6 ms·

Unfortunately the Android version of Firefox is unusably crashy on my phone (moto z play) and noticeably slower. I gave it a hard try, but it just wasn't worka

by Pxtl 7y ago

Unfortunately the Android version of Firefox is unusably crashy on my phone (moto z play) and noticeably slower. I gave it a hard try, but it just wasn't workable. Still using Firefox on all desktop/laptop devices, though.

lightedman 7y ago
Your phone is probably one of the ones that came out with bad RAM and is defective, it works great on both my Moto Z Play and Moto G6 Play.
- MrRadar 7y ago
  Same on my Moto G7 Power and Moto E4. I've never had a (regular) problem with FF crashing on any of my Android phones.
- Glyptodon 7y ago
  Do you have a link about this?
  - lightedman 7y ago
    No, I'm a BGA repair tech that has had to deal with the bad RAM chips on that model of phone, among others. The RAM will appear to pass hardware checking in our testers, but you hit it hard and suddenly the frequency becomes unstable, often dropping down to DDR1 speeds. Plenty of room for error, there.
    - Pxtl 7y ago
      Ugh, I'd suspected something like that because it behaves very badly sometimes, but it's intermittent. Is there any recommended test for this? Or is it too ephemeral to test for?
      - lightedman 7y ago
        You need a dedicated BGA removal/reflow tool (like a Metcal) a compatible RAM board to mount the removed BGA upon for insertion into a RAM tester, then you need a hardware RAM tester like RAMCHECK LX. That's an expensive set of kit.
somebehemoth 7y ago
I see this all the time and I think it is unhelpful to make these kinds of statements. I can make a counterpoint that I've used FF on Android for years and never experienced any issues whatsoever. I am not trying invalidate your experience, but want to point out anecdotes don't really paint a fair picture for either side of the argument. For example, how do we know my good experience and your bad experience are not easily explained by hardware differences? If so, what does that say?
- nvrspyx 7y ago
  But, the comment wasn't speaking in a generalization, just why they themselves don't use Firefox on Android while also indicating the exact device. It doesn't seem there was any argument being made, just that they seem a little disappointed that it doesn't work well on their specific device and they wanted to add that to the conversation. Honestly, every bug/glitch/criticism is important, even if it doesn't affect a large portion of users. Ideally, it should be reported in Mozilla's bug tracker if it hasn't already, but still important nonetheless.
  - somebehemoth 7y ago
    The feedback of "Android version of Firefox is unusably crashy on my phone" is not something any developer can take action on. There are no example sites, no steps to recreate. I agree it should be in the bug tracker, but adding anecdotes without specifics does not add much to the conversation nor does it help to move FF forward. Are we arguing all users of this specific device experience the same issues as this user? If not, not even the device model is helpful. As I pointed out, I was not trying to stifle feedback but to point out that for every "FF is too slow" complaint there are just as many "works fine for me comments" that are equally useless. How is FF slow, in what use cases, how cane we recreate these problems? That is worthy of a bug report and if that information is available submit it to FF to make the software better rather than complaining on a thread about Chrome removing a useful extension that FF supports fully across platforms.
    - nvrspyx 7y ago
SimeVidas 7y ago
Have you tried Firefox Preview? It’s a new, revamped version of Firefox for Android.
- yorwba 7y ago
  Firefox Preview is a preview and does not yet support installing uBlock Origin: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 I plan to switch from regular Firefox Mobile as soon as WebExtensions are supported.
  - geppetto 7y ago
    Firefox preview is not mature and lacks extensions but it's noticeably faster than Firefox Beta, which I use as default browser on Android 9.
  - commoner 7y ago
    WebExtensions are planned to arrive in Firefox Preview at the end of the year. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315
  - cycomanic 7y ago
    But you don't need origin because preview blocks pretty much all ads by default.
    - yorwba 7y ago
      That's good to know, thanks. The descriptions I read only mentioned blocking ad trackers, not the ads themselves. If only I had known sooner. I'll have to correct my previous post: already switched.
- Pxtl 7y ago
  Yup. It's better, but still not good and there's no Adblock anyways.

by Pxtl 7y ago

lightedman 7y ago

Your phone is probably one of the ones that came out with bad RAM and is defective, it works great on both my Moto Z Play and Moto G6 Play.

