This bug is a tracker for Firefox preference reset issues. These issues have been repeatedly reported over the years, but they were never root-caused or tracked down due to miscommunication between reporters and maintainers. There are *multiple* related issues, possibly caused by multiple root cause bugs: - Loss of homepage setting (revert to Fedora Start) - Loss of bookmarks - Loss of language or other settings - Sync of these issues to other devices via Firefox Sync (including lost bookmarks) - The problem may occur after (some or all) Firefox package updates WHAT WE KNOW ============ - This behavior is **NOT INTENTIONAL**. There is no conspiracy to reset people's settings, nor is Fedora's configuration an intentional attempt to exploit a bug or behavior. - This behavior is **NOT UNIVERSAL**. It happens to some people and not others. No maintainer has been able to reproduce it so far, which is why it has not been fixed. - This behavior affects a **MINORITY** of users. While it has been reported repeatedly over the years, indicating that the issue is widespread, if it were happening to a significant fraction of Fedora users, the outcry would be orders of magnitude larger and a developer would have been able to reproduce it and fix it by now. - This behavior is **NOT EXPECTED**. There is no logical explanation for why it happens or why it could happen. There is no "obvious" solution. It is not even clear that the problem has anything to do with Fedora's default setting overrides, as vanilla Firefox users have reported similar issues over the years. It seems that when it happens to Fedora users, users have a tendency to blame Fedora's preference overrides and complain loudly, but so far there is a lack of solid evidence that all of this behavior is tied to Fedora's preference overrides (other than the very specific issue described below). WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU ===================== If you are seeing any behavior similar to the above, PLEASE comment on this bug with as much detail as possible. Do not assume that anything about your set up will be the same for others. We need details such as: - Your Fedora version (including spin/edition, etc.) and architecture - What Firefox version you use (package, Fedora flatpak, Flathub flatpak), and whether you have multiple installed - Any important system customizations or changes such as file system or kernel - Your desktop environment - Information on all other systems synced with Firefox Sync to the same account, if you use it - How you update your system (graphical tool, `dnf upgrade`, `dnf upgrade --offline`, etc.) - A detailed walkthrough of what happened exactly when the issue occurred (when you (re)booted your machine(s), when you started or closed the browser(s), whether you clicked through any errors or messages, etc.) - If it happened after an upgrade, whether your browser was running during the upgrade (and whether it complained or crashed). - What exactly was lost/reset, and what the intended setting/value was previously. If the issue happens OFTEN on every browser update, then please back up your browser configuration before each update using this command (you might need to `dnf install rsync`): rsync -av --mkpath --exclude=storage ~/.mozilla ~/.config/mozilla ~/firefox-backups/$(date +%Y%m%d%-%H%M%S) If you experience the issue after the update, **run the command again to take another snapshot** and comment on this bug. The pre-upgrade and post-upgrade snapshots could be crucial in figuring out what went wrong. I am personally volunteering to help gather debugging information for this issue. If you are comfortable, I would greatly appreciate it if we could have a real-time chat (over Matrix, Discord, or others) to try various things in order to track down the root cause of the problem. **IT IS IMPORTANT TO CATCH THE ISSUE IN THE ACT**. "This used to happen to me but it no longer does / I no longer use Fedora / etc." is sadly a common response from users. Unfortunately, there is nothing developers can do to track down this issue if the person is not actively experiencing it. **IF YOU CAN REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AT WILL** (for example, with `dnf downgrade firefox` and `dnf upgrade firefox`), then you hold the key to solving this once and for all. Please, please help. IF YOU LOSE IMPORTANT DATA ========================== If you lose your bookmarks, do not panic. Firefox automatically keeps backups of your bookmarks. Follow these instructions to restore them from an automatic backup: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks Once you get back your precious bookmarks, please come back and comment on exactly what happened. The more *detailed* feedback we get on what might cause this issue, the better. KNOWN BUGS ========== So far there is ONE identified bug that is connected with system default overrides, but it only explains a very specific subset of the reports: - When Firefox Sync is used, and - The user syncs Fedora and non-Fedora systems, and - The user sets their home page to Firefox Home -or- Fedora Start, then - The browsers will "fight" over the home page setting, as they disagree on what the "default" is, and Firefox Sync handles this case poorly. This bug is tracked as bug 2020436 here, and upstream here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2028331 The solution for this specific case, going forward, is for upstream to toggle a setting (that must be