Unable to log in to websites that use signText on Firefox

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 84952
  • Created:
  • Creator: Joni
  • Comment: made signtext more explicit
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content
This article applies to newer versions of Firefox.

Some bank and government sites use the SignText certificate to communicate between your browser and their servers. Because this certificate uses non-standard security mechanisms, it is being dropped by many browsers, including newer versions of Firefox.

If you are having trouble logging in to your account after updating Firefox because your institution uses SignText, here's a Mozilla add-on you can use until the website owners update their certificates.

How can I tell if a website uses SignText?

If you are having problems logging in to a website, follow these steps to see if they are caused by the SignText certificate:

  1. On the Firefox menu at the top of the browser, click on Tools.
  2. Open the Web Developer menu and select Browser Console.
  3. The "window.crypto.signText is undefined" error indicates that the login problems are caused by this certificate.

Install the SignText add-on

If you've confirmed that your login issues are caused by the SignText certificate, follow these steps to install the add-on:

  1. Visit Mozilla's signTextJS add-on page and click the Add to Firefox button.
    signtext addon
  2. Click Install Now at the prompt.
  3. A message will tell you when the add-on has been installed.
    addon doorhanger

Try logging in to your account again. If you are still experiencing problems, please post a question to the support forum.