Firefox Community Forum

After every update, Firefox starts to a blank screen and will not start loading the webpage url put in for over twenty minutes to a half hour. During this time other browsers on my Win 10 PC load immediately so it is not a network issue. It is Firefox. When I see that an update is pending I hesitate to do the update because I know I will lose the use of Firefox until it is ready to respond. It just hangs with "loading X.com" showing at the bottom left of the blank screen. I have been using Firefox for a long time and in the past year or longer it has become very unreliable. There are also instances where without an update it will do this and the only way I can get it to work is to clear the cache and the history through settings. What is going on with Firefox! (And lately there is an update every couple fo days!

Hi, after latest update just now, the browsers uses up to 45gb of ram within a few minutes! Not sure what it is, I am on MACOS Sequia Version 15.6.1 (24G90) macbook pro M1

This has been in the last month or so. It will freeze up and I can't break out of it. Last time it froze the whole computer and I had to power down and restart. There must be something that changed. And there must be some way for me to be able to quit when this happens. Last time it was on a video call with my 104 year old mother and it is very annoying. The whole thing froze and I had to restart the computer and when I got it back up, she was off. I need some way to break out so I don't have to do a complete restart. t.

Hi folks My configuration: MacOS Tahoe FF 15.4.0 When I relaunched FF after restarting the Mac, in the Windows menu all the pages from the previous session were listed but none appeared when I tried selecting them. They must be hidden somewhere. I tried several work-arounds. The one that gives a result is by selecting in the View menu the Enter Full Screen item, then try to go back to a normal view which is a pain in the neck. Is there a clean method to make all those windows come back to their normal position and if possible preventing FF from doing this in the first place? TIA Nick

When I brought Firefox up about a week ago, it presented me with a survey, results of which were sent to Firefox developers. They asked several multiple choice questions about features, but they didn't ask a very important question: Would you use Firefox more if it used less system memory? I currently use Google Chrome for about 2/3 of my web browsing because Firefox uses up too much system memory. I would prefer to use Firefox most of the time, but can't, since it bogs down when memory usage gets too high.

The survey should have included a text input box so users could enter any comments for the developers, and the survey did NOT do that.

So, after completing the survey, I was disappointed that I couldn't comment on the most important issue I have with Firefox. I would like the Firefox dev team to try get Firefox's use of system memory down. A short while ago, I opened 4 websites in Google Chrome, then opened the exact same 4 websites in Firefox. The attached shows the memory usage of each browser.

Ubuntu - I use the SNAP version of Firefox - I generally have lots of tabs open but only use 5 or so of them and it's generally fine.... but when I am closing Firefox, it USES like 100% of the CPU and ALL of the RAM and ALL of the SWAP memory when closing.

This locks up the computer.

Sometimes it doesn't quite go all the way but I can watch it all happen in real time, using Task Manager - and that shows a solidwall of all resources occouring, when the close Firefox is run.

I am told by research via ChatGPT that this is a very real problem with the SNAP version and it's best to change to the Debian version, copy all the bookmarks etc., across and then uninstall the SNAP version.

It's rather disconcerting to have Linux crash because of this one app locking it up and frequently.

Chat GPT:

Is there a problem with Firefox Snap Version closing and using all the resources while doing so, which results in locking up the computer?

You're definitely not imagining it—there have been reports of Firefox's Snap version consuming excessive system resources (CPU, memory) and even causing lockups or hangs, particularly during closure. Here's what’s going on and how to mitigate it:

What’s Happening with Firefox Snap?

2. Browser Hangs or Locks the System on Close

On Linux (especially Ubuntu), users have reported that closing Firefox can lead to it hanging in memory, sometimes unresponsive and still consuming resources.
Super User
Ask Ubuntu
A stark example from Reddit illustrates the severity:
“About 50% of the time I open Firefox, it'll reach 100% CPU usage in about 30 seconds… PC completely unusable unless I shutdown.”
Reddit

3. Known Wayland Sway Bug

On Wayland/Sway setups, reloading Sway while Firefox is open can trigger intense logging, causing high CPU use and an enormous syslog.
Fix: Set MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND_PROXY=1, or upgrade to FF 125 where the issue is addressed.
Reddit+1

Alternative Approach

Many users, particularly on Ubuntu, opt out of Snap completely in favor of the .deb package or PPA builds. These alternatives often avoid these specific issues. Ask Ubuntu Reddit

Thoughts? Solutions?

Thanks in advance.

Hello, For about two or three days now, when I launch Firefox and try to open any website, it takes maybe one minute to load the page, then the navigation is OK on every website.

It only happens when I launch Firefox for the first time of my session. If I close it then relaunch it, it's still very swift.

I tried clear cache and remove cookies, just lost my logins lol but didn't work. I also tried with no extensions, nothing changed. Lastly I tried to set "network.captive-portal-service.enabled" to "false" in "about:config" but it didn't change anything neither.

