Forced Update Restarts

[CrustaceanFlier]

Hi all,

I've been using Firefox for decades and still appreciate what it offers vs the others. I'm writing for the first time to share feedback on something that's very disruptive to my workflow:

"Restart to Keep Using Firefox"

I understand the importance of staying current in this current digital landscape, but the frequency of the mini-updates has led me to defer updating altogether.

Would it be possible to implement a setting that allows the user to opt-in to major releases only?

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

For information purposes
DisableAppUpdate https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/upgrade-notification-spam/m-p/64080/highlight/true#M22529

Firefox release notes
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/releases
Mozilla Foundation Security Advisories
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories

Firefox release calendar
https://whattrainisitnow.com/calendar

[aschwein]

Agreed!!! I want to be able to update the app, but have the option to restart now or later. Not forced.

[hanob]

I used FF for years and it's update workflow worked beautifully: I saw a green dot-reminder and was able to restart whenever I can. But recent updates changed.

- Oh that's OK, tabs will be restored, unless you are in pvt mode...
I AM IN PRIVATE MODE!

This reminds me the days when Windows was forcing to restart and everyone was laughing on that stupidity and agreed that it is unacceptable because that's inconvenient, could happen at an inappropriate moment, and sometimes people lose their work. How tf, you guys, came to the same update model?

[staylor135]

I've serached and this is the newest post I've found on this issue. Unfortunately I've seen the complaint go back more than four years.  This is the first time I've encountered it and I thought it was a Mac thing but I could be wrong.  

This is beyond terrible.  I will be trying to turn off auto updates but that is only a temporary and very bad stopgap. There could be users that cannot change their enterprise settings and will be forced to update.  I don't like but am more okay with the nag box to restart or dissmess the restart to update but having the experience I just had is unacceptable. 

I had been using Firefox and closed my laptop, upon opening it, opening a new tab, I received the page saying Restart to continue using firefox as an update started in the background.  I am use to on windows an update starting you get the nag screen and one cannot use inprivate because it's loading the newer binary with the older profile and it's just broken and components need updating but cannot. However to block the current main session from working is highly disruptive.  You have no idea what the user was in the middle of, which you cannot recover for them.  How intense on the system it is to open resources and to recreate where they were.  If I was doing critical work and suddenly I cannot continue until I reload, well I'm not going to use that browser anymore.  I have pages that take minutes to parse, some of my profiles are highly tab junkie like and take up most of my ram and 10s of mintues to full load.  I cannot risk having to unexpectedly stop working because it decided to update - locking me out until further use. 

[staylor135]

Four days later and today's the day.  

I came into work and found equipment was in a state of issue. Then I made a mistake and took down a network interface that just happened to be the last stop before a multi-building network reaches the internet.  

I needed to console into the firewall and restore access, but I hadn't done so since I put in the device.  There's a management port but it wasn't doing DHCP or later accepting admin traffic.  While I'm at the 45 minute mark of trying to get things back up, I go to open a new tab and... "Restart Firefox to continue using it"  My web controlled appliance was no longer controllable via the browser with an active session and signing in had been an issue.  My progress came to a halt for a few minutes while the browser exited and reloaded. 

No warming, no chance to delay. 


Along with a write up on emergency procedures for this appliance, I'm going to be switching browsers today. 

[CrustaceanFlier]

Absolutely brutal, and I can't blame you for switching.

I'm not ready to jump ship yet, but my "solution" was to configure FF to never download or install updates unless I press yes. Now I only have to deal with the download-new-version nag popup a few times a day - but that at least allows me to dismiss for as long as I want. 

It's a small price to pay to not have my session forcefully murdered.