Why does FF for Android behave as though it has Silverlight installed?
When I log in to Outlook.com from Firefox for Android 53.0 on a Samsung Galaxy Tab4 running Android 4.4.2, it behaves as though Silverlight is installed.
By choosing Options / About (from Outlook.com), it tells me "The required version of Silverlight is installed".
If I log in to Outlook.com from my Apple iMac running Firefox 53.0.2, it does not have Silverlight installed, and I get a completely different look and feel for Outlook.com. I am assuming this is because FF no longer supports Silverlight plug-in after ver 52. So why is the Android version still behaving as though Silverlight is installed?
Tutte le risposte (10)
Microsoft never released a version of Silverlight for Android, so that sounds like a glitch in their About page.
I can't remember ever enabling Silverlight on https://outlook.live.com/owa/ but perhaps there were some visual bonuses I was missing out on. What differences do you notice?
I am attaching photos of how it looks on Android and Mac.....
The Mac has the newer design (same one used on Windows) and Android has the older design.
Both Firefoxes are ver 53, so why does Outlook.com look so different on each?
Do I have to ask Microsoft?
You might have to ask Microsoft... in the old days there was a box on the login screen to choose between a premium (full featured) experience and a light version of Outlook Web App (OWA). Microsoft might automatically use the light version on tablets -- I don't have an Android tablet I can use to check for that. Here are the steps to try to switch between light and standard:
How do I get to the standard version of Outlook Web App?
If you did not choose the light version, just sign out and then use a supported browser to sign back in.
If you did choose the light version from an option, here’s how to get back to the standard version of Outlook Web App:
In the light version, go to Options > Outlook Web App version.
Clear the Use the light version of Outlook Web App check box.
Choose Save.
Sign out of the light version, close your browser, and sign in again using a supported browser. You may need to close all open browser windows before you can sign in again.
Thanks for the suggestion, but it makes no difference to how it displays on Android, whether the "light" check box is checked or not.
Looks like I need to refer to Microsoft......
I have been in touch with Microsoft. They say that I should be able to use the standard version on Firefox for Android.
But the instructions they gave me didn't work. Even with the checkbox unchecked and signing out and restarting the browser, and logging in again, nothing changes.
So they are saying that "The reason why it is not allowing you to access the standard version of Outlook Web App is because there is a specific setting for that."
I assume what they mean is that there is supposed to be a setting within the browser that allows for the standard version of Outlook Web App to be selected.
They added further "I suggest that you contact the Firefox support to change the settings that will be compatible with the Outlook Web App using Firefox for Android."
I find it hard to imagine there is a specific setting in Firefox to change what layout OWA sends to the browser. Maybe it's an issue with screen resolution or some other factor that triggers OWA to send the simplified pages?
It seems we have a classic case of "he said, she said..".
I don't know enough about the technicalities of this issue to take sides, but I suggest we need to get Mozilla talking to Microsoft or vice-versa to resolve this one......
I have been in touch with Microsoft Outlook support. They insist that the problem is due to a configuration issue in Firefox. So I went looking a bit further.
FYI, I have found a fix!
In FF for Android, if you tap on the "Menu" symbol (the 3 vertical dots in top right corner of screen), there is a menu choice called "Request desktop site". If you check the checkbox beside that text, the Outlook.com screen magically changes from Lite to Standard, right in front of your eyes!
It does seem, however, that the checkbox can only be used to make a temporary change. In other words, the check does not seem to be retained once the window has been closed.