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Firefox wouldn't open on my MacBook Air--it wanted a password for access but no password was ever set up for that computer.

Firefox Primary password
jbr replied 6 hours ago
tomsaby
tomsaby

When trying to open Firefox, it asked for a password--it hasn't done this before. No password was ever set up for my wife on this computer. She enters her password to open the computer from sleep but that does not work and Firefox just bounces in the dock. There is no message asking if the password needs to be reset, the icon just bounces. There was a message from the Apple settings about Firefox running in the background. Restarting did not work after several tries and Firefox worked under my identity. We decided to shut down the computer and I logged out and then went to my wife's identity to shut down but decided to try Firefox one more time and it worked. That's great, but I want a better understanding of what happened so I am prepared if it happens again.

When trying to open Firefox, it asked for a password--it hasn't done this before. No password was ever set up for my wife on this computer. She enters her password to open the computer from sleep but that does not work and Firefox just bounces in the dock. There is no message asking if the password needs to be reset, the icon just bounces. There was a message from the Apple settings about Firefox running in the background. Restarting did not work after several tries and Firefox worked under my identity. We decided to shut down the computer and I logged out and then went to my wife's identity to shut down but decided to try Firefox one more time and it worked. That's great, but I want a better understanding of what happened so I am prepared if it happens again.

All Replies (2)

malcolmparked
malcolmparked
  • Top 25 Contributor

It sounds more like a macOS permissions or background-process issue than a Firefox password problem. If it happens again, try Force Quit (Option + Command + Esc), close Firefox, and reopen it. If macOS specifically asks for a password, check the exact wording before entering anything, since the Mac login password and Firefox’s Primary Password are different.

jbr
jbr
  • Top 10 Contributor

It is possible you've run into Troubleshoot Firefox updates and the Helper tool — esp. on macOS 27 Golden Gate there have been some stubborn permission cases reported (basically not letting the app launch) — I usually recommend rebooting first, and fully updating from the account that holds the installation permissions to start with.

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