• type about:config in the address bar
• set browser.download.folderlist to 2
• create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods
• set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to
• example /sdcard/fxdownload/

"type about:config in the address bar set browser.download.folderlist to 2 create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to example /sdcard/fxdownload/"

Is it applicable to Firefox for android? I created a folder 'Download' in my 'SD card', and I don't think I made a spelling mistake. I inserted value '/SD card/Download'. It didn't work.

"type about:config in the address bar set browser.download.folderlist to 2 create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to example /sdcard/fxdownload/"

Is it applicable to Firefox for android? I created a folder 'Download' in my 'SD card', and I don't think I made a spelling mistake. I inserted value '/SD card/Download/'. It didn't work.

"type about:config in the address bar set browser.download.folderlist to 2 create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to example /sdcard/fxdownload/"

Is it applicable to Firefox for android? I created a folder 'Download' in my 'SD card', and I don't think I made a spelling mistake. I inserted value '/SD card/Download'. It didn't work.

"type about:config in the address bar set browser.download.folderlist to 2 create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to example /sdcard/fxdownload/"

Is it applicable to Firefox for android? I created a folder 'Download' in my 'SD card', and I don't think I made a spelling mistake. I inserted value '/SD card/Download'. It didn't work.

"type about:config in the address bar set browser.download.folderlist to 2 create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to example /sdcard/fxdownload/"

Is it applicable to Firefox for android? I created a folder 'Download' in my 'SD card', and I don't think I made a spelling mistake. I inserted value '/SD card/Download'. It didn't work.

kbrosnan said

• type about:config in the address bar
• set browser.download.folderlist to 2
• create the preference browser.download.dir as a string and make sure that your keyboard has not inserted spaces after the periods
• set the value of the path to a valid path to your phone's sdcard and any folder you want the files downloaded to
• example /sdcard/fxdownload/

I follow the first two steps, but then I get lost. Can you explain (1) how to "create the preference" in Firefox for Android, and (2) how you know the SD card is located at "/sdcard?" (My current file manager does not list anything on the phone's root directory.)

Background: My new Motorola G6 is running Android 8. I'm new to Firefox for Android, but I suppose both you and the OP are responding to something I just discovered, namely that the Firefox menu has been simplified and no longer contains Options/Files and Applications/Downloads/Save files to setting familiar from Firefox for Windows... -- jclarkw

Here is my description of the solution which did NOT work on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 / Android 8.0.0 / Firefox 64.0.2

1. Navigate to "about:config"
2. locate "browser.download.FolderList", toggle value to "2"
3. with "+" button, create new entry "browser.download.dir"
4. Set "Boolean" type to "String"
5. Enter the directory name, I tried both:

   /sdcard/Download and /storage/3839-6362/Download

Neither option worked. So I reset the about:config to default and am living with downloads defaulting to internal storage.

Why doesn't Mozilla implement the same functionality in the Android browser as it has in the web browser, i.e. a setting in the app that allows the user to set the download directory or receive a prompt on each download to select download destination?

dpbaril said

Here is my description of the solution which did NOT work on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 / Android 8.0.0 / Firefox 64.0.2...

Thanks, dpbaril, for pointing this out. You can find more over at this thread:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1247243?utm_campaign=questions-reply&utm_medium=email&utm_source=notification

The current suspicion seems to be that permissions set for the SD card on some phones prevents redirecting Mozilla downloads to them. Don't know why, or even if this is true, yet... -- jclarkw

jclarkw said

You can find more over at this thread: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1247243?utm_campaign=questions-reply&utm_medium=email&utm_source=notification The current suspicion seems to be that permissions set for the SD card on some phones prevents redirecting Mozilla downloads to them. Don't know why, or even if this is true, yet... -- jclarkw

Thanks @jclarkw. I had previously mined that thread too. I think you're right that there is something going on at the OS level on latest version of Samsung phones that has queered the pitch for use of external storage by various apps. I wonder if putting the Download folder in a data folder assigned to Firefox on the SD card might work, e.g.

/storage/3839-6362/Android/Data/org.mozilla.firefox/Download

Will give it a try and report back

... Trying ...

No luck! Files still download to default internal storage Download folder.

\:-(

Thanks @jclarkw. I had previously mined that thread too. I think you're right that there is something going on at the OS level on latest version of Samsung phones that has queered the pitch for use of external storage by various apps. I wonder if putting the Download folder in a data folder assigned to Firefox on the SD card might work, e.g. /storage/3839-6362/Android/Data/org.mozilla.firefox/Download Will give it a try and report back ... Trying ... No luck! Files still download to default internal storage Download folder. \:-(

You couldn't help him, but I have a different phone and you solved my problem! Thanks, this drove me almost insane!

I'm on a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, running Android 9.0, and I can successfully change the download folder to a folder on my SD card, but only as long as it is within the Firefox directory ( /storage/9xxx-xxxx/Android/data/org.mozilla.firefox/ ). Downloading to any folder that is outside of the Firefox directory won't work.

For anyone who wants to use a folder on his SD card as the default download folder, I made a short list with point by point instructions that worked for my phone (might not work for you! you need to try it yourself!):

1. create a new folder within the Firefox directory of your SD card.
2. if you don't know how to find the Firefox directory on your SD card, get a file manager and search for the "Android" named folder on your SD card. You should normally find the "Android" folder in the root directory of your SD card. Inside the Android folder is a "data" folder and inside the "data" folder is the Firefox folder, named "org.mozilla.firefox". click on the "org.mozilla.firefox" folder and create a new folder.
3. open your Firefox app and type "about:config" in the address bar
4. search for "download" and then change the value of "browser.download.folderList" to "2"
5. click on the "+" to create a new setting and name it "browser.download.dir"
6. click on "Boolean" (to the right of "Name"), change the setting type from "Boolean" to "String" and type/paste the directory of the newly created folder inside the Firefox directory into the text field.

Firefox should now save downloads inside this folder.

For help I added two screenshots. the first one shows my about:config settings for "browser.download.folderList" and "browser.download.dir". The name of my newly created folder for downloads is "Download". "browser.download.dir" shows the path to this folder. The other image is a screenshot of my file manager. it shows the inside of my newly created download folder with a test image I downloaded. You can see the folder path at the top of the picture, it is "/storage/9xxx-xxxx/Android/data/org.mozilla.firefox/Download".

-

The full instructions are provided by someone more knowledgable than me with more background info in this thread https://support.mozilla.org/de/questions/1238842 but keep in mind that at point (3) (c) I couldn't simply choose any folder on my SD card, I needed to choose a folder within the Firefox directory on my SD card, otherwise it wouldn't work.

hugo_sanchez_93 said

...I can successfully change the download folder to a folder on my SD card, but only as long as it is within the Firefox directory...

1. if you don't know how to find the Firefox directory on your SD card, get a file manager and search for the "Android" named folder on your SD card. You should normally find the "Android" folder in the root directory of your SD card. Inside the Android folder is a "data" folder and inside the "data" folder is the Firefox folder, named "org.mozilla.firefox". click on the "org.mozilla.firefox" folder and create a new folder...

Outstanding! Thanks for pointing out this error in my methodology. It never occurred to me that Firefox would have already created a path (even a Download folder) on my SD card, so I went ahead and created a new folder in the root of the card. Now I know why this didn't work! The rest of your proceduer worked flawlessly. Thanks again! -- jclarkw