How do I stop default to address bar for searches

Since the latest Firefox update, web searches I try to do in the web search bar on my home page, automatically default to the address bar. I absolutely hate this function. I have tried deactivating the 'search in address bar,' but when I do that I can no longer search at all, just type in web addresses, because it defaults to the address bar despite trying to type my search into the search bar on my home page. I hope that makes sense, I have spent way too much time on this and am about to change browsers, which would be sad, because Mozilla products have been my preference for as long as they have been around. Many thanks in advance for any thoughts and potential solutions, ~Marcela.