Password woes
Dear help team,
First of all, thank you for your efforts to help this community. I've been using Firefox for about a decade and this is my first question, I believe.
I recently got a new Macbook. I've installed Firefox to it (my primary browser) and want to sync Firefox to it. I have Firefox on my iMac and my iPhone. However, my password is from 2014 and I can't seem to remember it no matter how many times I try. If I choose a new password, it gives me a warning that I will lose my account information, including my bookmarks, add-ons, history, etc. I really don't want to lose that info! I have spent a long time personalizing my Firefox.
Pleeeease tell me there's some other way to sync Firefox to my new laptop (when I can't remember my super old password).
Thanks in advance for your help! Best, Jason
Chosen solution
If you still have access to the old device then you can transfer your personal data directly by using a USB stick.
You can copy certain files with Firefox closed from another profile folder to the current profile folder to transfer/recover/backup your personal data. Note that best is to avoid restoring a full profile folder and only restore important files that are safe to restore/transfer.
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile
- bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
- favicons: favicons.sqlite
- bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
- cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
- formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
- logins.json (encrypted logins) and key4.db (encryption key/primary password) for logins saved in the Password Manager
- cert9.db for certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
- persdict.dat for words added to the spell checker dictionary
- permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
- sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)
All Replies (6)
Brilliant.
I've made a copy of the profile file. Do I understand it correctly that if I now reset my Firefox password and then restore that backup file, I will then have everything in place like it is now? (Bookmarks, add-ons, history, passwords, etc.)
Cheers, Jason
No, I think sync will remove your data. You will then have to restore data from your backup.
Chosen Solution
If you still have access to the old device then you can transfer your personal data directly by using a USB stick.
You can copy certain files with Firefox closed from another profile folder to the current profile folder to transfer/recover/backup your personal data. Note that best is to avoid restoring a full profile folder and only restore important files that are safe to restore/transfer.
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile
- bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
- favicons: favicons.sqlite
- bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
- cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
- formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
- logins.json (encrypted logins) and key4.db (encryption key/primary password) for logins saved in the Password Manager
- cert9.db for certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
- persdict.dat for words added to the spell checker dictionary
- permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
- sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)
To my surprise, resetting my password seemed to have kept all the important things in place, without requiring replacing the profile files. I'm not sure why, but I'm not complaining!
Anyway, thanks, everyone, for the help. I really appreciate it.
Best, Jason
Hello,
I am glad to hear that your problem has been resolved. If you haven't already, please select the answer that solves the problem. This will help other users with similar problems find the solution.
Thank you for contacting Mozilla Support.