Screen Tapping Location Does Not Match Browser Click
I've seen it on multiple sites, so it might be a browser issue. Here is what happens:
-I tap on link A. -Browser opens link B instead.
It is random, like 5% of all Fark.com taps and 10% of all Reddit.com taps. But the website registers the tap to have occurred at a different spot on a page/screen other than the actual spot on my screen where I tap, always on a lower part of the screen. I keep my screen clean, so it can't be that. I have not experienced this with my previous phone, which also used Firefox for Android (installed August 2019, never updated). The version I am using now was installed on my new phone (installed December 2020, never updated). So what is going on? Is it my phone? Is it the browser? Is it these script-heavy websites?
All Replies (5)
Hi
It looks like you are using an older version of Firefox for Android. I recommend that you update to the latest version in the Google Play store.
It first happened the very first day I installed Firefox for Android in December 2020. Is there a known bug in that specific version?
So there is an update to this, the issue still exists. It might be something for the program developers to look into.
So, with the update that installed itself last week (86.1.1), the problem has mostly gone away. But not entirely. And I have been talking with the Fark.com tech people, and they think it is a Firefox issue. So what happens now is when a particular page loads, it takes a few seconds for the scripting and behind-the-scenes stuff to load (in this case, a list of thread titles that link to recent comments). The text and links appear, but the status bar loads across the top very slowly, and taps never do anything at this point. It takes up to five seconds for the bar to finish, and then another five to seven for a tap on a link to register. If I slide the page up or down, the tap registers at the physical screen spot where I tapped at the end of that tap, regardless of whether or not I slide the page. Tap and no slide, it registers at the right link. Tap and then slide down, and it registers at whatever link is at the new spot and not the actual link I tap.
So, I open the page, it takes a long time to load, and then takes a long time for any tapping to lead to any action.
The website tech people temporarily reduced the number of links that would be visible, and the issue completely disappeared. They restored the default number of visible links, and the problem came back entirely. The issue seems to be Firefox for Android not being able to handle the amount of content in that page loaded. It could be that there is too much content in the page (because it is a Mobile design, but lists back ten or so days links to comments made by users). But the version of Firefox for Android I had on my old phone (installed August 2019, never updated) never had this issue. It is 100% only on this phone. It can't be that website, because the website has not changed in the past 4 or so years.
Could it be cache? Could it be the amount of memory on my new phone? Or could it be the newer versions of Firefox for Mobile have a flaw?
And now spellchecker and about:config stopped working? How can I downgrade to a working version of Firefox for Android? This new version is just too buggy.
So, the initial post was about Firefox for Android 79. It had issues. It autoupdated to Firefox for Android 86 at the beginning of the month, which completely broke the browser.
I downgraded to Firefox for Android 67, and suddenly it starts working again. All of the problems disappeared. It stopped being unstable with the stupid tab reloading. The websites in question no longer have the screen tapping issues or the painfully slow loading times. Spellchecker actually works again, because I was able to turn it on through about:config.
So what happened? Why did the developers break the excellent Firefox for Android by releasing a buggy version 79? And why did they break it even further with a completely disastrous and useless version 86?