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Firefox stops being able to visit websites after every update, seems to take a day to get back to normal.

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 13 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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When Firefox updates, it's an extremely frustrating experience. Enough so that I'm about ready to switch over to Chrome (I already use it for work). Every single time, websites suddenly can't load and all my extensions stop working. It's happening now! I'm writing this from Chrome.

I'm frankly not sure when or why websites start loading again, but it seems to take about a day for things to get back to normal. I've tried closing and reopening Firefox, but that doesn't seem to do anything. It just takes time. I have a 2017 MacBook, OS Catalina 10.15.3.

Is this a known issue? I see all kinds of possible solutions when I try and look for some myself, but oftentimes the OP says they didn't work and then people offer other solutions. I'm wondering why this seems to happen, and if there's a suggestion for how to fix it once and for all—I've never had this problem with Chrome.

When Firefox updates, it's an extremely frustrating experience. Enough so that I'm about ready to switch over to Chrome (I already use it for work). Every single time, websites suddenly can't load and all my extensions stop working. It's happening now! I'm writing this from Chrome. I'm frankly not sure when or why websites start loading again, but it seems to take about a day for things to get back to normal. I've tried closing and reopening Firefox, but that doesn't seem to do anything. It just takes time. I have a 2017 MacBook, OS Catalina 10.15.3. Is this a known issue? I see all kinds of possible solutions when I try and look for some myself, but oftentimes the OP says they didn't work and then people offer other solutions. I'm wondering why this seems to happen, and if there's a suggestion for how to fix it once and for all—I've never had this problem with Chrome.

All Replies (4)

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Ah, looks like I left Firefox in the background long enough to get this error message.

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I have several thoughts.

Some problems occur when your Internet security program was set to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow Firefox to connect to the Internet again;

  • Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
  • Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see

Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet. {web link}

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Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.


Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode This shows how to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia

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You can get a "Corrupted Content Error" error if there are multiple location redirects send via the HTTP response headers. Firefox doesn't allow this for security reasons.

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Options/Preferences).

"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"

"Clear the Cache":

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> Cached Web Content: Clear

You can remove all data stored in Firefox for a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox for this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data for that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.

If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data for that website will be saved once again.

Modified by cor-el