This thread was created to help users installing/troubleshooting the latest versions of Firefox and clarify what's going on with new releases.
Why is Firefox being updated so frequently?
Mozilla has implemented a new development model, similar to Google Chrome. This means new major versions releases of Firefox are being scheduled for every 6-12 weeks. Want to learn more or give your opinion about the new release model, see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1818283
Will older versions of Firefox still be updated?
Firefox essentially has become a "rolling release", with new versions replacing the previous one entirely. Firefox 3.6.x reached end-of-life on April 24th 2012.
Will these major versions be available through the official repositories?
Firefox has been already updated to comply with the new fast release model and they should continue to update to new major versions once they are released.
Is there a LTS version of Firefox?
With the release of Firefox 10, Mozilla will start providing an ESR (Extended Support Release) version, that is equivalent to Ubuntu LTS.
For more information see:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Enterprise/...pport:Proposal
http://www.tuxgarage.com/2012/02/ins...ntu-linux.html
How can I get the most recent versions right now?
You just need to do a regular update/upgrade to get the latest stable version. Usually, it takes a couple of days before a new version, just released by Mozilla, reaches the official Ubuntu repository.
If you want to install Firefox beta, aurora or nightly versions, then you can use a ppa repository.
Below you can find the recommended ppa repositories from MozillaTeam, which is responsible for maintaining Firefox and other Mozilla products on Ubuntu. Don't use multiple PPA repositories. Pick the best for your needs.
To upgrade to the latest beta version use the
firefox-next ppa.
Code:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-next
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install firefox
- This ppa is only available for Lucid 10.04, Maverick 10.10, Natty 11.04 and Oneiric 11.10
- This ppa upgrades your default Firefox installation, only with beta versions.
To upgrade to the latest aurora version use the
firefox-aurora ppa.
Code:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/firefox-aurora
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install firefox
- This ppa is only available for Lucid 10.04, Maverick 10.10, Natty 11.04 and Oneiric 11.10
- This ppa upgrades your default Firefox installation, with aurora channel versions.
To upgrade to the latest versions undergoing security and stability tests use
ubuntu-mozilla-security ppa.
Code:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install firefox
- This ppa is only available for Lucid 10.04, Maverick 10.10, Natty 11.04 and Oneiric 11.10. However, Maverick and Lucid will upgrade to the latest 3.6.x series.
- This ppa upgrades your default Firefox installation with the latest versions undergoing testing.
- This ppa will also upgrade Thunderbird.
To install the latest nightly version use the
ubuntu-mozilla-daily ppa.
Code:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox-trunk
- This ppa is only available for Lucid 10.04, Maverick 10.10, Natty 11.04 and Oneiric 11.10
- This ppa will install untested and unstable releases!
- The majority of add-ons will not work with the firefox-trunk builds from this ppa.
- It allows to install firefox-trunk side-by-side with your default Firefox installation, but it will also upgrade your default Firefox with the latest build from it's series.
- This ppa will also upgrade Thunderbird.
Removal & Downgrade
My preferred method is to simply disable the ppa in Software Sources and reinstall firefox:
Code:
sudo apt-get install --reinstall firefox
Alternatively, you can use ppa-purge. To uninstall a ppa and revert to the default version, run the following commands, changing the second line according to the ppa chosen:
Code:
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable
Manual Installation
Alternatively, you can download it from Mozilla, extract the archive to the /opt folder or somewhere in your /home directory. Keep in mind the version available from Firefox main site is for 32bit only. For more info and instructions on how to use this method see the installation tutorial on my web site.
Add-ons
UPDATE: Starting with Firefox 10, add-ons are considered compatible by default, so you don't need any config change to make them work with beta, aurora or nightly versions. If you want to disable this behavior, enter
about:config, search for
extensions.strictCompatibility and double click it to set it to true.
Mozilla has recently implemented a new system to bump compatibility of add-ons, when a new major version reaches the beta testing phase. However, you need to perform an update check from the Add-ons Manager to get the compatibility patches. Keep in mind that only add-ons that do not have any incompatible code will be patched automatically.
It is possible to bypass the extension compatibility check, in order to use incompatible add-ons. However, if you need such procedure to use add-ons with the latest stable or latest beta build of Firefox, then it means the add-on has incompatible code and probably won't work as expected or could even cause other problems. If you want to use it anyway, you can disable compatibility check with Add-on Compatibility Reporter.
Before turning off the compatibility check, verify if the add-on has new versions under review. After a developer updates an add-on, it needs to be reviewed by Mozilla editors before going public. This process takes about a week, but you can use new versions under review, if you trust the developer. You can do that by adding /versions/ to the add-on url on Mozilla site or clicking the View all versions link at the bottom of the add-on page.
If you want to learn why add-ons sometimes break and why the new development model is actually beneficial for add-on compatibility, see this interesting article (Thanks to SilverWave for finding it).
I have compiled a list of add-ons that might be useful for Firefox 4+ users. These add-ons modify Firefox gui or functionality in order enhance new features or regain old ones.
Known Issues
If you are experiencing difficulties starting Firefox or if it starts but is completely unusable, check if you have Bindwood extension installed and remove it.
Code:
sudo apt-get remove xul-ext-bindwood
This was an extension used to sync Firefox bookmarks using Ubuntu One cloud service, but it doesn't work anymore, since they removed such functionality from the service.
There seems to be issues with firefox-globalmenu, which can prevent Firefox from starting when using Unity or prevent tabs from being closed.
If you are experiencing such issues, start Firefox in safe mode and disable the "Global Menu Bar Integration" extension:
If that doesn't solve the problem, uninstall firefox-globalmenu:
Code:
sudo apt-get remove firefox-globalmenu
Restart Firefox.
This is not a definitive solution, but at least will allow to use Firefox with Unity until this problem with the global menu gets fixed.
If you are using Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid, then you need to install the ubufox package. The package ubufox is a dummy transitional package to the new xul-ext-ubufox. In theory, you don't actually need ubufox. However, on Lucid, xul-ext-ubufox is still version 0.9.0, while ubufox is 0.9.1. So xul-ext-ubufox doesn't work with Firefox 5, while ubufox does.https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...nglinux/firef/
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