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going back to Firefox version 88 (and throw new version 89 in the trash!!!)???

  • 20 replies
  • 14 have this problem
  • 17 views
  • Last reply by Chris Ilias

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I've used Firefox for years, and this is, by far, the worst update to date......

the newly upgraded version of Firefox 89 is horrendous!!! How did you manage to get it approved for "universal design" to make it "disability friendly"? I find it visually unfriendly, it does not allow for the level of adaptation some of us might need to make it more visually friendly and easier to navigate

please provide instructions for those of us who prefer to go back to version 88! or make additional changes to correct version 89 to make it more user-friendly like version 88 was......please!!!!

(and lesson learned, I will stop doing "upgrade/update available" if it's going to result in the horrifically unfriendly version I'm having to deal with right now )(or else you all are really trying to push people to Chrome and/or Edge, which I assure you, is not my preference)

please fix asap!!!

I've used Firefox for years, and this is, by far, the worst update to date...... the newly upgraded version of Firefox 89 is horrendous!!! How did you manage to get it approved for "universal design" to make it "disability friendly"? I find it visually unfriendly, it does not allow for the level of adaptation some of us might need to make it more visually friendly and easier to navigate please provide instructions for those of us who prefer to go back to version 88! or make additional changes to correct version 89 to make it more user-friendly like version 88 was......please!!!! (and lesson learned, I will stop doing "upgrade/update available" if it's going to result in the horrifically unfriendly version I'm having to deal with right now )(or else you all are really trying to push people to Chrome and/or Edge, which I assure you, is not my preference) please fix asap!!!

All Replies (20)

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Couldn't agree more!!

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bassets4cat said

I find it visually unfriendly, it does not allow for the level of adaptation some of us might need to make it more visually friendly and easier to navigate please provide instructions for those of us who prefer to go back to version 88! or make additional changes to correct version 89 to make it more user-friendly like version 88 was......please!!!!

Could you describe in more detail what you would like changed? Regarding color contrast, if you prefer the dark navy background at the top of the browser, a user created an add-on theme to restore those colors:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/photon-colors/

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Same here visually unfriendly

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So we have to restore functionality with add-ons??? Wow!

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ajohn050 said

So we have to restore functionality with add-ons??? Wow!

I don't know that I would call a color scheme "functionality" but if the built-in choices don't suit you, an add-on is a good option.

Want more control? Check out this extension to build your own color scheme:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/firefox-color/

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jscher2000 said

ajohn050 said

So we have to restore functionality with add-ons??? Wow!

I don't know that I would call a color scheme "functionality" but if the built-in choices don't suit you, an add-on is a good option.

Want more control? Check out this extension to build your own color scheme:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/firefox-color/

It's the color and the size. The tab bar's now too tall and there isn't good differentiation between tabs. Ultra-fine lines of the back/forward arrows (along with refresh and home) are too fine to distinguish when it's greyed out vs. black. I don't see a way to fix all of this and want a "color scheme" that restores what was there before. Even if you have a pool of users who want the "new" look, you still have a pool of older users who want the functionality they had, without having to go through some digital obstacle course.

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1) Clicking the bookmarks function on the menu bar now gives me a list of my bookmark folders that is longer than my screen height. I do not need or want all that useless white space between bookmark folders. 2) Those ultra fine symbols used on the search bar maybe the 'style du jour' but I find them too dainty. I already have reading glasses and now I have to fiddle with my screen settings so the symbols are readable in a variety of daytime and nighttime room lighting. The same with the text in the address/search bar; very light grey on light grey is an awful selection. 3) How do I roll back to version 88? And, for my ease, I removed automatic updates.

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so, Firefox "whoever you are who makes these unilateral decisions on upgrades", please give us a way to go back to the previous version (88), without having to figure out/set up "add-ons" (which I never completely understood in the first place!). If there are some people who want to make their options "more fancy" or whatever it is called, fine - LET them be the ones to deal with "add-ons".

Please remember that you have users who are more than your target group of "whoever your target group is" - and not all of us have had a computer attached to our hands since we were 2.......(I still remember when computers took up entire rooms in a building.......!).

Your main goal with upgrades and "improvements" should, first and foremost, always be to go for a "universal design" that is friendly across ALL disability groups as well as for people who may not be as "computer savvy/program savvy" as others (aka "keep things simple/basic")

Let the "whiz kids/tech savvy people" be the ones who use the "add-ons" and whatever other fancy things they want to do to their browsers - keep your main "firefox" browser user-friendly, NOT user-unfriendly/user-overwhelming!!!

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Hi bassets4cat, old versions of Firefox are always available for download but not recommended. This article has more info: Install an older version of Firefox.

Are you sure we can't help you make Firefox 89 work for you? I still think it would be helpful if you describe the specific changes that bother you.

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you want examples? here's a composite shot of the top part of version 88 (which still happened to be on my travel laptop - thankfully, I had not updated it (and do not plan to!) compared to the top part of version 89 (ugh!) - I have circled in black the areas of most concern and on ver. 89, I have also circled part of what makes it so hard to navigate!!!

And I agree with the previous posters (ajohn050 and rwmiller613), those "dainty" (to borrow their terms) unnecessary controls in the "second" row are useless - and VERY distracting. It also causes the "search" bar to be moved inordinately too far and away to the right side of the screen, not closer to the left side of the screen as it was in version 88.

if the issue is that you have folks/users who want those "dainty" little controls, let them use "add-ons" to set their screen up with them. I always prefer to go to the control icon (the 4 horizontal lines) on the far side of the top of the screen for any controls I might need to use. I do not need "dummy" buttons placed in the second line to clutter up the row!!!

