How to download and install Firefox on Mac
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- Creator: Angela Lazar
- Comment: Add section about Apple Silicon compatibility
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- Reviewed by: anlazar
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- Readied for localization by: anlazar
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This article explains how to download and install Firefox on a Mac.
- If you are updating from a previous version of Firefox, see Update Firefox to the latest release.
Firefox version 83 and higher support Apple devices with an ARM-based CPU (i.e. Apple Silicon). Firefox 83 supports the current x86 architecture and run on both current Intel-based Apple devices and new Apple Silicon devices by way of Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation software and thus performance speeds may suffer. Later versions of Firefox are expected run natively (i.e. not under emulation).
If you use an old version of OS X, see these articles for more information:
Installing Firefox on Mac
- Visit the Firefox download page in any browser (for example, Safari). It will automatically detect the platform and language on your computer and recommend the best version of Firefox for you.
- Click .
- Note: If you want to have a choice of the language for your Firefox installation, click the Download options and other languages link instead.
- Once the download has completed, the file (Firefox.dmg) may open by itself and pop open a Finder window containing the Firefox application. Drag the Firefox icon on top of the Applications folder in order to copy it there.
- Note: If you do not see this window, open the Firefox.dmg file that you downloaded.
- After dragging Firefox to the Applications folder, hold down the control key while clicking in the window and select from the menu.
Tip: You can add Firefox to your dock for easy access. Just open your Applications folder and drag Firefox to the dock.
Firefox is now ready for use. Just click on its icon in the dock or Applications folder to start it.
Starting Firefox for the first time
When you first start up Firefox, you will be warned that you downloaded Firefox from the Internet. Because you download Firefox from the official site, click .
Upon installation, Firefox will not be your default browser, which you'll be notified about. That means that when you open a link in your mail application, an Internet shortcut, or HTML document, it will not open in Firefox. If you want Firefox to do those things, click . If you're just trying out Firefox or simply do not wish to set Firefox as your default browser, click .