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Flash Plugin - Keep it up to date and troubleshoot problems
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The Adobe Flash plugin lets you view video and animated content in Firefox. Learn how to install and update Flash and fix problems with it.
The Adobe Flash plugin lets you view video and animated content in Firefox. Learn how to install and update Flash and fix problems with it.
Content:
The [http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/ Adobe Flash Player] browser plugin lets you view video and animated content in Firefox. This article has information about testing, installing, updating, uninstalling and troubleshooting the Adobe Flash plugin.
{note}'''Note:''' The Firefox Software Update feature does not update installed plugins. See the [https://helpx.adobe.com/security.html#flashplayer Adobe Security bulletins and advisories page] for information about security and stability issues affecting Adobe Flash Player and other Adobe products.{/note}
__TOC__
= Testing Flash =
Visit [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] to see if the Flash plugin is installed and working properly. If it tells you that Flash is not installed, see the next section on how to install the latest Flash plugin.
= Installing or updating Flash =
{for win,mac}
The Flash plugin [http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-background-updates.html automatically updates itself] by default. If [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] says that Flash is outdated and you don't want to wait for the automatic update, you can update Flash manually by downloading and installing the latest version from Adobe.
{/for}
{for linux}
To check if your installation of Flash is up to date, visit [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page]. If it says that Flash is outdated, you can update Flash by downloading and installing the latest version from Adobe.
{/for}
[[T:updateflash]]
{for win,mac}
= Uninstalling Flash =
For instructions on uninstalling Flash, see Adobe's help page, {for win}[http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html Uninstall Flash Player - Windows]{/for}{for mac}[http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html Uninstall Flash Player - Mac OS]{/for}.
{/for}
{for win}
{note}'''Note''': Running Adobe's uninstaller will remove Flash from all browsers where it is not built-in{for winxp, win7}, including Internet Explorer{/for}. You will be prompted to reinstall Flash when you visit a page that requires it, such as [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page].{/note}
{/for}
= Troubleshooting =
== Flash plugin not working ==
If [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] does not show that Flash is working even though you have installed the latest version, your Flash plugin may be disabled in the Add-ons Manager. To make sure that Flash is enabled,
#[[T:Open Add-ons|type=Plugins]]
If Flash is disabled, select {menu Ask to Activate} in its drop-down menu.
== Flash plugin not working on certain websites ==
Firefox can block the Flash plugin on certain websites, if using it would cause security, speed or stability problems. For more information, see [[Plugins (like Flash) are blocked on some sites by default]].
{for win}
== Flash works in Internet Explorer or Chrome but not in Firefox ==
There are three different types of Flash Players: an ActiveX version for Internet Explorer, a Chrome version built into the browser and a plugin version for Firefox and some other browsers. If you want Flash to work in Firefox you must install the plugin version, as explained above.
{/for}
== "Activate Adobe Flash" prompts ==
The Flash plugin is set to "Ask to Activate" in the Add-ons manager by default. Click on the "Activate Adobe Flash" message to allow the Flash content to load (if it doesn't, reload the page and try again). For more information, see [[Why do I have to click to activate plugins?]].
== The Adobe Flash plugin has crashed ==
If you see this message instead of Flash content, see [[Adobe Flash plugin has crashed - Prevent it from happening again]]{for win7,win8,win10} and [[Adobe Flash protected mode in Firefox]]{/for}.
{for win}
== Unresponsive plugin warning ==
Firefox will show you a warning dialog if the Flash plugin is taking longer than expected:
:[[Image:warning-unresponsive-plugin]]
See the article [[Warning Unresponsive plugin - What it means and how to fix it]] for solutions and workarounds.
{/for}
== Cannot view full screen Flash videos ==
See [[Flash videos won't play full screen]].
== Playing Flash videos makes Firefox hang ==
If Firefox stops responding {for win}or if the Flash plugin hangs or stops working {/for}when playing Flash videos or games, try these solutions:
*Pause or stop Flash in other tabs. You may need to close those tabs.
*Update Flash. See the [[#w_installing-or-updating-flash|Installing or updating Flash]] section above for instructions.
*Disable hardware acceleration in Flash settings. See [[Adobe Flash plugin has crashed - Prevent it from happening again#w_disable-hardware-acceleration-in-flash|Disable hardware acceleration in Flash]] for details.
*Update your graphics drivers. See [[Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL]].
{for win7, win8, win10}
*Disable Flash protected mode. See [[Adobe Flash protected mode in Firefox]].
{/for}
== Other Flash problems and solutions ==
* Your Flash issue could be caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration in Firefox. See [[Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems]] to narrow down the cause.
* Other solutions for general audio and video problems are listed in the [[Fix common audio and video issues]] article.
{for win,mac}
*If Flash content does not work, acts strangely, causes errors, or if you see a notice that you need to update Flash even after installing the latest Flash version, [[#w_uninstalling-flash|uninstall]] and [[Install the Flash plugin to view videos, animations and games|reinstall Flash]].
{/for}
<!-- MZ credit -->
<br/> <br/>
'''''Based on information from [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash Flash (mozillaZine KB)]'''''
The [http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/ Adobe Flash Player] browser plugin lets you view video and animated content in Firefox. This article has information about testing, installing, updating, uninstalling and troubleshooting the Adobe Flash plugin.
