Firefox Community Forum

When I open Firefox, I get a small window asking for a primary password and I find no where to get rid of this. I have a Mozilla password, but that one does not work in the small window.

For the last several weeks, Firefox has been prompting me to "Please enter primary password" multiple times per day or even per hour. If I do so, the dialog box goes away, only to come back again later. I'm finding this very frustrating.

Firefox does always prompt for this when I start it, as it has for many years.

I tried the recommended solution for a similar problem presented here but it didn't help.

This started some time after I updated from 130.0.1 to 133.0, but I have no idea whether the update is the cause.

Can anyone recommend what I can do to solve this or at least to investigate it further?

Firefox now requires me to use a passkey to log in to YouTube. I don't have (or want) a passkey. My computer locks up solid, and I have to reboot when I cancel the request for a passkey. I can log in to YouTube on my Samsung S10+ tablet and S25 phone without problems. This problem only occurs on my Windows 10 computer. It is impossible to bypass this issue.

Is the Primary (formerly called "Master") password shared or Firefox synchronised between different devices?

The reason that I ask this is that I am a decrepit and ignorant old bugger in his 8th decade that has been using Firefox for nearly 25 years. Consequently I have a lot of passwords stored in Firefox's password manager that I REALLY do not want to lose.

Unfortunately, on my main desktop machine, becoming more paranoid after a suspected identity theft attack, I decide to change the Master Password (recently re-named to Primary Password) to something longer and harder to guess or break.

Unfortunately I have forgotten what I changed it to ! (I can remember the first 15 characters but then not the ending sequence...)

However, I discovered that on an old laptop (that had not been connected to the internet for a long time - and I've disconnected it from the local Wi-Fi now) that my old password still worked and I could still see many of the old passwords (since it had not been synchronised).

I am worried that if I try and restore my passwords by now connecting to the internet and synchronising, I will then be locked out of this remaining treasury of my passwords if Firefox synchronisation then disastrously changes the old password (that I still remember) to the new password that I have forgotten - hence my question...

PS: I still have a paper record of something called an "Account Recovery Key" consisting of 8 groups of 4 alphanumeric characters (each group only contains capital letters and numerals - although one 4 character group does not contain any numerals at all, but all groups have at least one capital letter). Could I use this to recover the misremembered new password?

PPS: Don't you think it is always a bad idea to include both zeroes and letter Oh for Oscars in this account recovery key as capital letters rather than lower case letters, since they look so similar?

ie z00 or zoo is less prone to confusion that Z00 or ZOO

According to Firefox Help, "After you have defined and set your Primary Password, you will be prompted to enter it once for each Firefox session, when Firefox needs access to your stored passwords." But since updating to version 136.0 I get asked for my Primary Password even to see my home page. Why is this?

For whatever reason, saved passwords are visible on right click even if you have a Primary Password created. This defeats the purpose of a Primary Password entirely, so I have to figure out how to disable it.

I've tried group policy and about:config edits but the settings have all changed and no longer work from previous how-tos on the internet.

I use Primary Passwords on important sites. Since v136 installed this morning, no matter what site I OPEN Firefox to, even search sites, the Primary Password is requested. If Firefox is already opened, if I open the "unimportant" site, no password is requested.

I use a Primary Password. Until yesterday, I only had to enter the Primary password when I when I went to a website that had a login. Now I have to enter the password to open Firefox. Clicking cancel twice will make it go away. I deleted the primary password, got out of Firefox, reopened Firefox and then checked primary password and re-entered the primary password. The problem remains. How do I fix this?

Hello, recently, my Windows PC always asks for the master password when I open Firefox. The method of removing the master password, then closing Firefox completely and resetting the password the next time I start it doesn't work! Observed in Firefox 136.0.1 in Windows 10 and 11. Also new and surprising is that Windows 11 requires the window pin to be entered before a master password can be set. No security software (except Windows Defender) installed. No new software - except for the regular update of Firefox . The observed behavior is at least very annoying, perhaps frightening( who needs my Windows password?).

Maybe it is a new feature and unwanted "windows security" Wolf Piotrowski I attach a screenshot of "windows security Mozilla" pop up (in a german installation of windows/firefox)

Environment: Windows 10 x64 (22H2) Browser: Firefox v142.0.1 x64 Precondition: Master password set when opening the browser

The user gets full access to the browser (except for access to passwords) when they click cancel password entry. Or close the modal password entry window.

Why is full access to websites and bookmarks granted? An outsider can easily access the browser where you are logged into your email, as well as gain access to your Firefox account management.

I really hoped that without entering a password, no open tabs would load and access to the entire browser would not be granted.

When the master password will actually start working?

Thank you.

When I open Firefox, the master pw window opens with data showing. I can x out of the window & continue. So my data is exposed to anyone who hacks into my desktop PC. WIN 11 64-bit. Please help.

I have forgotten my Primary Password for Firefox on my PC.

I found the solution to reset it at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/reset-your-primary-password-if-youve-forgotten-it It explains that the stored data will be lost, which is fine. I made a recent backup (~99%).

But it does not say what will happen to connected devices (phone) using sync on the same account.

Will the emptied local storage on PC repopulate the data from the phone? Or will the phone sync with the empty storage on the PAC with as a result an empty storage on the phone as well.

Hello All, just switched to Firefox and like it a lot. However, one thing I cannot figure out ... how to make it remember log-in email or username, but NOT saving any passwords. I googled and many answers are outdated (2014) ... non made a change anyways. - Unchecked "Delete Cookies when Firefox closes" - Under Passwords: I unchecked "Ask To Save Passwords" - Under Autofill: "Save and Fill Addresses" - Checked - I added my entire mailing address and email in "Save Addresses" - "Save and Fill Payment Methods" - Unchecked - Under History: "Remember Browsing and Download History" and "Remember Search and Form History" ...

  both checked.

These settings seam to be most logical for what I want but it still does not work. What I'm talking about is, e.g., when I sign in to Amazon I'm expecting to already see my email or at least after typing the first letter. That's how it was in the previous browser. (FYI: required password field/sign-in is replaced by Windows pin)

What am I doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks

Every time I open Firefox, it prompts me for my Primary Password immediately. Skipping the dialog the first time opens a second, identical dialog. It's not being caused by any add-on/extension, because the problem occurs in exactly the same way in Troubleshoot Mode. It's not Sync, because I'm not signed into any Mozilla account. An internet search showed me a page here indicating I should disable Primary Password, then re-enable it. This didn't fix the problem.

Is there a setting where you can set a timeout for access to passwords so when the time limit it is up it forces you to re-enter your master password to gain access when on a page asking for credentials? Currently I login with my master password and every site I go to Firefox will have my passwords ready to use, even if I leave my computer on for a week. How about a four hour timeout. After four hours and I go to a site asking for my credentials, Firefox will prompt me for my master password before letting me access the vault?

Firefox suddenly and inexplicably started asking for my primary password twice when I start the browser. I am not in sync enabled mode. When I cancel the primary password request twice Firefox behaves normally. It does this even after I disable extensions and it does it when I start Firefox in troubleshooting safe mode. My other computer is not doing this.

With update 136.0, FF is requiring us to use a master password. I have one already set so my data is protected. I do not need a master password to open FF, but now I do.

STOP THIS MADNESS