Cerca nel supporto

Attenzione alle mail truffa. Mozilla non chiederà mai di chiamare o mandare messaggi a un numero di telefono o di inviare dati personali. Segnalare qualsiasi attività sospetta utilizzando l'opzione “Segnala abuso”.

Learn More

Questa discussione è archiviata. Inserire una nuova richiesta se occorre aiuto.

How do I stop firefox from updating, even when I marked it not to?

  • 22 risposte
  • 85 hanno questo problema
  • 571 visualizzazioni
  • Ultima risposta di Janne

more options

I have to use version 51 so that I can use Java to open Oracle (I refuse to use IE). I have checked the box to never check for updates, Mozilla updated anyway. I deleted everything I could find on my computer Mozilla related, re-installed version 51, checked the box to not update and checked daily to make sure that there were no pending updates. I ran it for about a week just fine, but then it crashed and when it restarted, it was on version 53. I deleted everything Mozilla again, re-installed v51, told it not to install the sneaky background service, checked the never update box, went into the about:config and made sure the setting really said not to update, then went into the prefs.js file to triple check that it really really wouldn't be set to sneak in an update, and then went and double checked that the sneaky background service wasn't installed, then made sure it didn't have any pending updates anywhere. Ran it fine for a day, it crashed, and when I restarted it, surprise, surprise I'm on v54. It shouldn't be this hard to just stay on the version I want to use. What in God's name do I have to do to keep it from updating? Does Mozilla just ignore what the user actually tells it to do and does what it wants anyway or is my version of Mozilla just trying to start the Skynet revolution? I'm pretty close to just writing a vb script to just delete everything Mozilla off my computer and re-install v51 it everyday at midnight so I can just not have to deal with it anymore, but I figured I'd ask for help here first. If I can't get help here, I'll probably just go under my desk and cry while eating glue and rocking back and forth until they either fire me or have me committed.

I have to use version 51 so that I can use Java to open Oracle (I refuse to use IE). I have checked the box to never check for updates, Mozilla updated anyway. I deleted everything I could find on my computer Mozilla related, re-installed version 51, checked the box to not update and checked daily to make sure that there were no pending updates. I ran it for about a week just fine, but then it crashed and when it restarted, it was on version 53. I deleted everything Mozilla again, re-installed v51, told it not to install the sneaky background service, checked the never update box, went into the about:config and made sure the setting really said not to update, then went into the prefs.js file to triple check that it really really wouldn't be set to sneak in an update, and then went and double checked that the sneaky background service wasn't installed, then made sure it didn't have any pending updates anywhere. Ran it fine for a day, it crashed, and when I restarted it, surprise, surprise I'm on v54. It shouldn't be this hard to just stay on the version I want to use. What in God's name do I have to do to keep it from updating? Does Mozilla just ignore what the user actually tells it to do and does what it wants anyway or is my version of Mozilla just trying to start the Skynet revolution? I'm pretty close to just writing a vb script to just delete everything Mozilla off my computer and re-install v51 it everyday at midnight so I can just not have to deal with it anymore, but I figured I'd ask for help here first. If I can't get help here, I'll probably just go under my desk and cry while eating glue and rocking back and forth until they either fire me or have me committed.

Soluzione scelta

I do not have old versions of Firefox on this machine so I can not check or confirm what is happening, but normally the problem is that people check the version using the menu

menu => Help =>  About Firefox

If you do that then Firefox will report the current version AND check for and initiate an update.

If you set Firefox to not update then as long as you do not do that it should not update. If you wish to check the version without updating Firefox key about:support in to the address bar so that you obtain the troubleshooting information.

If Firefox is updating when it should not then please try to explain what happens and if others can reproduce the issue a bug should be filed.

Leggere questa risposta nel contesto 👍 3

Tutte le risposte (20)

more options

It updated again, so I've written a script that runs a loop every 5 minutes or so to delete the updates folder and create a log with the timestamp of when it does delete the folder. So far, since re-installing this morning it has deleted the updates folder twice, and that's after I went in and deleted it right after re-installing. So much for "never check for updates."

more options

Would you mind sharing your script? I need to defeat the updater as well.

more options

'I'm using Windows 7, mozilla version 51.0b9 (32-bit) 'my path to the updates folder = C:\Users\<user name here>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Updates 'if you can't tell, i like to document my work through comments. feel free to delete them 'copy the below into a text editor and save it with extension .vbs 'I threw it in my startup folder as well, so that it automatically runs when i start my computer

