Firefox Community Forum

The previous version allowed me to have Firefox as my browser and Brave as my search engine. Now Brave is both my browser and search engine. In the general settings, it says Firefox is my default browser. I'm confused. I just want to be like it was before the update. Please help.

I HAVE UNWANTED SEARCH ENGINES AND KEYWORDS THAT I DID NOT SELECT NOR INSTALL AND CANNOT BE DELETED. (everything but google)

PLEASE EXCUSE THE CAPS WHEN I HAVE TO REDUE THIS ASK A QUESTION THINGGY THREE TIMES TO GET IT TO TAKE AND POST THE QUESTION I GET A LIL PISSED....

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

An irritated FF user in Ephrata PA.

Since version 148.0b2 (64-bit), it's once again not possible to enter search terms in the search box of a new tab; instead, the browser searches in the address bar. I've had all the settings I found in the forums configured correctly for over five years, and they haven't changed. - browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar = False. Despite this, the search still occurs in the address bar. Now I'm back to the awful search in the address bar. How can I fix this? Please fix this bug as soon as possible.

Original: Set der Version 148.0b2 (64-Bit) ist es wieder nicht möglich die Suche im neuen Tap, im Suchfenster einzugeben, sonder es wird wieder im Adressfeld gesucht. Ich habe alle Einstellungen, die ich in den Foren gefunden habe schon über 5 Jahre so eingestelle, sie sind auch nicht geändert. - browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar = False. Trotzdem wird die Suche im Adressfeld geführt.

Jetzt geht es aber wieder mit der Schrecklichen suchen in der Adresszeile los. Wie kann ich dies ändern? Bitte diesen Fehler (Bug) schnellst möglich beheben.

I set the about:config settings when I got the new computer early last year. It's been working fine. Suddenly, searches are popping up again to the urlbar.

browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar is still set to false. Keyword.enabled is still set to false.

I see a couple of site references to browser.fixup.alternate.enabled, but it doesn't exist.

How do I get FF back to proper search in the search bar?

This is the 3rd time I have had to post this. I am getting very frustrated. I DO NOT want the search engine within my address bar. Nothing anyone from you "community" helped to disable the search engine in my address bar. Opera, Edge, Chrome, the user can disable the search engine in the address bar. Why is Firefox so different? And difficult?

Recently, when I copy and paste an error message to the search box in Firefox and the first word contains a ':', such as when searching for this error message - "MESA-LOADER: failed to open dri: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gbm/dri_gbm.so: cannot open shared object file" - I get the "Open the mesa-loader link with System Handler?" prompt (see screenshot).

I used to be able to copy and paste such an error before into the search box and it would just work but now the browser defaults to thinking you are entering a URL. This could be because when I start typing in the search box, it immediately relocates what I'm typing to the address bar. Maybe this is the behaviour I need to disable? But how and why is it the default?

Help!

Browser details

$ > snap info firefox name: firefox summary: Mozilla Firefox web browser publisher: Mozilla✓ store-url: https://snapcraft.io/firefox contact: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/file-bug-report-or-feature-request-mozilla license: unset description: |

 Firefox is a powerful, extensible web browser with support for modern web application
 technologies.

commands:

 - firefox
 - firefox.geckodriver

snap-id: 3wdHCAVyZEmYsCMFDE9qt92UV8rC8Wdk tracking: latest/stable/ubuntu-24.04 refresh-date: 19 days ago, at 13:56 AEDT channels:

 latest/stable:    144.0.2-1    2025-10-29 (7177) 261MB -
 latest/candidate: 145.0-1      2025-11-04 (7242) 262MB -
 latest/beta:      145.0b9-1    2025-10-31 (7213) 262MB -
 latest/edge:      146.0a1      2025-11-05 (7250) 298MB -
 esr/stable:       140.4.0esr-2 2025-10-14 (7023) 258MB -
 esr/candidate:    140.5.0esr-1 2025-11-05 (7236) 258MB -
 esr/beta:         ↑                                    
 esr/edge:         ↑                                    

installed: 144.0-2 (7084) 261MB -

OS Details

PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS" NAME="Ubuntu" VERSION_ID="24.04" VERSION="24.04.3 LTS (Noble Numbat)" VERSION_CODENAME=noble ID=ubuntu ID_LIKE=debian HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/" SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/" PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy" UBUNTU_CODENAME=noble LOGO=ubuntu-logo

For the last couple of weeks my default search engine keeps changing. Even though I change it in the setting to the one prefer eventually it changes. Why is this issue happening and is there anyway to force my preferred search engine as a constant default?

I had to actually sign up fort a Mozilla account,the multiple hoops I had to jump through were ridicules, in order to ask a question of Firefox. I do not want my address bar to be my search engine. How do I disable the search engine in my address bar? And now I have to wait for an answer!!!!!!!! I used to love and trust Firefox. Not anymore.

I do not want to search from the address bar. The search bar is what I want to go to but invariably goes to the address bar. Is there an about:config setting to change this?

The very first time I opened Firefox and tried to do a search I got a hijacker:

https://search-owl.com/?path=firefox/newtab&u=895622cd6e29c107&subid=11118&channel=18

Why?

I did a scan with both Malwarebytes and with TotalAV, no detections.

I stopped using Chrome and Brave because I had another hijacker (Yohoo!). I used Malwarebytes to quarantine and delete that because my paid subscription to TotalAV didn't find it. Now I'm stuck with an all new different hijacker upon installation of Firefox.

Why isn't there a simple means to remove/prevent searches for the address bar, using config doesn't work.

I've used Firefox for over twenty years, this annoyance will end that and force a move to Brave.

It's so invasive, and I'm sick of having to dig through pages to get accurate information when I used to be able to find it at the top of a search result. Poor performance all around. Are they really adding more BUILT-IN AI features to the browser? Does anyone know of good alternative browsers that don't have this issue? I want to be able to switch over quickly in case Firefox updates with features that would impede my experience.

Nur beim ersten Mal wenn Firefox nach dem Start geöffnet worden ist und wenn man in die Suchleiste mit der linken Maustaste klickt tippt firefox automatisch unendlich viele "Bindestriche". Dieser Vorgang kann nur durch Drücken der esc-Taste gestoppt werden. Danach ist ein Klick in die Suchleiste mit der linken Maustaste und eine ganz normale Eingabe möglich. Wie kann der Fehler behoben werden?