6 ms·

Firefox on Andorid works flawlessly for me. Plus, it's worth repeating that Firefox sync works without problem across desktop and mobile. The sync [0] and auth

Firefox on Andorid works flawlessly for me. Plus, it's worth repeating that Firefox sync works without problem across desktop and mobile. The sync [0] and auth [1] servers are open source, and one could choose to use one or both on his premises. IIRC, browser synchronization was a thing on Firefox well before it landed on chrome. [0] https://mozilla-services.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howtos/run-sync-1.5.html https://mozilla-services.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howtos/run... [1] https://mozilla-services.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howtos/run-fxa.html https://mozilla-services.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howtos/run...

space_fountain 9y ago
I've switched entirely to Firefox, but I have had some issues where I input an address on Android and the Browser doesn't navigate.
- janneklouman 9y ago
  Unfortunately I had the same issue on my Android phone - every time I re-opened the app I had to open a new tab in order to browse. I ended up installing and using Firefox Nightly instead (where the issue seems to be resolved).
- joelthelion 9y ago
  Have you tried again since 57 was released? Or tried nightly? I've been using Firefox on mobile for a long time, and I remember experiencing similar issues from time to time, but I haven't had these in a while. FWIW, closing tabs once in a while can also help. Mobiles typically don't have too much RAM.
- anderspitman 9y ago
  Had a similar issue recently. Reinstalling the app seems to have fixed it.
- wolco 9y ago
  I had a similiar issue with chrome
KozmoNau7 9y ago
For me, the biggest benefit of using Firefox on mobile is access to extensions. Full-featured uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger make mobile browsing a lot less annoying.
- readams 9y ago
  Ublock was enough to make slower Firefox on Android worth using because it makes sites so much faster. Once the quantum features start arriving on mobile its going to be impossible for chrome to match.
  - gmemstr 9y ago
    They are available in Nightly and Beta, I'm surprised they aren't in the main release yet.
  - treffer 9y ago
    My must-have list is https everywhere (from EFF) and uBlock origin. I hope that the mobile browser will get at least the same level of attention as in the past.
    - craftyguy 9y ago
      These extensions work just fine on FF 57 for Android, so I'm not really sure of the point you are trying to make.
  - armada651 9y ago
    They're already on mobile in the stable release. I'm posting this comment from Firefox Quantum on Android right now.
    - bwat49 9y ago
      A lot of the performance stuff such as Stylo hasn't landed on the Android version yet
- seretogis 9y ago
pletnes 9y ago
Browser sync in FF also does not sell your data, and works on all major OS-es, including obscure linuxes. I also love the «send tab» functionality - need some info on my desktop tomorrow? Send tab, and it’ll be there when I log in!
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  Chrome's browser sync can take a password for client-side encryption, so Google isn't selling my data unless they've backdoored that.
  - pletnes 9y ago
    They were probably never interestedin selling your passwords. Browser sync is way more than password sync.
    - wlesieutre 9y ago
      The password is for encrypting the whole browser sync, bookmarks and history included. You’re not required to set one (this is in addition to your google account credentials), but it’s available as an option.
Fnoord 9y ago
> IIRC, browser synchronization was a thing on Firefox well before it landed on chrome. Aye, it was. It was called Mozilla Weave, and it worked with the very early versions of Fennec (the original name of Firefox Mobile). Also, your data is securely encrypted at Mozilla, and isn't being profiled (if you disable those features in Firefox). In Firefox 58 (you can run it today on Android by installing Firefox Beta app) you can run PWA (Progressive Web App) which allows you to turn a website into basically an app. Not every website will work though.
mattmanser 9y ago
Massive memory leaks for me, Nexus 5x. Took me a while to realize it was FF basically bricking my phone. Since switching back to Chrome, I've had no issues.
chias 9y ago
My primary issue with Firefox on Android is that in portrait mode, the URL bar has enough width for about five characters -- the rest being taken up by the back / forward buttons to the left, a magnifying glass icon, the QR code icon, a microphone icon, the refresh button, the tabs button, and the "three-dots" options menu. Typing a URL into a text-field that can display five characters at a time borders on ludicrous, and I have no idea how anyone thought that was reasonable to ship that as the default UI. Other than that, I'm loving the mobile Firefox.
- jamy015 9y ago
  I'm not sure how your Firefox ended up like that. Mine has the QR button, mic button and X button when entering a URL, or the reader button, tab button and menu button when viewing a page. The back/forward and refresh buttons are inside the menu ('three dots').
  - chias 9y ago
    Interesting -- it was a fresh install on a Nexus device that had never had Firefox on it before. I'll explore the UI options.
- muxator 9y ago
  Firefox 57 has introduced the possibility of dragging the URL bar text to scroll it. It's just a mitigation, but at least it's an ergonomic improvement.
bastawhiz 9y ago
>IIRC, browser synchronization was a thing on Firefox well before it landed on chrome. Yes, but it was bad. Chrome allowed you to sync just by typing your Google account credentials. Firefox relied on sharing a text file between computers. If you lost the file and reset your profile (as was common in old Firefox), you effectively lost all of your synced content. Adding a new computer was difficult and slow. Firefox ultimately failed the "could you explain this to your parents" test, and many users simply gave up trying to get it to work.
darklajid 9y ago
I'm about to leave Firefox on Android behind after running it for years (and even running Nighlies/Betas), because they broke the "Share Link To Bottom" plugin and the browser is literally - no exaggeration - causing me to curse and swear every other time I open a link. I try to stick to Firefox on my desktop and find workarounds for broken addons, but on a mobile it seems easier to switch away.

