Firefox Sync troubleshooting and tips

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If you've run into a problem with Firefox Sync, this article will walk you through the most common solutions.

I set up Firefox Sync but nothing is syncing

Your devices need to be on the new version of Sync in order for them to share information with each other. If any of your devices are still on the old Sync, you must unlink them before setting them up with the new Sync. Please see Sync your Firefox bookmarks, history, passwords and more for step-by-step instructions.

I've lost my Sync account information

If you're unable to connect to Firefox Sync because you've lost Sync account information, see I've lost my Firefox Sync account information - What to do.

I'm unable to sync my passwords in Firefox for Android

Passwords will stop syncing in Firefox for Android once the Primary Password has been set. See Use Primary Password to protect passwords in Firefox for Android for more info.

My bookmarks aren't syncing to Firefox for Android

If you have more than 5,000 bookmarks in your Firefox profile, Firefox for Android won't sync them. Some limitations in Android and Sync itself make larger quantities of bookmarks unreliable, so this limit is there to protect your data.

How do I resolve an incorrect name or password error?

If you change your Sync password, you might see this error message on your other devices "Sync encountered an error while connecting: Incorrect name or password." error appears in the bottom error bar. You can update your password on your device by completing the following steps:

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings.
  2. Select the SyncFirefox Account panel.
  3. Click Sign in and enter your password in the sign in page.
  4. Click Sign in to sign back in to Sync.

Other devices disconnect when I update Firefox

To improve the Sync service, the Sync data format may be changed when the latest Firefox version is released. This means that any of your other devices which have not been updated will need to be updated in order to keep syncing. See Update Firefox for more information.

Note: After updating, you may need to reconnect your device.

Firefox Sync shows a "Cookies are still disabled" error message

If you see the Cookies are still disabled error message, change your permissions for Firefox Accounts to allow cookies.

Sync cookes disabled error

Here's how to do it:

  1. Go to accounts.firefox.com
  2. Click on the lock icon in the address bar.
  3. Click on More Information button.
  4. Click on the Permissions tab.
  5. Scroll down to Set Cookies and select Allow.
  6. Restart Firefox.

If this does not help, please make sure that there are no add-ons blocking cookies for accounts.firefox.com.

For advanced users: Make sure DOM Storage is enabled:

  1. Type about:config in the address bar and press EnterReturn.
    A warning page may appear. Click Accept the Risk and Continue to go to the about:config page.
  2. In the filter search for dom.storage.enabled.
  3. Make sure the value is set to true. If not, double-click to change it.
  4. Restart Firefox and sign in once more to accounts.firefox.com.

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/dom.storage.enabled.

I can't find my confirmation email

If you cannot find your confirmation email when connecting a device for the first time, please first check your spam filters to make sure that the email wasn't marked as spam.

I exceeded the number of times I can send the confirmation email

Please wait an hour to try to reset your password or send a new confirmation email to add the new device. In the meantime, please check your spam filters and make sure the email account entered is correct.

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