Firefox Sync is the most infuriating thing ever, how has it lasted this long like this?
I'm sorry if this comes across as more of a rant than a query, but I am absolutely disgusted with how incredibly difficult it is to get Firefox Sync working properly (or perhaps how easy it is to break it).
I opened a previous support thread @ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/983868 but I was unable to get any advice that seemed to change anything.
I have tried 2-3 more times on the latest Firefox (27 I believe) with new profiles, clearing my sync data, and every possible combination inbetween, and I can never get my devices to sync reliably past, even the "First sync" progress bar fails while adding devices #2, 3, etc.
I got so desperate that I decided to try Nightly's new Sync (Firefox 30), hoping that things would have improved without the need for a Sync key (since I was confusingly getting sync key errors, despite entering it manually). Low and behold it STILL does the same thing, except that now I'm provided with an even more transparent service. I am unable to view my data quota, and Firefox doesn't even ask me for my master password now when I hit sync. That, and it's STILL complaining about the lack of a recovery key, when there is no such thing as a recovery key anymore, what the heck?!
In the course of a few hours I have created dozens of error logs, and this is all by trying to use just 1 Desktop installation and 1 mobile installation. I have probably approached burning over 20 hours trying to get Firefox Sync to work, and it's apparent that the feature is just flat out broken.
Even with all of the errors, some things sync properly like Tabs and occasionally preferences, but other things like history, bookmarks, and add-ons never work after the initial sync (or even during the initial sync). It seems though that the further away I get from the initial sync point, the less reliably these features work.
This may fall on deaf ears, but I thought I'd reach out for help one last time to see if anyone can help, or perhaps point me to a place where I can receive more technical support. If anyone is able to help, it would be greatly appreciated. My logs can be found here
Firefox 27: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4KtJAZ-pKFqZkMyZ3R5MTVRWFE&usp=drive_web Firefox 30: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4KtJAZ-pKFqWXFtb3Y2ZWxiQ1U&usp=drive_web
Alle Antworten (15)
So, the new system actually will not recognize the recovery key DNT
I'm not exactly sure if that's a statement or a question, but it doesn't really pertain to my predicament.
I created an entirely new Sync account with brand new Nightly profiles, the only thing I brought over was my places.sqlite file, as I could not transport my history via any other means (passwords, bookmarks, add-ons, etc I all did via other methods).
The initial sync usually works, but after that things just don't seem to work correctly.
I also ran into another problem in that I cannot delete my sync data via
I also tried deleting the account, which kind of seemed to work as I was no longer able to log in via the above website; however when I tried to create a new Sync account with the same e-mail address, it said an account already existed. I tried logging in to my deleted Sync account via Nightly, and it logged in as if it was never deleted.
Hi ChrisG683, sorry you're having such a tough time with Sync. I'm an Android Sync developer, but it looks like you're running into some hard errors in a few different engines. Based on the lines about "failing to reconcile incoming records", you seem to be hitting some data corruption.
I'm going to ask a few desktop Sync developers to look at your logs, but I have a few suggestions:
- disable GreaseMonkey, and see if that helps. GreaseMonkey is great, but it's one of the few Add-Ons that implements a Sync engine, and I'm not sure how well it works.
- start with a really clean profile, no places.sqlite at first. I'm aware that it's not very useful to leave behind your browser data, but some of your log entries suggest that your history data is corrupt, which can cause Sync to fail hard.
- post logs for your Android devices. I am able to read those logs a lot better than desktop. See http://160.twinql.com/how-to-file-a-good-android-sync-bug for how to get said logs; sorry that it's not easy.
ChrisG683: you might try disabling Password sync as well; it looks like there's some strangeness with Master Password going on in your Fx 30 logs. I thought syncing with MP worked on desktop (it's never been supported on Android) but I may be incorrect.
It's quite possible that Firefox account-based sync interacts poorly with password sync when MP is enabled. The old Sync UI would prompt for MP in order to sync, but FxA doesn't need to, so the password engine might routinely fail.
