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Choppy Scrolling on Surface 3 Tablet

  • 6 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by mgilbert

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I'd like to use Firefox on my Microsoft Surface 3 tablet, but scrolling is so choppy as to make Firefox unusable. Google Chrome works fine. Yes, I've tried a clean installation right after a clean Windows 10 installation. Nothing seems to resolve the problem. Seems Mozilla hasn't tried at all to make Firefox compatible with touch devices.

Does anyone know of a setting that completely resolves this issue, and makes scrolling smooth on Windows 10 touch devices?

I'd like to use Firefox on my Microsoft Surface 3 tablet, but scrolling is so choppy as to make Firefox unusable. Google Chrome works fine. Yes, I've tried a clean installation right after a clean Windows 10 installation. Nothing seems to resolve the problem. Seems Mozilla hasn't tried at all to make Firefox compatible with touch devices. Does anyone know of a setting that completely resolves this issue, and makes scrolling smooth on Windows 10 touch devices?

All Replies (6)

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Hello, Based on some prior experience I have reason to believe hardware acceleration is the problem that you are experiencing.

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches.

You will need to restart Firefox for this to take effect so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).

Then perform these steps:

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options on Windows or Preferences on Mac or Linux.
  2. Select the Advanced panel and then the General tab.
  3. Uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available.
  4. Restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

If the problem is resolved, you should check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in these Knowledge base articles:

Thank you.

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Kyle K. said

Hello, Based on some prior experience I have reason to believe hardware acceleration is the problem that you are experiencing. Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches. You will need to restart Firefox for this to take effect so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.). Then perform these steps:
  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options on Windows or Preferences on Mac or Linux.
  2. Select the Advanced panel and then the General tab.
  3. Uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available.
  4. Restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us! If the problem is resolved, you should check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in these Knowledge base articles: Thank you.

Thanks Kyle, but unfortunately, turning off graphics acceleration made no difference. And my graphics driver is the latest offered by Microsoft for the S3...

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I`ve the same Tablet and it`s working fine. What exactly the problem you`re facing? Kyle K. already gave you the best follow up for resolving this error

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Amit Kumar Jaiswal said

I`ve the same Tablet and it`s working fine. What exactly the problem you`re facing? Kyle K. already gave you the best follow up for resolving this error

Touch screen scrolling in Google Chrome is silky smooth. In Firefox, scrolling is jerky and choppy. Turning off hardware acceleration in Firefox made no difference. My video drivers are up to date. Do you have a Surface 3, or a Surface PRO 3? The graphics subsystems are very different between those two tablets.

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Firefox Choppy Scrolling- Give this a try...

Hey all. I've been having smooth scrolling issues in FF. Seems a lot of others do too. I installed the Smooth Scroll extensions, disabled extensions, tweaked Chrome's and FF's Flags, screwed with Hardware Accel... etc. Although some helped, none made the choppy scrolling issues disappear completely. I have a recently new laptop- 5th Gen Processor, 900 Series VidCard, 16g Ram and an PCIe SSD. I thought it cant be performance problems. I scoured the net looking for resolutions. Found none. Then BAM!!! Choppiness gone.

Your Mileage May Vary with this-- I am a power tab user. I do multiple searches opening a lot of tabs before I go back to check them out. The more tabs, the worse it got. I had always let FF manage popups... but they have got so bad I installed uBlock Origin.

No more smooth scrolling issues!!! Seems loading background links with Ads and Popups were sucking the life out my browsers! No more. I even disabled the Smooth Scrolling extensions and it still is as smooth as a baby's butt.

Good luck!

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bridown said

Firefox Choppy Scrolling- Give this a try... Hey all. I've been having smooth scrolling issues in FF. Seems a lot of others do too. I installed the Smooth Scroll extensions, disabled extensions, tweaked Chrome's and FF's Flags, screwed with Hardware Accel... etc. Although some helped, none made the choppy scrolling issues disappear completely. I have a recently new laptop- 5th Gen Processor, 900 Series VidCard, 16g Ram and an PCIe SSD. I thought it cant be performance problems. I scoured the net looking for resolutions. Found none. Then BAM!!! Choppiness gone. Your Mileage May Vary with this-- I am a power tab user. I do multiple searches opening a lot of tabs before I go back to check them out. The more tabs, the worse it got. I had always let FF manage popups... but they have got so bad I installed uBlock Origin. No more smooth scrolling issues!!! Seems loading background links with Ads and Popups were sucking the life out my browsers! No more. I even disabled the Smooth Scrolling extensions and it still is as smooth as a baby's butt. Good luck!

Unfortunately, this won't solve my problem. I have the problem with just one tab open.