changed on all Firefox builds, not just Fedora's) to make the home page setting "sticky" and not consider the "browser default" value in a special way. (All reports of this issue have been from users setting the home page to Firefox Home, but it is important to point out that the converse would also be a problem as far as the issue is understood: they would be unable to set Fedora Start as their home page consistently either. The underlying bug is symmetric, it does not "favor" Fedora.) For those affected, there is a simple workaround: Set your home page to the URL 'about:home#', with a trailing #. This will avoid the "fighting over defaults" behavior. This issue does NOT apply to people who: - Do not use Firefox Sync, or - Set their home page to anything else, or - Experience reset of non-pref data like bookmarks If you are in any of those categories, you are seeing a DIFFERENT (though possibly related in as yet unknown ways) bug. Reproducible: Couldn't Reproduce
This issue occurs with Firefox on my system with the following configuration: Fedora version: Fedora Linux 43 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition) x86_64 Firefox version: 149.0 (64-bit) Firefox installation method: Fedora 43 x86_64 package repository Desktop environment: KDE Plasma 6.6.3 External Firefox sync systems: Mac Mini (macOS Tahoe 26.4), iPhone (iOS 26.4), Gaming Laptop (Windows 11, 26H1). All systems running the latest Firefox version available. System update methods: `dnf upgrade` (Usual), Graphical tool - KDE Discover (Very rare) When the issue occurs: Usually after restarting or booting the system, but this could be a coincidence. Firefox is generally running when its updated through the usual method. Issue walkthrough: I have never experienced any errors or missing bookmarks. My start page is simply set to "https://fedoraproject.org/start/". I don't know if the Fedora provided bookmarks reappear with this issue, as I have never removed any of them. What exactly changed: Home page and new tab page changed from "Firefox Home" to "https://fedoraproject.org/start/".
I have seen this happen a few times on my current main desktop setup, call it something like 1-2 times a month. I will try to capture the next time it happens, but will provide my basic information for now. Your Fedora version (including spin/edition, etc.) and architecture: Fedora Linux 43, KDE Desktop Plasma Edition. Details from about this system: Operating System: Fedora Linux 43 KDE Plasma Version: 6.6.3 KDE Frameworks Version: 6.24.0 Qt Version: 6.10.2 Kernel Version: 6.19.10-200.fc43.x86_64 (64-bit) Graphics Platform: Wayland Processors: 32 × AMD RYZEN AI MAX+ 395 w/ Radeon 8060S Memory: 128 GiB of RAM (125.1 GiB usable) Graphics Processor: Radeon 8060S Graphics Manufacturer: Framework Product Name: Desktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max 300 Series) System Version: A6 What Firefox version you use (package, Fedora flatpak, Flathub flatpak), and whether you have multiple installed: Firefox from Fedora packages, currently version 149.0-4.fc43. I do have other firefox alternatives that run on this system. In particular, I have LibreWolf and Tor. I do also use Firefox in docker on specific times, though being Docker, with isolated filesystem folders, and instances I intentionally don't sign in via sync, they should be non-impacting. Any important system customizations or changes such as file system or kernel: None at this time. In the past I was using beta kernels, but at this point, I'm using a mainline kernel. That said, it should be noted that this is a dual boot system primarily I see this issue on. Fedora KDE is the primary OS, but there is a Win11 partition on this system as well. Your desktop environment: per above, KDE plasma, version 6.6.3 Information on all other systems synced with Firefox Sync to the same account, if you use it: I'll be honest, there's a lot. I have a MacBook which I sync (MacOS Tahoe), a Framework 13 laptop dual boot (Linux Mint and Windows, mostly booting Windows), both with packaged firefoxes. Mobile iPhone. How you update your system (graphical tool, `dnf upgrade`, `dnf upgrade --offline`, etc.): depends. Have done upgrades with both dnf update/upgrade, and GUI based upgrades on this system, and I switch between them fairly frequently and randomly. A detailed walkthrough of what happened exactly when the issue occurred (when you (re)booted your machine(s), when you started or closed the browser(s), whether you clicked through any errors or messages, etc.): I think most of the times, this was in first startup of Firefox after a a system upgrade. I don't remember precisely if it was after rebooting or not, though I want to say it usually was after a reboot. That said, I'll try to keep track of it next time it occurs. It has happened at least a few times. If it happened after an upgrade, whether your browser was running during the upgrade (and whether it complained or crashed): No information at this time. I don't remember any browser crashes or complaints, since I don't see that usually. What exactly was lost/reset, and what the intended setting/value was previously: The usual loss has been only the home page setting, reverting to the Custom URL start.fedoraproject.org page. The intended setting, and the one I usually set it back to, is the Firefox Home (Default) setting. ------------------- I can try to see if a dnf downgrade and upgrade triggers the issue. Will reply if I see anything.
