Firefox 108 update changed my default search engine
With the update from 107.1 to 108.0 my default search engine was reset from DuckDuckGo to Google. This happened several times before, about once a year. Extremely annoying. I'm using the only browser not based on chromium for a reason.
Is this due to some agreement between Google and Mozilla?
I really wish I could pay directly for a browser. I'm using it 8-10 hrs each day.
All Replies (6)
Hi, we're sorry this has happened and we are looking into the issue.
Do you know if you've previously copied parts of your profile from a previous profile/computer? Especially the search.json.mozlz4 file?
Would you have backup copies of your profile where you could access the previous versions of the search.json.mozlz4 file?
@Standard8: Yes I did. I set up this new desktop W11Pro PC about 5 weeks ago and copied the entire profile from my W10Pro laptop following the instructions here. Never got FF sync working anywhere, it only syncs open tabs on demand.
I stil have that backup of the profile, including the search.json.mozlz4
I just updated FF on that laptop. DuckDuckGo remained the default search engine. But what also happened on both laptop and desktop: Search engines that I removed and always remove were back in the list: Google, Amazon.nl, Bing and eBay.
Thank you for the response, that's helpful.
Presumably the profile directory names are different? (e.g. the xxxxxxxx.default part).
Would you be able to file a bug report here.
If so, could you attach the backup of the search.json.mozlz4, and maybe the one from the laptop where the search engines are hidden?
The file only contains details about your installed search engines & their settings.
@Standard8: Yes, the names are different. I created a new profile using the profile manager and replaced the contents as per the instructions Restoring to a different location.
I'm not familiar with platforms like bugzilla but I'll try when I find the time. On this forum I can only attach .jpg or .png
No problem, I've filed https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1805883 for now and I can reproduce the issue with the default engine changing with your steps.
I can't reproduce the issue with the engines being unhidden though.
Note that Firefox 108.0.1 has been released to address this issue.
Fixed Fixes the default search engine being reset on upgrade for profiles which were previously copied from a different location.