I see some very odd key errors in some of these logs, and some engines that seem to be hanging (add-ons?), so I agree with Nick: let's start from a clean slate and see if there's something else strange going on.
I'm also seeing delays of up to 40 seconds between log lines that should be milliseconds apart.
Is the sidebar correct in noting that you're using Windows 7?
What kind of hardware are you using?
Are these really totally clean profiles with just places.sqlite restored, or is there something else going on?
Wild speculation tells me that your hard drive is dying. Is that a possibility?
Ok, I'll try to address some of the replies, and I'll go and experiment some more later
- I have actually abandoned Greasemonkey, as well as Stylish Sync already since those older logs, in an attempt to simplify my Sync profile.
- I'll try later with an absolutely clean profile and no places.sqlite, but I feel like the issue should perhaps be tackled at its root, and not by using a band-aid fix. I'm left to wonder questions like "What is corrupt in my history?" and "How did it become corrupted?" If it happened to me, it's probably going to happen to others and will frustrate them as well.
- As far as Firefox for Android, I actually haven't been having as many problems with it as I have with the desktop. The main issue I've had with it is that unlinked devices don't have their tabs removed from the tab sync (even after a few weeks).
- I have disabled the Master Password sync on both my Firefox 27 and Firefox 30 instances after some of my initial testing, but I didn't notice any real improvements.
- I don't mind removing some add-ons to debug sync'ing, but in the long term I'll want the add-ons back.
- My work home and work PCs are both on Windows 7. My home is an i7 2660k, 16 GB RAM, SSD, GTX 780. My work PC is a more modest i5 with 8 GB RAM, SSD, weaker AMD card (not at work at the moment). Both hard drives are in great shape, as is my Laptop, so I doubt that is a possiblity.
- I have been removing more and more with each iteration, and my most recent two iterations were completely clean except for places.sqlite.
So with that, I will try to go and gather more information I guess. I do have a few remaining questions though before I do.
- I won't be able to start clean on my Firefox 30 sync until I can clear my sync data or delete my Sync account (as mentioned in my second post). Could I get any help with that?
- Is there a way for me to turn on more detailed debugging, even at the cost of revealing personal information? I can always manually filter that out, and I really would like to help solve the issues behind this.
- Is there any way to analyze or repair my places.sqlite so that I can maintain my history?
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1. I won't be able to start clean on my Firefox 30 sync until I can clear my sync data or delete my Sync account (as mentioned in my second post). Could I get any help with that?
Sure, please back up the profile folder of the computer you are going to set this up on first just in case there is any information you would like to keep. pro How to reset a sync account: Old one: How do I clear my Sync data? and Deleteing Your Sync Account New One: From the homepage or from the Options/Preferences you can manage the account by changing the password or signing out. The debugger works with the same preference turned on.
2. Is there a way for me to turn on more detailed debugging, even at the cost of revealing personal information? I can always manually filter that out, and I really would like to help solve the issues behind this.
The debugging log is about as detailed as it gets for the UI.
3. Is there any way to analyze or repair my places.sqlite so that I can maintain my history?
There is a plug in call SQL lite that you can open the file with in the profile folder. (The same place from the back up folder you copied from 1)
More on the migration of the previous accounts: https://wiki.mozilla.org/User_Service.../Relaunch and if you would like more information on the new data flow of the new sync there is a wireframe on the bug https://test1.bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=951264
Thank you for the reply!
However, I still do not see a way to clear sync data or delete an account with the New Firefox Sync.
The only options I can see when signed out are:
- Sign In
- Forgot Password
- Create an Account
When I'm signed in, the only options are:
- Email myself
- Change Password
- Sign out
There are no options to clear my Sync data or delete my account.
As I mentioned earlier, I was able to log into my new sync account via https://account.services.mozilla.com/ but neither the Clear Data nor Delete Account functions worked properly. Since clicking the Delete Account button, I can no longer log in on that site, but my account is still fully functional.