space_fountain 9y ago

I've switched entirely to Firefox, but I have had some issues where I input an address on Android and the Browser doesn't navigate.

janneklouman 9y ago
Unfortunately I had the same issue on my Android phone - every time I re-opened the app I had to open a new tab in order to browse. I ended up installing and using Firefox Nightly instead (where the issue seems to be resolved).
joelthelion 9y ago
Have you tried again since 57 was released? Or tried nightly? I've been using Firefox on mobile for a long time, and I remember experiencing similar issues from time to time, but I haven't had these in a while. FWIW, closing tabs once in a while can also help. Mobiles typically don't have too much RAM.
anderspitman 9y ago
Had a similar issue recently. Reinstalling the app seems to have fixed it.
wolco 9y ago
I had a similiar issue with chrome

KozmoNau7 9y ago

For me, the biggest benefit of using Firefox on mobile is access to extensions. Full-featured uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger make mobile browsing a lot less annoying.

readams 9y ago
Ublock was enough to make slower Firefox on Android worth using because it makes sites so much faster. Once the quantum features start arriving on mobile its going to be impossible for chrome to match.
- gmemstr 9y ago
  They are available in Nightly and Beta, I'm surprised they aren't in the main release yet.
- treffer 9y ago
  My must-have list is https everywhere (from EFF) and uBlock origin. I hope that the mobile browser will get at least the same level of attention as in the past.
  - craftyguy 9y ago
    These extensions work just fine on FF 57 for Android, so I'm not really sure of the point you are trying to make.
- armada651 9y ago
  They're already on mobile in the stable release. I'm posting this comment from Firefox Quantum on Android right now.
  - bwat49 9y ago
    A lot of the performance stuff such as Stylo hasn't landed on the Android version yet
seretogis 9y ago

pletnes 9y ago

Browser sync in FF also does not sell your data, and works on all major OS-es, including obscure linuxes. I also love the «send tab» functionality - need some info on my desktop tomorrow? Send tab, and it’ll be there when I log in!

wlesieutre 9y ago
Chrome's browser sync can take a password for client-side encryption, so Google isn't selling my data unless they've backdoored that.
- pletnes 9y ago
  They were probably never interestedin selling your passwords. Browser sync is way more than password sync.
  - wlesieutre 9y ago
    The password is for encrypting the whole browser sync, bookmarks and history included. You’re not required to set one (this is in addition to your google account credentials), but it’s available as an option.

Fnoord 9y ago

> IIRC, browser synchronization was a thing on Firefox well before it landed on chrome. Aye, it was. It was called Mozilla Weave, and it worked with the very early versions of Fennec (the original name of Firefox Mobile). Also, your data is securely encrypted at Mozilla, and isn't being profiled (if you disable those features in Firefox). In Firefox 58 (you can run it today on Android by installing Firefox Beta app) you can run PWA (Progressive Web App) which allows you to turn a website into basically an app. Not every website will work though.

mattmanser 9y ago

Massive memory leaks for me, Nexus 5x. Took me a while to realize it was FF basically bricking my phone. Since switching back to Chrome, I've had no issues.

chias 9y ago

My primary issue with Firefox on Android is that in portrait mode, the URL bar has enough width for about five characters -- the rest being taken up by the back / forward buttons to the left, a magnifying glass icon, the QR code icon, a microphone icon, the refresh button, the tabs button, and the "three-dots" options menu. Typing a URL into a text-field that can display five characters at a time borders on ludicrous, and I have no idea how anyone thought that was reasonable to ship that as the default UI. Other than that, I'm loving the mobile Firefox.

jamy015 9y ago
I'm not sure how your Firefox ended up like that. Mine has the QR button, mic button and X button when entering a URL, or the reader button, tab button and menu button when viewing a page. The back/forward and refresh buttons are inside the menu ('three dots').
- chias 9y ago
  Interesting -- it was a fresh install on a Nexus device that had never had Firefox on it before. I'll explore the UI options.
muxator 9y ago
Firefox 57 has introduced the possibility of dragging the URL bar text to scroll it. It's just a mitigation, but at least it's an ergonomic improvement.

bastawhiz 9y ago

>IIRC, browser synchronization was a thing on Firefox well before it landed on chrome. Yes, but it was bad. Chrome allowed you to sync just by typing your Google account credentials. Firefox relied on sharing a text file between computers. If you lost the file and reset your profile (as was common in old Firefox), you effectively lost all of your synced content. Adding a new computer was difficult and slow. Firefox ultimately failed the "could you explain this to your parents" test, and many users simply gave up trying to get it to work.

darklajid 9y ago

I'm about to leave Firefox on Android behind after running it for years (and even running Nighlies/Betas), because they broke the "Share Link To Bottom" plugin and the browser is literally - no exaggeration - causing me to curse and swear every other time I open a link. I try to stick to Firefox on my desktop and find workarounds for broken addons, but on a mobile it seems easier to switch away.