Bottom line, Firefox should be providing a simple, easily accessible, visually friendly (not visually crowded) browser screen option for the general user, without forcing people to have to try to figure out how to manage add-ons!!! Let those who want to use add-ins to add any and all "frou-frou" buttons they want

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bassets4cat said

I have circled in black the areas of most concern and on ver. 89, I have also circled part of what makes it so hard to navigate!!!

You circled: (A) a tab and (B) some toolbar buttons. And you described an objection to the toolbar buttons:

And I agree with the previous posters (ajohn050 and rwmiller613), those "dainty" (to borrow their terms) unnecessary controls in the "second" row are useless - and VERY distracting. It also causes the "search" bar to be moved inordinately too far and away to the right side of the screen, not closer to the left side of the screen as it was in version 88.

For the toolbar, you can customize in the same ways as previous versions. For example, right-click unwanted buttons and use "Remove from Toolbar" if you have no use for them. To remove the buffer spaces around the address bar, call up the Customize feature. You'll see an empty "spacer" box that you can drag off the bar to let the address bar expand. You also can drag controls around to wherever they are most convenient.

As for the thin wireframe icon design, I do not have a simple solution for that. Replacing icons is a bit of a project and I suggest visiting the r/FirefoxCSS subreddit for advice on that if you are so inclined. https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/

Regarding the tab that you circled. What's the issue with the tab?

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rwmiller613 said

1) Clicking the bookmarks function on the menu bar now gives me a list of my bookmark folders that is longer than my screen height. I do not need or want all that useless white space between bookmark folders.

I can give you an easy short-term workaround, but a more durable solution will require more work.

Temporary Fix

For testing purposes, there is a preference to switch between new style and old style menus. It helps with the spacing, but might be a tad bit glitchy:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste browser.proton.contextmenus.enabled and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the preference to switch between true (new style) and false (old style)

In my test, the Bookmarks menu on the optional top Menu Bar was messed up in the existing window, but looked okay in a new window.

Longer Term Community Workaround

This involves setting up a userChrome.css file. The full instructions are in the following thread: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1337841

I'm sure we'll refine that during the course of the month so when the temporary preference is removed, it will be airtight.

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you have 2 days to make the bookmarks bar to the way it was and for all other changes to be reversed, afterwards I'm switching to chrome. what a disaster!

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OMG..... what a FREAKING NIGHTMARE!!!! i updated as usual, and the CRAP THAT CAME UP!!!! just went through DOWNGRADING to version 88.01 (i think). what a major pain in the a**!!!!! i thought i'd lost everything!!!! Mozilla....it wasn't broke, but your fixing it sure took care of that..... no more updates for me until my computer refuses to work, and then i'll switch to a different browser!!!! you guys really screwed this one up!!!! and i've been with firefox for at least 15 years!!!!!

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Good thing I had a note with my password here so I could vent. I notice FF has "Submit Feedback" shut down. Too many complaints about Version 89? Have you been taken over by Facebook, with its "if it works, break it" attitude?

I updated FF on my upstairs PC from 88 to 89. HUGE mistake. Couldn't find a way to delete the update - couldn't even find "about" in the options, where I used to have some control.

The article referenced above about reverting to a previous version, which screamed "don't do it!" suggested downloading the ESR ? version. I did so, and it went into an infinite loop of the popup box asking if I want to allow FF to make changes. This box has been showing up on the upstairs PC every time I turn the PC on - another annoyance, as well as the "block popups" which has stopped working.

I was in absolute heaven about ten years ago when I switched from Internet Explorer to Firefox. It was beautiful, and it WORKED. FAST. A few years ago, possibly summer of 2019? FF was stuck on "a web page is slowing down your brower" for a few months and I had to switch to Chrome, which I absolutely hated. Fortunately, FF was fixed and I was able to delete the monster Chrome before it ate every one of my 8GB.

So, on upstairs PC I had to delete FF completely. Tomorrow will try to load Version 88. I did not want to "Refresh" since that always lost my bookmarks.

I was waiting to upgrade this downstairs PC to see what Version 89 had wrought. Good thing I waited, since 89 is horrible to look at, too much open space, too many options missing, and my bookmarks would take up three full screens.

Can you separate the security updates from the UI changes? And provide some one-stop commands along with the three bars options? I really don't want to play with about:config since I don't know much about IT and don't have anyone in real life to help me.

As with Facebook, I would happily pay a yearly fee for a program that WORKS for the user. I spent too many years being a beta-testing guinea pig for windows. I just want a stable platform that I can count on to work every day. FF Version 89 is definitely not that creature.

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Also, I never change colors. I like a white background with black ink: the opposite hurts my eyes.

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I just wrote a nice long reply here and I don't see it posted. Where is it?

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fidservant said

I just wrote a nice long reply here and I don't see it posted. Where is it?

It's in the moderation queue for some reason.

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I agree with the other posters. None of these changes enhance the product. The bookmark font is too small and I don't want all the white space between bookmarks. I want to change the look back to that of the previous version as a simple option in settings that I can click on. I don't want to have to go to css menus or other obtuse options.

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Hi everyone, It doesn't look like the person who posted the original question is going to respond, and others seem to be using this thread for there own issues, so I'm going to lock this thread.

For better help, it would be best to use https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new where volunteers can get more details about your setup.