Firefox will not handle Paypal transactions - or even a login to its own site here!
Hi. I was a constant user of Firefox until a year or so ago. The bloat came in and I followed the hordes to Chrome. Chrome now has similar problems, (21 instances for 3 sites? Really?), so I looked into Firefox once more and found it has apparently been updated. I took the plunge and reinstalled looking forward to easier browsing again. Hmmm.
I am a user of ebay and pay via Paypal. (Just saying that, I guess some of you know what is coming now.) I use Eset Internet Security which has always been very secure, easy to manage and has never given a problem with ebay or Paypal in any way with Chrome. I have it set to open a separate secure browser for Paypal transactions. Using Firefox I cannot get any Paypal transaction to complete.
It has a variety of issues which I seem to meet at random on the way. Sometimes it just refuses to start, the circling icon sits in the small secure browser screen which is empty white and spins ad infinitum. Sometimes it gets to an authentication screen with a picture of a code to type in, except the code is missing and the box is empty white. If I refresh, it shows the code but the first entry is always incorrect then the second entry, if I am offered it, is accepted and I continue to login. Once the login details have been entered and I see the message confirming the data has been sent to www.paypal.com, sometimes it stalls here again and never gets beyond that. Very occasionally I get past this and see a yellow pling with the message "Looks like this action is not supported. Please return and report this error so that we can support it in the future. (invalid client_ID or redirect_uri)". Well I am reporting it but I'm not holding my breath as this problem has been around for months if other people are to be believed.
I have cleared all cookies and caches and restarted Firefox. Nothing. I found a thread here where someone advised turning off location blocking for Paypal. No difference. Payments go through fine with Chrome so it can't be my security settings external to the browser, (Eset), and it can't be a Paypal issue. What is wrong with Firefox that such a necessary piece of functionality is either broken or is so unusual to set up that so many people, (I've searched so I have seen them), cannot make it work?
Any advice on this will be warmly welcomed.
Tất cả các câu trả lời (5)
Oh and as I said in the title, it even bombed out when trying to login here from Lastpass my password manager. (Rolling on the floor laughing smilie needed here!)
If you use extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) that can block content (Adblock Plus, NoScript, Disconnect, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin) always make sure such extensions do not block content.
- make sure your extensions and filters are updated to the latest version
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-extensions-themes-to-fix-problems
Firefox shows a purple shield instead of a gray shield at the left end of the location/address bar in case Enhanced Tracking Protection is blocking content. You can click shield icon for more detail and possibly disable the protection. You can check the Web Console for messages about blocked content.
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/trackers-and-scripts-firefox-blocks-enhanced-track
You can try these steps in case of issues with web pages:
You can reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.
- hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
- press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
- press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)
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
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.
- switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
- do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
As I have just moved back to Firefox I have no extensions installed other than the Lastpass Password Manager for Firefox so I don't think it can be that.
Enhanced Tracking Protection is set to Standard in General. ETP is showing as Turned OFF for Paypal.com in Firefox's settings, i.e. Paypal.com is listed as an exception.
I think the rest will have to be tested next time I make a payment. Thanks I'll update as I find out more.
Well, I've just tried to make a payment once this again and it still doesn't work even with any of the suggestions above. I get very stuttering progress after the secure browser popup appears which, after repeated attempts, seems to be able to stall at any point. The progress messages in the bottom left corner are all about transferring data to paypal.com or waiting for data from paypal.com.
At one point I was asked to authenticate by typing in an alphanumeric code which was displayed as a jpg graphic just above - except there was no code visible! The box was there but it was empty. The sound button was fine, it gave me the audio description of the code, but the code itself was missing until I hit the regenerate button and a new one came into sight. The problem with that was that the codes were now out of step and what I saw was not what was needed to be entered. I failed authentication.
So I did the logical thing and went back to Chrome. There was a time when I would never have thought that Firefox would drive me to do that! Chrome worked first time with no hangups or delays. So based on the common ground between the two browsers' access, it seems as though it isn't Paypal, it isn't ebay, it isn't my security software unless there is some exclusion I don't know about based on the browser and not the site, it isn't a network thing, it seems to me to come back to Firefox being broken in some way!
Is that not the logical conclusion to make? Thanks to Cor-el for trying to help me get to grips with this but, if my conclusion is not right, can anyone suggest any other aspects to check?
(Wow, are you really Superman's adoptive daughter? If so, as the Justice League selected Cor-el as a good Kryptonian name for you to have Superman as your dad, do we read from that that your real Earth name is something like "L"eonora "L"arson?)
Firefox's last chance has just pulled out of the station. I've tried all of these and several other suggestions to help with this since I posted. None of them work. The problem is random. It is not my security software as I have turned that off completely for testing. It is not Paypal itself as Chrome has no problem. The common factor is only Firefox!
Things just refuse to work with Paypal right from the login to the payment. If I refresh whatever is stalling at the time it sometimes kicks the system up the arse and it will stumble a step forwards, more often that is not the case.
This problem is making Firefox unusable for that purpose. If I can't use it to pay for goods and services cleanly and reliably when I need to I am afraid it is useless to me for browsing. It makes no sense at all to use one browser to find goods and go back to another to pay for them.
I see no sign that Mozilla is doing anything about this problem which is not restricted to me, there are many many people who have been experiencing it and reporting that fact for a while now, nor does it seem interested in even considering it.
I'm off to uninstall Firefox and go back to Chrome. It may be bloated and it is unfortunately Google but at least it works.