You can't currently delete a Firefox Account. (It's still under development.)
account.services.mozilla.com is the account management UI for “old” Sync.
You can try using a different email address (even using the '+' syntax to make your existing address unique).
Ok, so I reverted to Firefox 27, cleared out my Sync Data, and made a brand new profile on my Desktop PC and Android phone.
I installed Xmarks to restore my bookmarks, and LastPass to restore my passwords.
Sync worked fine, history changes, bookmark changes, active tab changes, and my passwords seemed to work after multiple syncs, no error logs, both devices were happy.
I proceeded to the next step of installing my usual add-ons (31 of them at the moment) and encountered this error:
The log seems to state that both the History and the Add-on engines both failed to sync.
My add-ons are as follows:
Active:
- about:addons-memory
- Adblock Plus
- Always Awesome Bar
- AutoPagerize
- Delete Bookmark Icons
- DownThemAll!
- EnhancedSteam
- FireGestures
- Flagfox
- Ghostery
- HTTPS-Everywhere
- IE Tab 2
- Image Resizer/Scaler
- InstantFox
- LastPass
- Linkificator
- Linky
- Long URL Please Mod
- Menu Icons Plus
- Netflix Rate
- PriceBlink
- Private Tab
- Reddit Enhancement Suite
- SkipScreen
- Stylish
- Tab Mix Plus
- Thumbnail Zoom Plus
- WOT
- Xmarks
- Yet Another Smooth Scrolling
- YouTube Center
Disabled
- Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF (work related)
- IDS_SS_NAME (McAfee related)
- McAfee SiteAdvisor Enterprise (work antivirus)
Are you able to glean anything else from this? My history is pretty much squeaky clean except for the pages used to install add-ons, and I don't know why the add-ons sync is failing. There must be something else going on here that's broken at a more fundamental level.
I am not at home right now to test if other desktops will sync, but I get the feeling things are already starting to break.
Edit
I installed the about:startup add-on while trying to investigate my startup times, and it produced another add-on sync error log:
Also, after these error logs, I'm seeing this behavior between my desktop and android:
- History is NOT sync'ing
- Bookmarks are NOT sync'ing
- Tabs ARE sync'ing
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Ok, it might be too soon to claim victory, but I might have discovered the issue:
Currently I think the culprit was the HTTPS Everywhere add-on.
I took a slow, step-by-step process of installing add-ons and repeatedly sync'ing changes after each one to see if any logs were produced.
Immediately after installing HTTPS Everywhere and attempting to sync, I got this error log:
I have since disabled it and my bookmarks/tabs seem to be sync'ing fine, and I have not gotten any other error logs. I have noticed that my history is sync'ing TO my phone, but not FROM my phone, so I might have to reset my browser one more time to clean it up, but I'm not sure.
It seems like once the Sync fails, the problem has a hard time of ever resolving itself, although I cannot confirm nor deny this. Firefox may need a little more work when it comes to recovering from a failed sync.
If this proves to be the final issue, I will pass along my findings to the add-on creators.
I'm going to continue experimenting at home this weekend.
Edit
BAH just my luck. Right after I finish writing this post and close the browser to go home, another error log is produced with HTTPS Everywhere disabled.
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HTTPS Everywhere is certainly a possible culprit — it does, after all, muck about with network requests. Xmarks is also potentially problematic.
Your logs seem to show that you're hitting
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=932759
which remains unsolved.
Does unchecking "History" in Sync preferences get things moving again?
Ok, I've been operating for a few days with HTTPS Everywhere off, and things are kind of better, but still broken. I'm not sure if HTTPS was actually related, but I'll probably send them a message to have them take a look at it.
Tabs are now sync'ing reliably, but everything else seems broken or inconsistent.
It would have been nice to know earlier that History sync is broken, but at least I know now.
For now I'm using LastPass to sync my passwords and Xmarks to sync my Bookmarks/History. There's no alternative for add-on sync'ing, so I'm having to do it manually.
Hopefully you guys are able to fix Firefox Sync in the future, it's just a mess.
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