'create object to do schtuff to the files set filesys = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") 'create object to get system info Set objNet = CreateObject("WScript.NetWork") 'set location of evil updates folder directory = "C:\Users\"& objNet.UserName &"\AppData\Local\Mozilla\" 'figure out whether or not the logfile already exists if not filesys.FileExists(directory & "LogFile.txt") then 'log file doesn't exist, create it filesys.CreateTextFile(directory & "LogFile.txt") end if 'set time variable minutes = 5 'keep looping forever do until false 'check to see if updates folder exists if filesys.FolderExists(directory & "Updates") then 'update folder exists, delete it filesys.DeleteFolder(directory & "Updates") 'open log file, appending rather than overwriting set outfile = filesys.OpenTextFile(directory & "LogFile.txt", 8, true) 'write timestamp to logfile outfile.WriteLine(now()) 'close logfile outfile.Close() end if 'sleep for specified number of minutes wscript.sleep(minutes * 60 * 1000) 'go back to the beginning of the loop loop 'end filesys object filesys = nothing

more options

There's an easier and more secure option:

While the regular release of Firefox 52-53 only allows the Flash plugin, the Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox 52 will still run Java, Silverlight, and other old plugins.

ESR was first developed to meet the needs of large organizations that wanted Firefox to change much more slowly, but anyone can use it. The main difference is that it gets security updates only, no feature changes for about a year at a time.

More information on this change and ESR: Why do Java, Silverlight, Adobe Acrobat and other plugins no longer work?

Windows Users: When you get to the ESR installer list, you'll notice at least two different downloads for Windows:

  • Windows installer is the standard version for Windows that runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista through 10 (and 32-bit XP), the best choice for most users
  • Windows 64-bit installer ONLY runs the Flash and Silverlight plugins, so that is not what you're looking for. (If someone reading this only needs Silverlight and is considering switching to 64-bit, there may be some extra file cleanup to do on your system. See: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox)
more options

Glebin47 said

'I'm using Windows 7, mozilla version 51.0b9 (32-bit)

FYI, the "b" in the version number indicates a beta test release. The final release version of Firefox 51.0.2 is the latest in the Firefox 51 line and likely to be the most stable and best debugged.

more options

jscher2000 said

There's an easier and more secure option: While the regular release of Firefox 52-53 only allows the Flash plugin, the Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox 52 will still run Java, Silverlight, and other old plugins.

While this is a nice workaround, it is not a solution. I told it not to update, it updated anyway. I refuse to accept anything less than having the application work as it displays it should. Nobody should have to accept that a program asks a user what to do, and then goes and does whatever the developer wants instead. If they're going to force updates, they shouldn't give the illusion that you can opt out of them.

more options

Soluzione scelta

I do not have old versions of Firefox on this machine so I can not check or confirm what is happening, but normally the problem is that people check the version using the menu

menu => Help =>  About Firefox

If you do that then Firefox will report the current version AND check for and initiate an update.

If you set Firefox to not update then as long as you do not do that it should not update. If you wish to check the version without updating Firefox key about:support in to the address bar so that you obtain the troubleshooting information.

If Firefox is updating when it should not then please try to explain what happens and if others can reproduce the issue a bug should be filed.

more options

John99 said

I do not have old versions of Firefox on this machine so I can not check or confirm what is happening, but normally the problem is that people check the version using the menu menu => Help => About Firefox If you do that then Firefox will report the current version AND check for and initiate an update.

I turned off my script and did some testing, and it looks like you were right. As soon as I went to help > about firefox and closed the window I had an updates folder appear, with a new version ready to go. As soon as I closed my browser and re-opened i was on v52. I would think that by selecting the "Never check for updates" box the browser would NEVER check for updates. Turns out that "Never" doesn't really mean never and they think that when I want to look at my version number the easy way that I mean I want to update, regardless of what my preferences say. That's dumb. I'd even call it a bug, because there is a button in the about firefox frame that pops up that says "Check for updates." If I'd clicked that I wouldn't complain. However, to automatically check for, download, and prepare for install updates just by going into the about seems wrong, especially when my preferences are not to look for updates.

This still isn't a real solution, since it's updating when I told it not to, but it's close enough that I'll mark it as such. The only real solution would be for Mozilla to update this version's code, and I really doubt they'd do that. I think that as long as I stay out of that menu and keep that script running just for good measure I'll be OK. However, it's still dumb that I have to avoid using part of the browser just to keep the version I want.

Thanks for the help.

more options

I agree it is rather odd. It has been happening for so long that I am sure there will have been a bug filed and someone will have decided it is for some reason the correct or at least a desirable behaviour.

I did find one 6 year old bug slightly related and certainly touching on the subject. The bug was not implemented in the end it was cleared as invalid, but generated over 200 comments and was changed to restricted commenting.

  • Bug 678775 - Move the version number from the Firefox -> Help -> About window to the Firefox -> Help -> Troubleshooting window

If you wish to discuss the subject further possibly it would be considered on topic in one of the main Mozilla fora|mailing lists. You may even find an existing discussion thread

I will have to leave it to you to find out which of those would consider this as a suitable discussion topic.