So before I try anything else that could erase something on my profile, I'd rather ask here for some help :)

PS: running FF 153.0.4 on Debian Trixie with Mozilla repos. Only have two extensions: µblockOrigin and NoScript.

Thank you in advance!

When I have multiple tabs open, around the 6th tab, the entire computer freezes. I have to press the physical button to shut down and restart. This behavior started with the last Firefox update. It doesn't happen when I use Brave browser. What changed to cause this?

I'm running Mozilla Firefox for Linux Mint mint 100 - 1.0 version 141.0.3 (64 bit) on Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon. These are the latest versions of Mint and of Firefox for Mint.

whenever i scroll trough a website in firefox, the ewperience is very laggy, feels like its 15fps. i have done basic things like disabling hardware acceleration, smooth smooth scrolling.

First the laggy, extremely slow issue was just noticed on YouTube. Now I notice it on Rumble and other sites. For now, I have to abandon Firefox and use an alternative browser. I've stayed with you for years. Maybe it's time to part ways. I really like your browser. But, it has become nearly non-functional for me.

MAC Platform:

             OS:   macOS Taho 26.5.1

Computer: MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021

                    Chip:  Apple M1 Pro (Silicon)
                    Memory:  32GB LPDDR5 (Hynix manufacturer)
                    Graphics:  Apple M1 Pro  GPU Built-In Bus, - 16 Total Cores, Vendor Apple, Metal Support: Metal 4
                    Model Identifier:  MacBookPro18,1
                   Model Number: Z14Z00109LL/A
                   Total Number of Cores:  10 (8 Performance and 2 Efficiency)
                   System Firmware & OS Loader Version:  18000.120.36
                   Activation Lock Status:  Enabled
                   Internal Storage:  SSD 4TB Capacity ;  File System APFS; Free 2.12 TB
FireFox for MAC:   Version 15.1.0.3 (aarch64)

Firefox MAC freezes intermittently , will get spinning beach ball and status shows Firefox (Not Responding) and must force quit FF.

Sometimes FF after fresh down load from the official FF site for MAC will work great for an hour or half a day and then out of now where go into the spinning beach ball , and unable to enter data into any field - completly bricked and FF status shown as Not Responding. Tnis could happen immediately, or after an hour or anytime within a day or two.

No way of deciphering or determining what in the heck triggers it or why - way way too many factors and settings and variables both within the FF registry and the macOS and the activity I may or may not be doing at any given time.

I will say I experienced this when all apps on my MAC were shutdown, no apps up and running, but I do use Backblaze, Mai Backup X, Malwarebytes, Dropbox, MS NTFS Tuxera, DriveDX which all have ongoing background tasks running all the time or at least in the background from time to time.

However, I have used this setup for the last few years with Firefox MAC with absolutely no hiccup whatsoever.

And then immediately after the last FirForx update on Tahoe, just before I applied the latest 16.5.1 Tahoe upgrade is the intermittant freezing with FF started.

Could this be a FF / Tahoe incompatibility issue?

If not, does anyone out there have anything to fix this?

And yes i did a complete uninstall of all of FF hidden Library folders as well as the "firefox.app" itself - if anyone tells me to uninstall all the hidden FF folders and files in ~/Library one more time, then forget it, I am done using FireFox. Been there and done there a number of times the last week, exhausted with that, and doesn't do a thing.

And yes kept deleting and creating new FF profiles and did not fix the issue.

So does some great genius Mozzilla FF Mac SW engineer have any clue as to the real issue and the real fix without sending me on a wild goose chase?

thank you. clb6

Dear Support Person,

Yesterday, after being notified that an upgrade was available, I executed the upgrade to version 152.0.

The upgrade completed successfully with my eight tabs populating on the left side along with a new tab showing all the features of the new upgrade.

I opened my Gmail tab and my Yahoo mail tab. Eventually, Firefox froze up, saying it was Not Responding. I looked at Task Manager and saw that Firefox was continuing to grab up memory. I ended the Firefox process in Task Manager.

I then opened it again and deleted all the tabs except for one. It continued to grab up memory.

I then opened it in Troubleshooting mode. It errored out, and I sent the report to Firefox support.

The only thing that has changed is the fact that I ran the upgrade to Firefox. Nothing else has changed.

Firefox has been my go-to browser for years. I am using Chrome as my access to the internet now, and cringe every time I go into it.

I hope and pray that you can bring my Firefox friend back to me.

I am anxiously looking forward to hearing from you.

Take care and God bless!

~ Kyle P.S. I just tried getting information from about:support. I was able to copy the raw data and then the application crashed. I sent the Crash Report to you folks. The raw data I pasted in the Troubleshooting Information box.

