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Since the release of version 52 in March 2017, Firefox no longer loads NPAPI plugins except Adobe Flash. Find out how it works and what you can do about it.

Beginning in [[Find what version of Firefox you are using|Firefox version]] 52 released March 7, 2017, installed [https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/10/08/npapi-plugins-in-firefox/ NPAPI plugins] are no longer supported in Firefox, except for Adobe Flash. Some of the plugins that will no longer load in Firefox, even though they may be installed on your computer, include Java, Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Acrobat. See [https://www.fxsitecompat.com/docs/2016/plug-in-support-has-been-dropped-other-than-flash/ this compatibility document] for details. Over the past few years, Firefox has implemented various Web APIs so that websites can do the same things they’ve always done without plugins, so you will most likely not notice any change to your browsing experience. =Why did Firefox do this?= The internet is full of websites that go beyond static pages, such as video, sound and games. NPAPI plugins, especially Flash, have helped enable these interactive pages. But they also make your browsing slower, less secure and more likely to crash. [https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2016/07/20/reducing-adobe-flash-usage-in-firefox/ Over the past few years], Firefox has worked hard to build replacements for these plugins. Together, they are called Web APIs. They are designed to replace the function of these plugins without undermining your internet security, stability and performance. Before, these Web APIs weren’t quite ready, so Firefox started the transition by making plugins load manually ([[Why do I have to click to activate plugins? |click to activate]]). Today, they’re ready. Many sites have adopted them, and almost all your favourite pages can be enjoyed without using old and insecure plugins. Firefox joins other modern browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge to remove support for these NPAPI plugins. =I’m having problems= In case you’re not yet ready for this transition to happen, the ESR ([https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/faq/ Extended Support Release]) of Firefox 52 will continue to support these plugins until early 2018. Click [https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/all/ here] to download Firefox ESR. '''Important:''' The Windows 64-bit version of Firefox 52 ESR only supports the Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If you also need support for Java or other installed plugins, choose the Windows (32-bit) download. {for fx55}<!--https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1357428--> {warning} By default, Firefox 52 ESR will use the same [[Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data|user profile data]] as other versions of Firefox. Installing Firefox 52 ESR after using Firefox version 55 or above can cause problems such as loss of browsing history, error messages, breakage in portions of Firefox and issues with some websites. You should either [[Use the Profile Manager to create and remove Firefox profiles|create a new profile]] to use with Firefox 52 ESR or else [[Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings|refresh Firefox]] after installing Firefox 52 ESR. {/for}