MrRadar 7y ago
Same on my Moto G7 Power and Moto E4. I've never had a (regular) problem with FF crashing on any of my Android phones.
Glyptodon 7y ago
Do you have a link about this?
- lightedman 7y ago
  No, I'm a BGA repair tech that has had to deal with the bad RAM chips on that model of phone, among others. The RAM will appear to pass hardware checking in our testers, but you hit it hard and suddenly the frequency becomes unstable, often dropping down to DDR1 speeds. Plenty of room for error, there.
  - Pxtl 7y ago
    Ugh, I'd suspected something like that because it behaves very badly sometimes, but it's intermittent. Is there any recommended test for this? Or is it too ephemeral to test for?
    - lightedman 7y ago
      You need a dedicated BGA removal/reflow tool (like a Metcal) a compatible RAM board to mount the removed BGA upon for insertion into a RAM tester, then you need a hardware RAM tester like RAMCHECK LX. That's an expensive set of kit.

somebehemoth 7y ago

I see this all the time and I think it is unhelpful to make these kinds of statements. I can make a counterpoint that I've used FF on Android for years and never experienced any issues whatsoever. I am not trying invalidate your experience, but want to point out anecdotes don't really paint a fair picture for either side of the argument. For example, how do we know my good experience and your bad experience are not easily explained by hardware differences? If so, what does that say?

nvrspyx 7y ago
But, the comment wasn't speaking in a generalization, just why they themselves don't use Firefox on Android while also indicating the exact device. It doesn't seem there was any argument being made, just that they seem a little disappointed that it doesn't work well on their specific device and they wanted to add that to the conversation. Honestly, every bug/glitch/criticism is important, even if it doesn't affect a large portion of users. Ideally, it should be reported in Mozilla's bug tracker if it hasn't already, but still important nonetheless.
- somebehemoth 7y ago
  The feedback of "Android version of Firefox is unusably crashy on my phone" is not something any developer can take action on. There are no example sites, no steps to recreate. I agree it should be in the bug tracker, but adding anecdotes without specifics does not add much to the conversation nor does it help to move FF forward. Are we arguing all users of this specific device experience the same issues as this user? If not, not even the device model is helpful. As I pointed out, I was not trying to stifle feedback but to point out that for every "FF is too slow" complaint there are just as many "works fine for me comments" that are equally useless. How is FF slow, in what use cases, how cane we recreate these problems? That is worthy of a bug report and if that information is available submit it to FF to make the software better rather than complaining on a thread about Chrome removing a useful extension that FF supports fully across platforms.
  - nvrspyx 7y ago

SimeVidas 7y ago

Have you tried Firefox Preview? It’s a new, revamped version of Firefox for Android.

yorwba 7y ago
Firefox Preview is a preview and does not yet support installing uBlock Origin: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 I plan to switch from regular Firefox Mobile as soon as WebExtensions are supported.
- geppetto 7y ago
  Firefox preview is not mature and lacks extensions but it's noticeably faster than Firefox Beta, which I use as default browser on Android 9.
- commoner 7y ago
  WebExtensions are planned to arrive in Firefox Preview at the end of the year. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315
- cycomanic 7y ago
  But you don't need origin because preview blocks pretty much all ads by default.
  - yorwba 7y ago
    That's good to know, thanks. The descriptions I read only mentioned blocking ad trackers, not the ads themselves. If only I had known sooner. I'll have to correct my previous post: already switched.
Pxtl 7y ago
Yup. It's better, but still not good and there's no Adblock anyways.