I get screen tearing on videos or when i scroll on any website. Only happens on Firefox, I've tested Chrome, Edge, Opera.

https://streamable.com/80gxcm

Smooth Scrolling is Off. Hardware Acceleration is Off. I've tried toggling "gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.force-enabled" Firefox is up to date.

None of this has helped.

I always have multiple tabs open in my browser. Previously, I could easily open (and switch between) 20+ tabs (I have 16GB of RAM). Recently, after opening five tabs, the Task Manager shows 10-11GB of RAM (88-90%) in use! How can this be? I cleared the cache and history, but it didn't help. I installed several RAM cleaners, but none freed up the required amount. None of the five programs worked. Where does that 15GB of RAM go when I open Firefox? When will you finally implement something like Google Chrome—they free up RAM for active pages when inactive ones are opened. Maybe it's because I have so many inactive tabs that the RAM is disappearing? But I had just as many tabs before, some of them inactive, and fewer than 20 active ones, so I could easily open another 20. And now I can't even open five new ones. What's happening to the browser?! SOS!

Original FF user here so not a newbie. Run all FF updates on a regular basis. Currently on a MacBk Air circa 2020 running Sonoma 14.7.7 I browse twitter on a regular basis. I run various ad blockers: ABP, Adblocker Ultimate & Privacy Badger. Last month or so I've needed to make some adjustments as maybe the X platform has instituted workarounds or something but suddenly I was seeing ads that looked like someone's post, very deceptive. At one point it was necessary to disable Privacy Badger on twitter/X as there was an interference w what I was seeing. That wasn't that long ago, maybe 2-3 wks? Consequently if I saw an ad I needed to do a "block element" thru Adblocker Ultimate & while it was a bit of a bother that was all fine and good no problem. Again, this was all recent. Tonite was different. An ad appeared and somewhere something got entangled and I had to disable the Adblocker Ultimate. I sent them an email to see what's up. Then I had to disable that on twitter so ads appeared. Next I tried to enable ABP again on twitter to see if maybe since I'd disabled it a couple of wks prior maybe it had been updated and would work ok. This is when things really started to go downhill. It worked but too well - was disabling images from news reports and/or someone's posted video. THEN I noticed my cpu was running a bit loud. I tried to disable/test the ad blockers but my cpu was getting louder so I shut down the twitter website altogether.

That didn't help. I checked the Utility monitor and saw my activity monitor climbing as I heard the fan running louder. SO bizarre! I shut down FF altogether and this calmed down the CPU. Next I opened just a general news site - Al Jazeera - to see what would happen. Within about 2-3 mins the CPU started speeding up again. I closed AlJazeera, and just sat there for a few moments and my cpu calmed down. Opened it again same thing. Began speeding up. That's when I came here to file a report//ask qs because this just doesn't ever happen - literally ever. It is not unusual for me to have both a browser page open w 2-3 windows along w a private window open - maybe mltiple windows there - and NO cpu noise going on. Once more I shut down FF completely before reopening a new window. IF I start browsing a news site - like Al Jazeera, it begins running hot again. Twitter, same thing and now my ad blockers seem to be messed up//not working as well. Right now as I type this I have ABP & AdBlocker Ultimate both highlighted as active; Privacy Badger is showing enabled but no activity, Twitter Video Downloader is just sitting there as is typical unless I need it (it's to download videos off of Twitter, works very well too.) That's all I have for add-ons. Right now in just this window everything is calm and quiet. IF I open a news site tho, or social media, anything w a bit of activity on it everything starts humming louder and louder. I just opened FB for a few moments to see if that creates issues and yes it does w/i maybe 2-3 mins of activity. Also: FF Privacy & Security Settings are on Standard. Not sure what else I can provide but please feel free to ask. I may have left something out. I'm hearing the cpu heat up again so getting ready to just shut things down for the night. Thanks to all who helped build FF - really - and thanks to whoever can help resolve whatever's going on now.

About two weeks ago, Firefox started randomly hanging and would stop responding. It wouldn't let me close the program and I always have to restart my system to resolve the problem. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes after restart before it hangs, other times it will be fine for hours.

I've tried multiple solutions I've found online, carefully following instructions: clearing cookies and cache, disabling all extensions, refreshing firefox, creating a new profile, deleting specific files within the Profiles folder, etc.

I've yet to make it more than four hours without the program hanging.

Any assistance or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Using Google Voice became unusable. Firefox too slow. Had been running just fine up till maybe a month ago when I finally gave in and allowed Firefox to update. Not knowing if it was a Windows or other issue I stupidly did a Windows reset and lost all my installed programs (including Firefox). I did a fresh install of Firefox and manually reentered passwords and bookmarks.

Ran fine for a day or two and is now again unusable. Cleared cache and appears to work OK at the moment but still sluggish.

Finn