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Zeroone
New member
Status: New idea

I work with ubuntu, it's really annoying when firefox tells you (don't ask, tell you) that everything has stopped and you have to restart the browser, for a refresh, especially when you have multiple tabs open at work.
I am not running a manual update of ubuntu packages (I have it in manual mode) and firefox seems to do it without asking, there is also no clear way how to disable it.
I already tried some solutions from the internet: modifying the specific advanced configuration, creating a json of policies, etc.
but i think firefox should have a clear and obvious way to disable this.

29 Comments
Anonymous
Not applicable

I'm on 98.01 and I still have:

"Check for updates but let you choose to install them"

as an option.  I'd prefer to have the old "Never automatically check for updates" option (or however it was worded) so I don't keep getting hounded, but this is better than nothing.

Do you not have that option still?  If not, what version are you on?

pzelchenko
Making moves
pzelchenko
Making moves

Some of that sounds reasonable, especially the categorization of differences between features that are niceties and ones that are dire emergencies. There's a difference, and many of us don't want to be swept up onto the bandwagon without being asked.

I think it's essential to leave it in the hands of the user to be able to turn off all automatic updating, and (most importantly) to never nag them, ever, if they don't want to be nagged. To have to dismiss an unwanted dialog every 24 hours, every two weeks, even every month is an offense. It's my computer. It's my browser. It's my decision. It's my life. If there's a rare life-and-death security patch every 10 months or so, I'd like to hear about it.  Other than that, I don't want automatic updates. That's the topic of my suggestion and I'll thank people not to distract us from it.

I think it's pretty certain that if you were to poll a significant sample of the millions of users who have turned off automatic background updating, you would get a similar sentiment.

bh
New member

I just updated Firefox after being nagged YET AGAIN  -  and immediately got another update notification to v100Beta something else! GRRRR!

I also get a white screen after I dismiss the congratulatory notice about using the newest version, and try to get back to my home page. I then have exit 'unresponsive' Firefox, and restart....

I too request the nag screen to be removed, and the manual update facility restored. 

As a new contributor I do not seem to be able to give Kudos.

pzelchenko
Making moves

I keep getting these update nags. Jonathan, I don't want them every 24 hours! And the default behavior of background updates happens to be the new default. That doesn't mean it has to be what all of us want.

This should be simple: Let us turn it off forever. If you want options for compromise, that's fine, but let us have a totally discoverable way (e.g., the mind-numbingly obvious way that I propose in my mockup above) to unequivocally turn it off!

Jon
Community Manager
Community Manager

@bh thanks for joining the conversation and adding your input. This will be shared with our teams, so the more details the better.

Also, looks like you were able to give kudos (or at least I'm seeing that you have given kudos to this post).

Shearflux
New member

I absolutely agree and would go further by stating that it constitutes user hostile design. They know some people will want to disable it so they go out of their way to make it more difficult to do.

Shearflux
New member

I finally figured out how to resolve the issue. If you type "whereis firefox" you will see locations it is installed on your system such as "/usr/lib/firefox/" in my case. There should be a folder in there called distribution (if not, "mkdir distribution") and in there, create a file called "policies.json" and insert the following:

{
"policies": {
"DisableAppUpdate": true,
"AppAutoUpdate": false
}
}

When you restart Firefox without them forcing you to you should see a message in the settings "Your browser is being managed by your organization.". You should be all set and have your freedom taken back!

suzanne
New member

Yes PLEASE give us the option, I don't want to uninstall but these constant update notices have GOT to STOP it's like having a virus in your computer that just keeps annoying you constantly. STOP THIS INSANITY NOW!!!!!!!!!

pzelchenko
Making moves

Several months after I loudly griped about this in two different forums, I'm still getting nagged several times a day. At minimum, every time I sleep the laptop and then turn it back on. I don't see a notice here that the issue was resolved, so I shall continue to dismiss the update until it is shown here that it has been resolved.

I want to emphasize that I don't want EVER to see the nag screen. I want it off, and I want that turn off feature in a very prominent and discoverable place (such as whenever the screen first pops up), not in some arcane setting, as if Firefox were some contestant to replace the dreaded Windows Registry. I don't want to have to rediscover how to do this every few months for the dozens of people who have relied on my recommendation to use Firefox. I want them to be able to discover it themselves. See my wireframe.