{note}The Firefox Software Update feature does not update installed plugins. See the [https://helpx.adobe.com/security.html#flashplayer Adobe Security bulletins and advisories page] for information about security and stability issues affecting Adobe Flash Player and other Adobe products.{/note}
__TOC__
= Testing Flash =
Visit [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] to see if the Flash plugin is installed and working properly. If it tells you that Flash is not installed, see the next section on how to install the latest Flash plugin.
= Installing or updating Flash =
{for win,mac}
The Flash plugin [http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-background-updates.html automatically updates itself] by default. If [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] says that Flash is outdated and you don't want to wait for the automatic update, you can update Flash manually by downloading and installing the latest version from Adobe.
{/for}
{for linux}
To check if your installation of Flash is up to date, visit [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page]. If it says that Flash is outdated, you can update Flash by downloading and installing the latest version from Adobe.
{/for}
[[T:updateflash]]
{for win,mac}
= Uninstalling Flash =
For instructions on uninstalling Flash, see Adobe's help page, {for win}[http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html Uninstall Flash Player - Windows]{/for}{for mac}[http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html Uninstall Flash Player - Mac OS]{/for}.
{/for}
{for win}
{note}'''Note''': Running Adobe's uninstaller will remove Flash from all browsers where it is not built-in{for winxp, win7}, including Internet Explorer{/for}. You will be prompted to reinstall Flash when you visit a page that requires it, such as [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page].{/note}
{/for}
= Troubleshooting =
== Flash plugin not working ==
If [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html Adobe's Flash Player Help page] does not show that Flash is working even though you have installed the latest version, your Flash plugin may be disabled in the Add-ons Manager. To make sure that Flash is enabled,
#[[T:Open Add-ons|type=Plugins]]
If Flash is disabled, {for fx68}click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon and {/for}select {menu Ask to Activate} in the drop-down menu.
== Flash plugin not working on certain websites ==
Firefox can block the Flash plugin on certain websites, if using it would cause security, speed or stability problems. For more information, see [[Plugins (like Flash) are blocked on some sites by default]].
{for win}
== Flash works in Internet Explorer or Chrome but not in Firefox ==
There are three different types of Flash Players: an ActiveX version for Internet Explorer, a Chrome version built into the browser and a plugin version for Firefox and some other browsers. If you want Flash to work in Firefox you must install the plugin version, as explained above.
{/for}
== "Activate Adobe Flash" prompts ==
{for not fx69}The Flash plugin is set to "Ask to Activate" by default. {/for}Click on the "Activate Adobe Flash" message to allow the Flash content to load (if it doesn't, reload the webpage and try again). For details, see the [[Why do I have to click to activate plugins?]] article.
{for fx69}{note}'''Note''': Starting in [[Find what version of Firefox you are using|Firefox version]] 69, the option to always activate Flash has been removed. To learn more, see [https://www.fxsitecompat.dev/en-CA/docs/2019/flash-player-can-no-longer-always-be-activated/ this compatibility document].{/note}{/for}
== The Adobe Flash plugin has crashed ==
If you see this message instead of Flash content, see [[Adobe Flash plugin has crashed - Prevent it from happening again]]{for win7,win8,win10} and [[Adobe Flash protected mode in Firefox]]{/for}.
{for win}
== Unresponsive plugin warning ==
Firefox will show you a warning dialog if the Flash plugin is taking longer than expected:
:[[Image:warning-unresponsive-plugin]]
See the article [[Warning Unresponsive plugin - What it means and how to fix it]] for solutions and workarounds.
{/for}
== Cannot view full screen Flash videos ==
See [[Flash videos won't play full screen]].
== Playing Flash videos makes Firefox hang ==
If Firefox stops responding {for win}or if the Flash plugin hangs or stops working {/for}when playing Flash videos or games, try these solutions:
*Pause or stop Flash in other tabs. You may need to close those tabs.
*Update Flash. See the [[#w_installing-or-updating-flash|Installing or updating Flash]] section above for instructions.
*Disable hardware acceleration in Flash settings. See [[Adobe Flash plugin has crashed - Prevent it from happening again#w_disable-hardware-acceleration-in-flash|Disable hardware acceleration in Flash]] for details.
*Update your graphics drivers. See [[Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL]].
{for win7, win8, win10}
*Disable Flash protected mode. See [[Adobe Flash protected mode in Firefox]].
{/for}
== Other Flash problems and solutions ==
* Your Flash issue could be caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration in Firefox. See [[Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems]] to narrow down the cause.
* Other solutions for general audio and video problems are listed in the [[Fix common audio and video issues]] article.
{for win,mac}
*If Flash content does not work, acts strangely, causes errors, or if you see a notice that you need to update Flash even after installing the latest Flash version, [[#w_uninstalling-flash|uninstall]] and [[Install the Flash plugin to view videos, animations and games|reinstall Flash]].
{/for}
<!-- MZ credit -->
<br/> <br/>
'''''Based on information from [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash Flash (mozillaZine KB)]'''''