If you do post please link to that post in this forum. I certainly would be interested in following the discussion, I often see posts where this is perceived to be a problem needing fixing.

more options

I agree that firefox continues to download when I have explicitly asked not to do this.

the easy fix is to modify the windows hosts file to add entries to stop the update: see below, as follows:

127.0.0.1 www.mozilla.org 127.0.0.1 download.cdn.mozilla.net 127.0.0.1 aus5.mozilla.org 127.0.0.1 download.mozilla.org

To know what entries to add. Have a look into the files in the C:\Users\<user name here>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Updates to get the http:\\ URL entries. This will stop any future updates, even if you use the: menu => Help => About Firefox

more options

I am sick of Firefox updating itself to an unstable version of 54 and then 55 when I specifically checked the box that says do not update. Seems they have overridden that command and will update you anyway. I have complained that any version beyond 52 is unstable causing numerous issues but to no avail. Since FF and its support team don't care to let me run the version which works best for me I am leaving FF behind and moving to another browser. I have been using FF for years with out issue and now this, so I say goodbye FF and hope that other users just as pissed off as I am will follow.

more options

.

If Firefox is updating when it should not then please try to explain what happens and if others can reproduce the issue a bug should be filed. </blockquote>

Are you kidding or what sort of joke is this. FF updates in the background and I do not know it is happening until issues start to occur. Then I check the version only to find that against my instructions it updated anyway. I have 52 installed and it work normally. Then problems occur and the results is that it was updated. Since FF won't listen to my instruction then I have decided to dump FF for another browser.

Modificato da Antares4s il

more options

Hi Antares4s, if you change your mind in the future, you could consider switching to the Extended Support Release of Firefox 52. It gets security updates at regular intervals but no feature changes for a long time (through next May/June). It was originally created at the request of companies that want stability on their desktops, but anyone can use it, and all Windows XP and Vista users are now on ESR.

https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/faq/

more options

jscher2000 said

Hi Antares4s, if you change your mind in the future, you could consider switching to the Extended Support Release of Firefox 52. It gets security updates at regular intervals but no feature changes for a long time (through next May/June). It was originally created at the request of companies that want stability on their desktops, but anyone can use it, and all Windows XP and Vista users are now on ESR. https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/faq/

I am going to give you suggestion of ESR a shot for this one time.

What distrubes me more than anything is that the power that be know they have a major problem on their hands yet refuse to pull 54 and 55 off the upgrade list until they have figured it out.  That is just plain stupid and an insult to those who use your browser that they don't care enough to withdrawn their defective upgrades.  People are going to walk and when they do they won't be back.  I have already downloaded a new browser in case this fails.
more options

Yep - I too have this problem FF every 24 hours or so wants to update to 55.0.3 which breaks some of my extensions - so i want to keep at 55.0.2

I have downloaded the 55.0.2 installer, closed firefox and run the installer and rebooted (Win10 pro 64bit)

Within a day 55.0.3 is re-installed

Never check for updates is checked in menu|options|advanced|update, Use a background service to install is unchecked. Update folder in user|appdata|local|Mozilla etc is deleted. 127.0.0.1 is added to hosts file as per the above. I have not once clicked File|About to check file version so its not that either.


Yet STILL 55.0.3 installs itself !!!!!!!!!!!! Arrrgghhhhh....

Its really easy to duplicate the issue if you are using windows 10 and running 55.0.3, simply turn of updating, download 55.0.2 and install and wait a day, it'll be back at 55.0.3

I've used firefox from a very early version - its got worse over the years but still usable - these recent releases are pants - they are breaking more and more add-ons and/or firefox itself.

more options

Which extension(s) get broken in Firefox 55.0.3?

A minor update (55.0.2 to 55.0.3) shouldn't cause compatibility issues.

more options

cor-el said

Which extension(s) get broken in Firefox 55.0.3? A minor update (55.0.2 to 55.0.3) shouldn't cause compatibility issues.

This is my absolute default add-on, used constantly. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/double-click-to-reload-tab/ Works fine 55.0.2 fails as soon as going to 55.0.3 Hence why I know each time FF has updated itself as this add-on stops, pages become laggy and processor utilisation spikes.

The issue that needs to be focued on is how the hell even with updates disabled does FF still decide to update!.

more options

You can easily reload the current tab by clicking the reload button at the right end of the location/address bar.

What situation makes you want to use an extension to achieve this?

more options

cor-el said

You can easily reload the current tab by clicking the reload button at the right end of the location/address bar. What situation makes you want to use an extension to achieve this?

But its a million times easier to double click the tab to reload it as you select the tab - try it.. Once you get used to it there is no way you'd go back to clicking the tab, then moving to the reload button.

However - instead of picking up on what add-ons I use, lets concentrate on why 55.0.2 always updates to 55.0.3 even when disabled from doing so.

more options

As an update, I have since downgraded to FF 54 and after several days this has NOT updated.  :)

So would appear yet another "bug/feature" that no one wants was introduced in version 55.

  1. 1
  2. 2