We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was closed and archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

How do I roll back from FF Quantum to my prior FF 55.0.3 x64?

  • 14 replies
  • 296 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by lemonstar

more options

Running Win7Pro x64 on a Dell laptop. Had FF 55.0.3 x64, then updated to Quantum. Quantum is completely unsatisfactory: 4 instantiations of FF on open, get a new instantiation for every tab opened--and in my work I often have as many as 30 tabs open; all of my add-ons are gone, and searching for them or their replacements only produces a blank page. How to I roll back to FF 55.0.3 x64, which was entirely satisfactory? Thanks Eric Hines

Running Win7Pro x64 on a Dell laptop. Had FF 55.0.3 x64, then updated to Quantum. Quantum is completely unsatisfactory: 4 instantiations of FF on open, get a new instantiation for every tab opened--and in my work I often have as many as 30 tabs open; all of my add-ons are gone, and searching for them or their replacements only produces a blank page. How to I roll back to FF 55.0.3 x64, which was entirely satisfactory? Thanks Eric Hines

Chosen solution

Beautiful. Thank you. Eric Hines

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (14)

more options

Hello, you can install 52 ESR which supports legacy extensions, and will be supported with security updates until May 2018. You can get it from here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

if this solved your problem, please mark as solution.

more options

Thanks. However, 52ESR greatly pre-dates 55.0.3, and I'd really prefer to have that version (re)installed. Eric Hines

more options

Chosen Solution

Beautiful. Thank you. Eric Hines

more options

Firefox 56.0.2 was actually the previous version and not 55.0.3

Also the current Firefox 52.5.0 ESR has several security fixes that the old Firefox 55.0.3 does not have and is not supported anymore.

https://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox/ https://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox-esr/

more options

What's the difference between 52.x ESR and 55.x or 56.x?

Thanks

Eric Hines

more options

I had the same disappointment with Quantum.

My fix was to do a System Restore back to a previous time, BEFORE Quantum was downloaded. I'm lucky that I do a Backup & Restore [Win 7, 32bit] EVERY week, so I just restored to my last back-up point.

Remember to turn OFF automatic Firefox updates, so you don't end up getting Quantum again.

Modified by user152032844011051237286298131834660972609

more options

Thanks, I have too much going on to RESTORE, even from a weekly B&R (data are supposed to be preserved, and they nearly always are, but...). The directory point out for the location of the earlier versions answered my problem.

And I don't allow any application on my laptop or PC to automatically update--not even the OS-as-application.

Eric Hines

more options

I guess the only important things here include ColorPicker (which surely one will turn up), but if you click "find a replacement", the resulting search results have nothing to do with color picker; faviconizetab which is crucial (i really dislike how the new tabs over optimize their space and cannot be customized or so it seems from searching for any extension that will alter the width); measureit (crucial); and new add on bar (i have a workflow - or did).

my layout, my customization, why are none of these things important to mozilla and firefox? i'm embarrassed that i've been donating. today, i wasted more money in time than i've donated - that doubles the horror of it all.

and now, what, do i have to stay on 52 ESR forever? why should i revamp my workflow for this brand new browser? why shouldn't i just jump ship now since i have to reconfigure my every habit?

backwards compatibility and treating users' customizations as holy should outweigh anything else you are doing with your software. i don't care that it's faster because you ruined my workflow and slowed ME down.

this is shameful.

Quantum = 0. Extensions = 0. Me = 0.

Lose - Lose - Lose.

more options

Afraid I have to agree with you, Jay. I'm about to reinstall the penultimate FF and crossing my fingers that I can regain my various browser workflows.

Here's to hoping this issue escalates quickly and gets resolved quickly.

more options

So the solution is to get back to ESR, as Quantum is useless in current state.

ESR Download: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Just one question: How to keep all extensions and current settings (bookmarks, config in about:config, etc...)? Install over Quantum? Will uninstall Quantum and install ESR keeps everything?

Self answer: Couldn't wait, so uninstalled Quantum and installed ESR. It kept most settings, except some layout (i.e. button for bookmarks disapeared, so had to to repin it - NB. Bookmarks were still there). Also had to remove and re-install most plugins (they re-appeared as disabled without option to enable them). Hopefully plugins kept their settings.

Modified by BE HD

more options

BIgfox's solution will work, but a couple of things. 1) it seems unnecessarily complex. There's no need, in my view, to uninstall Quantum first. I just installed 56.0.2 over Quantum, and the process worked fine: my add-ons and my bookmarks all were restored, and they work fine, and the version running is 56.0.2. 2) there's no need to turn Firefox's ability to check for updates completely off. I'm not perfect at checking, but I don't want any application (not just Firefox) automatically installing anything, so I have the option selected to allow Firefox to check and to tell me there's an update available, but to not allow it to be installed. 3) many of the comments in this 5-day old thread have problems with Quantum identified; these also should appear as Bug Reports in the appropriate facility. The Firefox crowd is generally pretty good about their updates and upgrades; I've been using Firefox nearly since its inception, and Quantum is the first outright failure I've seen. Eric HInes

more options

I usually select [check for updates but let you choose to install them], but this time I do not intend to update to Quantum at all so I selected [Never check for updates], to prevent myself accidentally update to Quantum. I intend to use 56.0.2 for a few months until all add ons that I need are compatible with Firefox 57 Quantum then I will manually install Quantum.

I have read other people having problems with Quantum in the support forum, so I thought it would be safer to uninstall Quantum first to prevent bringing the Quantum problems over to the older version. Uninstalling does not delete the addons, bookmarks, profile, settings..., after I install an older version, it should work fine like previously when I was using the older version. I have backup the profile in step 2, just in case anything goes wrong, but that backup is not needed if everything works fine.

eehines installed 56.0.2 over Quantum will work too.

Modified by bigfox

more options

It is amazing to me that Mozilla, normally an excellent software provider with true concern for their customers, could have fouled up so bad with Quantum. Yeah, I am a contributor. This time my contribution will be the time it takes to remove Quantum and reinstall 56.0.2. Rats!

more options

I've remained a ff user inspite of it becoming slower and using more memory because of reliance of a number of add-ons. Quantum is a disastrous evolutionary step. Almost all of my favoured add-ons were rendered unusable. Quantum memory management with terrible - once started it just continues to eat memory until my machine grinds to a halt - I wrote software for 20 years - C/assembler/RTOS/C++/OCCAM and a host of other languages/tools - is this just down to problems with allocation and freeing of memory (memory leaks)? Do the developers not run memory tests or build development versions with embedded logging to trace these problems down? The decisions to stop users from navigating immediately to a homepage of their own choice when opening a new tab is indefensible - the add-ons to circumvent this are very slow as is loading the the intermediate page showing recent tabs etc - that just adds extra clicks and delays the process of opening anew tab - it's a dire decision - performance is terrible. I can't find a way to check *before I update FF* which add-ons will be obsoleted - this should be built in as preliminary step when looking at updating - I am angry about Quantum as it stands and on the point of deciding to use Chrome full-time - I am using it more than ever now in spite of not really taking to it. There is a lot of criticism of Quantum and no obvious statement about whether MZ has any intention of trying to address these complaints in a timely manner - to me it looks like the death knell for FF.