How do I stop Firefox nagging for updates?
Recent versions of Firefox have eliminated being able to turn off Firefox nagging for updates. Further, Firefox does this constantly. I updated Firefox less than a week ago. Now it is nagging me again, with that little box that appears in the corner. This is not acceptable. Further, there are many users who do not want to update all the time, for good reasons. Mozilla should not be behaving like Microsoft, which is known for forcing updates on users, whether they want them or not.
There apparently is a way to disable update notices that might work, but involves changing a value in the advanced settings. I only found that by looking on the forum. You need to fix this. There should be an easily found choice under "updates" to turn off such notices. We who use Firefox want to have the way we use our computers, including what notices we see, under our control, not yours.
All Replies (11)
Firefox is your portal to the internet, and the internet is full of dangers. By keeping your browser up to date, you keep your computer, your data and the rest of the internet a little bit safer. Updates should never be turned off, not just for your browser, but for any software on your computer.
Fortunately, updating Firefox is quick and easy and takes a few seconds. Usually, you won't even notice it's happened!
Dear Tyler: Yes, updates help patch problems, etc., etc. But there can be very good reasons NOT to update software--for example, sometimes an update can break a link or function that you need for your work. (This is something that is a factor on the computer I use for audio editing.)
Further, it should be my choice as to how I use my computer and how I configure the software. I just might know what my needs are better than some software developer who is not in my situation. Forcing update notices on users, whether they want them or not, is inconsiderate and disrespectful. We get enough of that from Microsoft and Apple. We do not need it from Mozilla.
Firefox won't automatically restart your browser to apply an update, you're given the choice of when to restart, but it is an important issue so we don't allow you to refuse updates. Please keep your software up to date!
You are not listening. There are times when updating software can break a computer system or part of it. Any long time computer user wants to have control of updates to their software, and does not want to be nagged about updates by that software.
And, I did indeed update Firefox, and just a few days later, it started nagging me for an update again. This is not acceptable--I do not want to be dealing with a browser update box in the middle of other work. I want to turn the d@$;n notification off!
So what happened in that case is you update to Firefox 65, and then a few days later we released Firefox 65.0.1. The new release had important fixes that needed to be deployed, so it was worth bothering people to ship.
As I said, it takes a few seconds to restart Firefox to apply the update.
I have the same complaint. I don't upgrade with every single FireFox update offering. I have NEVER updated to a x.0.0 version. I always wait until x.0.2. The next update I am going to lose my FireFox RSS capability. There is usually an about:config command you can tweak to stop this type of behavior. Does anyone have the command to turn this notification off? I would appreciate it. I am getting really tired of being bugged by this nag notification.
Mr. Downer, you don't realize that "a few seconds" is not acceptable if you are in the middle of audio work. I work with my computer professionally, and I need control over what the software I work with does. If that software decides I should be served notices about updates in the middle of my work, I may have to use other software that does not do that instead.
Listen to your users. Please.
I might have found something in about:config app.update.doorhanger I currently have several Firefox windows open so I'll have to try it later. I will have to change the setting to false and then reopen Firefox several times to see if I get the notification. I couldn't find anything else related using the search string: update If you make any changes, I suggest you keep track of them so you don't mess up your Firefox installation. MAKE ALL CHANGES AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Hello, I went into: about:config
and changed: app.update.doorhanger from true to false. I exited Firefox and reopened FF. I did not get the update notification. Firefox does not even give me a green upgrade arrow in the upper right corner.
If you make any changes, I suggest you keep track of them so you don't mess up your Firefox installation. MAKE ALL CHANGES AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Cypherdude.
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Gewysig op deur Chris Ilias
The above process only stops the "doorhanger" from appearing. Much to my further annoyance, after changing in about:config app.update.doorhanger from true to false, a new large "Software Update" window appeared. See attached JPG file below. To remove the nag notices to upgrade, follow the procedure below. Which one you use depends on whether you use Windows or a different O/S. If you have made the change in my previous post, reverse them. For app.update.doorhanger, change it back from false to true. MAKE ALL CHANGES AT YOUR OWN RISK:
Windows The process to stop the upgrade nag screens is simple. You only need to apply a small Windows Registry file. These are the contents of the Registry file. You can either use REGEDIT.EXE to manually create the keys and the Dword (32-bit) Value or you can copy the text in-between the lines to Notepad.exe and save file Firefox-disable-update.reg. Double-click on the file to create the keys and value automatically. Mozilla will not allow me to upload a Reg file. Do not save the lines, exclude them: Firefox-disable-update.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox] "DisableAppUpdate"=dword:00000001
Other Operating System You cannot use the Registry method. You must create a file called policies.json according to the instructions on this web page: On FF Portable 63, the Prompt to Update Cannot Be Disabled . This is a long forum thread with 17 posts. You will need to go through it.
