Hi,

The ability to make the browser look to your vision of the web is what makes it a great browser. That it can be an inconvenience to get the same vision back when you upgrade is I guess not always avoidable just as with any other software that is upgraded to the latest version. I believe there has been enough communication regarding the changes in FF29. There is always the option not to upgrade automatically.

If you want to run multiple FF on the same windows machine and try it out first then please have a look at this link http://www.dennisplucinik.com/blog/2011/02/04/how-to-install-run-multiple-firefox-versions-in-windows-simultaneously/

This also affects me.

Like most people, I don't keep abreast of Firefox developments. I simply use it as a web browser. I had no idea a new version was about to be released, or that by default the software was set to upgrade automatically. Had I known (especially about the drastic, forced aesthetic changes in v29), I would have disabled the automatic update.

It doesn't seem like it should be that hard to include an option at some point to keep the old look and customizations while updating. I know that isn't likely to happen - although it seems like common sense, so I couldn't say why - but I found it frustrating enough to create an account and post this, following time spent and add-ons configured, just to get the browser back to what I had yesterday. I would just install the old version instead, but I have no idea whether it would keep my history, saved passwords, and so forth, and I do want to take advantage of any security and basic functionality improvements the new version might offer.

For some people, I guess the new look is an improvement. I don't see it, though, and I doubt I'm alone in that. For me, this is an unwanted and unnecessary frustration that showed up out of nowhere.

I feel like this is an issue that comes up again and again with different product lines (Windows 8 for a blatant example), where the company forces their aesthetic choices on the user. It seems like it would be easy to provide a "classic" theme option (since third-party developers do this as soon as the new version comes out, and frustration begins to mount), but that doesn't happen, and users end up implementing work-arounds just to get back what they had in the first place.

Especially in this case - since the buttons map to the same functions and so forth; it really is just a different aesthetic - I don't know why Mozilla can't be a little more accommodating to the substantial subset of users who would rather keep the old look. I know there are add-ons and extensions that would still be incompatible with the update, but what I'm talking about should be possible without resorting to work-arounds.

I feel like you sort of brushed off the last poster. I want to draw attention to one of your lines:

I believe there has been enough communication regarding the changes in FF29. There is always the option not to upgrade automatically.

That's what they said when they knocked down Arthur Dent's house. If you're not going to provide the options I've been talking about, a little notice to those of us who don't follow developer blogs or drop by the Firefox website regularly would be appreciated. At the very least, something like a "Version X downloaded - install now?" prompt should be the default for major changes like this one.

I also agree. While getting new features would be nice, the things that were removed, like the add-ons bar? Let's think for a minute, just how many add-ons default to the add-on bar? Quite a few, for me. And what about those that use the bar because they need the room? It's one thing to improve something good to make it better. But I don't think removing things is a good idea. What's next? The downloader? How about the zoom controls?

Hi everyone,

If I may, would strongly recommend that you at least try out Firefox 29 before defaulting back to 28. Give it a week or two and if you don't like it, we will happily give you the link to 28. Please understand that by downgrading to 28 or even moving to the ESR build, you're only delaying the inevitable. Australis is the new UI for Firefox and I don't see it going anywhere as it took more than 2 years to develop. ESR will be getting the default 29 look soon (I don't remember the exact date) but it's coming.

Here are a few suggestions for restoring the old design. I hope you’ll find one that works for you:

• Use the Classic Theme Restorer to bring back the old design. Learn more here: How to make the new Firefox look like the old Firefox
• Use the Add-on Bar Restored to bring back the add-on bar. Learn more here: What happened to the Add-on Bar?

As always, please don't leave feedback here but rather at input.mozilla.org/feedback as feedback given here tends to be ignored as developers don't see it.

I'll also be locking this thread for two reasons:

• The OP hasn't responded since 4/30/14
• This thread has become another Australis general discussion which is off-topic at Mozilla Support. See the Forum Rules and Guidelines