Yonke imikhiqizo Community Forum

What is it with my default search engine constantly being changed behind my back? Is the Firefox update doing this? Is something else? Can't it be locked down so that only I can change it in the Settings menu? It really annoys me that I suddenly find I'm doing a google search when I, after research and deliberation, set the browser to search with DuckDuckGo.

Hi, I always prefer using DuckDuckGo.com because they are totally private but use it together with Mozilla as my browser, would I still be able to do that?

For the last couple of weeks my default search engine keeps changing. Even though I change it in the setting to the one prefer eventually it changes. Why is this issue happening and is there anyway to force my preferred search engine as a constant default?

Hi - I’m experiencing that the Firefox app on my iPhone (iOS) has a bug where it’s causing it to automatically switch search engines from the search engine I have set in settings to another one that I have disabled. It’s becoming extremely annoying & frustrating that I have to go in and reset it every time it does it - which is close to four times a day. Also I’ve noticed that I can no longer delete search engines I don’t use. Please fix.

Recently, when I copy and paste an error message to the search box in Firefox and the first word contains a ':', such as when searching for this error message - "MESA-LOADER: failed to open dri: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gbm/dri_gbm.so: cannot open shared object file" - I get the "Open the mesa-loader link with System Handler?" prompt (see screenshot).

I used to be able to copy and paste such an error before into the search box and it would just work but now the browser defaults to thinking you are entering a URL. This could be because when I start typing in the search box, it immediately relocates what I'm typing to the address bar. Maybe this is the behaviour I need to disable? But how and why is it the default?

Help!

Browser details

$ > snap info firefox name: firefox summary: Mozilla Firefox web browser publisher: Mozilla✓ store-url: https://snapcraft.io/firefox contact: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/file-bug-report-or-feature-request-mozilla license: unset description: |

 Firefox is a powerful, extensible web browser with support for modern web application
 technologies.

commands:

 - firefox
 - firefox.geckodriver

snap-id: 3wdHCAVyZEmYsCMFDE9qt92UV8rC8Wdk tracking: latest/stable/ubuntu-24.04 refresh-date: 19 days ago, at 13:56 AEDT channels:

 latest/stable:    144.0.2-1    2025-10-29 (7177) 261MB -
 latest/candidate: 145.0-1      2025-11-04 (7242) 262MB -
 latest/beta:      145.0b9-1    2025-10-31 (7213) 262MB -
 latest/edge:      146.0a1      2025-11-05 (7250) 298MB -
 esr/stable:       140.4.0esr-2 2025-10-14 (7023) 258MB -
 esr/candidate:    140.5.0esr-1 2025-11-05 (7236) 258MB -
 esr/beta:         ↑                                    
 esr/edge:         ↑                                    

installed: 144.0-2 (7084) 261MB -

OS Details

PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS" NAME="Ubuntu" VERSION_ID="24.04" VERSION="24.04.3 LTS (Noble Numbat)" VERSION_CODENAME=noble ID=ubuntu ID_LIKE=debian HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/" SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/" PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy" UBUNTU_CODENAME=noble LOGO=ubuntu-logo

The latest version of Firefox won’t save my custom search engine as the default. When I force close the app, it goes back to DuckDuckGo.

iOS 26.1 Latest version of Firefox.

On iOS 18.6.2, the latest Firefox 144.2 keeps reverting my search engine back to Google, at least once daily. I set it to StartPage generally, but have found that any other search engine seems to revert to the Google default. Changing this setting usually is reverted within a few hours, but sometimes it may last a full day though. Can anyone help?

I’ve added Kagi as a custom search engine to Firefox for iOS. It works for about a day when searching in the address bar, but always reverts to the previously used built-in search engine (Google, DuckDuckGo, etc.) How can I get Firefox to stick with my custom search engine and stop reverting to the previously used built-in search engine?

Why does the iOS app keep changing my default search engine from Brave to DuckDuckGo?? I changed it to Brave search and I don’t want it using anything else. Why does it not keep this setting?

Search engines switches from Startpage, which I have added as an alternative browser, to either google or DuckDuckGo without prompting. App inactivity and swiping up to close Firefox both seem to prompt this behavior.

Only startpage and Wikipedia are enabled as alternative browsers, and all default ones are turned off.

Hi, I can't seem to find an extension for this.

I have several custom search engines that I can use via shortcuts on the search bar, but I'm looking for a way to select text on a website, click the right button on it and select one of those engines in order to search that text.

I think Firefox was able to do it, but I'm only finding extensions that don't use FF's custom engines, I have to add the engines to the extension itself, manually, all over again, and that's a pain to keep synced.

Am I missing something here? Thank you.

Often times, when performing a search in Thunderbird, the pointer in the message index (ie: your INBOX) will be updated downward (if you have a lot of messages, like I do). You have to manually scroll back to the top after -- but would it make sense to just have a button that does this, that brings your pointer back to message 1 in the view index (however you have it sorted) and updates the view accordingly?

Basically, press the button and you're back to the beginning of the message index.

after every update the search engine change from google to CDNsearch, which means that i must change my settings every time. is CDNsearch the default search and if so why?

This may be more in "settings" than in "search, tag, and share".

Since updating to the 140 series, the URL bar has what appears to be a nonremovable "what kind of search do you want to run?" activated by typing in the URL bar.

Do Not Want. That's the entire purpose of having the separate search bar. For those who only have the URL bar visible, that might make sense, but right in the core Settings I chose to have both the URL bar and the search bar. I do not ever want searches initiated from the URL bar.

Is there a way to remove this unwanted "extra feature"?

And a gentle hint to those doing interface tweaking and redesigns: Those of us who use "separation" features directly supported by the program — that is, not requiring an extension or theme — would really, really appreciate having our choices respected. That the separate search bar is already selected and visible, or having a full menu bar (and not just the hamburger symbol) visible, should be a hint that there just might be functional, safety, security, and/or disability-accommodation considerations behind that user's choice, and you shouldn't override it Just Because.