app worked every day up until about a week ago. What gives?

How to make Firefox my default browser on my new computer a Windows 11 computer. I’m to the point where I’ve got a pop-up window, which says sync Firefox on your phone or tablet. I am asked toOpen Firefox on my mobile device. Then Go to the menu and tap sign in. That’s where I am. Now I’m asked to tap “ready to scan” and hold my phone over the code. Unfortunately, my Firefox app does not show a ready to scan option after I get to sign in. Help!!

I have been having trouble with my Windows 11 laptop. In my efforts to resolve these issues I noticed that I now have two installs of Firefox in my Control Panel. Both installed during my time of dealing with my Windows issue. Five days apart Feb 5 and 10, 2026. Both show the same version number 147.0.3, and same size 322MB. I have used FF for many years so these seem to have been installed sometime during my efforts to repair Windows. My FF was never a part of the Windows issue AFAIK.

Anyway I have FF working as I like with my Session Manager and various AddOns and personal settings, so I do not want to have to start over with FF. So how do I choose which instance of FF to uninstall in Control Panel?

My issue with Windows was my Outlook would not connect to the server. I assume Microsoft Exchange server, my internet connectivity was fine. And FF was fne as well. I eventually was able to repair my M365 connectivity. Major PITA from out of nowhere.

I don't remember when it started but text that wasn't underlined before such as: Names of shortcuts in new tab view Titles of YouTube videos on home page, and recommended while watching a video (not on the video itself) Reddit titles and usernames (old UI)

I have checked settings as best as I can and tried disabling all extensions but still have the issue.

I opened Firefox this morning and all of my pinned shortcuts have disappeared. Shortcuts are enabled in the settings. I checked the browser.newtabpage.pinned pref on the about:config and all of my pinned shortcuts are still there, but they're not appearing on the actual page itself. Are there any other settings that I'm not aware of?