If Your Firefox Extensions Are Not Working, Please Update Your Browser
If your Firefox add-ons suddenly stop working, are now “not supported” without any warning, or you can’t install any new ones, don’t worry: Mozilla is aware of these errors and is working to fix them. Resist the urge to use any clever workarounds right now that could mess up any solutions Mozilla is trying to implement.
According to a Mozilla blog post:
Late Friday night, May 3rd, we became aware of an issue with Firefox that prevented existing and new add-ons from launching or installing. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to people using Firefox.
Our team has identified and deployed an interim fix for all Firefox Desktop users in Release, Beta, and Nightly. The fix will be automatically applied in the background within 24 hours. You don’t need to take any action to get the add-ons working again. In particular, do not uninstall and / or reinstall any add-ons to try to fix the problem. Removing an add-in removes all data associated with it, as opposed to disabling and re-enabling it.
In other words, the best way to fix these recent add-on problems is to keep Firefox updated to the most recent version – do nothing else. Mozilla fixes are available in Firefox desktop and Android versions 66.0.4 and Extended Support Release (ESR) 60.6.2.
Your browser may have already been updated to the latest version if you have automatic updates enabled; If not, here’s how to check for a newer version of Firefox:
Desktop
- Depending on your platform and device, you can find the version number of your browser by opening Firefox and choosing Help> About Firefox or Firefox> About Firefox.
- In both cases, a new window will appear. The version number is displayed below the Firefox logo. This window will also alert you if any updates are available.
- You can also download the latest desktop versions from the Firefox downloads page .
Android and iOS
Just open your platform’s app store and see if there are any updates available, just like any regular app. (If you’re using the latter, you can’t even install add-ons, which makes this issue moot.)
If you are using the wrong version of Firefox and no updates are available, it means that a fix has probably not been released to you yet. A Mozilla blog post says all users should get it by the end of the day on Monday, May 6, but that’s just a rough estimate.
It’s also important to note that these fixes, while helpful, are a short term fix, while Mozilla is working on a permanent fix. In other words, you may continue to experience errors in your add-ons even after updating to the latest browser version.
For example, some extensions may incorrectly appear as unsupported in Firefox ESR 60.6.2, but according to the patch notes, users should still be able to reinstall and reconfigure them. A small number of browser add-ons and themes may remain unusable even after the update is applied.
Even with these lingering bugs, it’s prudent to wait for an official Mozilla decision – be it fixes or more thorough bug fixes – instead of trying to fix the problem with workarounds that could backfire.