Adding note: did not see any change of page using simple dnf downgrade & dnf upgrade on either side after. Did not see any change after doing a dnf downgrade and a system wide GUI upgrade either.
Due to unexpected personal life stuff I don't think I will be able to help with this as I originally intended. Sorry for the sudden change. I hope someone else can help work this out. If anyone wants to take over the effort, feel free to self-assign.
Even though Lina isn't able to monitor this issue anymore, I'm going to add a note for now. I did see the homepage change again in my browser today, back to Fedora default. Of critical note: for me, **this seems to have happened without a reboot happening, nor any update to Firefox itself that I was aware of**. My browser had already been open still, though I had been away from my system for a few days (call it 2 days). The windows/tabs I had opened were still here, and at that time, I'm pretty sure the homepage was normal. However, opening a new window today showed a change to the homepage back to the Fedora start page. Firefox also still shows firefox-149.0-4.fc43 as my package version, so as far as I can tell, no Firefox update has occurred. That means this issue popped up without me updating Firefox itself. I do have backups of the folders per Lina's instructions. For confidentality reasons, since this includes my profile folder, I will not attach this here directly on a publicly visible ticket, at least not in full. Of note, I do see two different extension updates between one that had the right homepage and one that was wrong: Sky Follower Bridge - an extension that is meant to manage Twitter->Bluesky transitions, and Bitwarden Password manager, not sure if that's relevant. I did do a sanity check on the other Fedora system I have at home just in case that system may have been the one with the issue and it syncs (it's also powered on), but as it turns out, checking it, it isn't actually signed in to Firefox sync. That means it shouldn't have contributed. Everything else is per my above. I do not want to touch the upstream comment with my notes since that's specific to fixing the potential underlying.
Please let me know if you find anything actionable. Thanks.
Hello, This bug maybe connected to a likely recurring issue on my current set-up. it has happened for atleast 5 times in a row for the past month now (including the time im posting this). Update Method: sudo dnf update --refresh, flatpak update Firefox Sync enabled. and I use my Poco X4gt with Firefox Mobile synced. tho I dont see issues on my phones Firefox. How this issue occurs: I believe it first occured on my end when I was actively using my pc, I was simply using Firefox and after closing and opening firefox I noticed that all my accounts have been logged out. now when I open Firefox after a PC boot/restart, the same issue occurs aswell. I'm still unsure if it triggers whenever Firefox is closed after a brief period of time and opening it, I'll be providing an update when it happens again. Did it happen after an upgrade: I dont remember this bug occuring after an update but what I do remember was doing a system hoping to get a fix for when this issue started What exactly was lost/reset: was all accounts logged out in everysite im logged in, but It doesnt seem to wipe out all my prefs and bookmarks cuz I use Firefox sync. Note: I think this also occurs on Zen. 2 days ago when this issue happened on Firefox, I switched to Zen briefly and logged(google, reddit etc.) all my account there, next day I saw all my logged accounts have been logged out aswell. I also have Brave installed and it doesnt appear to be occuring there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OS: Fedora Linux 43 (Workstation Edition) x86_64 KERNEL: Linux 6.19.14-200.fc43.x86_64 CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 (12) 32GBs RAM GPU: Intel Arc A770 @ 2.40 GHz [Discrete] DE: GNOME 49.6 WM: Mutter (Wayland) SHELL: fish 4.2.0 TERMINAL: WezTerm 20260424_171406_73e1f95d PACKAGES: 2641 (rpm), 58 (flatpak), 142 (brew) Firefox: 149.0.2 (64-bit) (Installed via DNF) Zen: 1.19.10b (Firefox 150.0) (64-bit) (Flatpak) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Firefox Extensions: Always active Window - Always Visible Better Volume Booster CanvasBlocker Consent-O-Matic Download All Images Firefox Relay GNOME Shell integration Google Forms Auto Filler Immersive Translate - Translate Web & PDF Magnifying Glass (Hover Zoom) Pixiv Toolkit Search by Image uBlock Origin User-Agent Switcher Violentmonkey WebRTC Leak Shield Gnome Shell Extensions: Advanced Media Controller Alphabetical App Grid Blur my Shell Burn My Windows Caffeine Clipboard Indicator Compiz windows effect Emoji Copy Just Perfection Quick Settings Audio Panel Simple Message Smile - complementary extension Tactile Vibe To-Do Vitals Zen AppIndicator and KstatusNotifierItem Support