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Understanding the release calendar -- when does addon support go away?

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  • 2 have this problem
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  • Last reply by pg_78

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Hi! I understand that Add-On support for Firefox for Android is going away soon, per https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/02/11/faq-for-extension-support-in-new-firefox-for-android/ and similar pages, but I cannot find a clear timeline.

I'm worried that one day I will take a Firefox update on my Android device and suddenly the addons I rely on (e.g. Tampermonkey) will stop working with no warning and I'll have no good recourse.

How do I prevent that from happening?

How do I find out when Firefox Android will drop add-on support (I guess this is like asking when the current Firefox Preview will become the release channel?)?

I have not been able to find an equivalent of https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Calendar for Firefox for Android.

Thanks!

Hi! I understand that Add-On support for Firefox for Android is going away soon, per https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/02/11/faq-for-extension-support-in-new-firefox-for-android/ and similar pages, but I cannot find a clear timeline. I'm worried that one day I will take a Firefox update on my Android device and suddenly the addons I rely on (e.g. Tampermonkey) will stop working with no warning and I'll have no good recourse. How do I prevent that from happening? How do I find out when Firefox Android will drop add-on support (I guess this is like asking when the current Firefox Preview will become the release channel?)? I have not been able to find an equivalent of https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Calendar for Firefox for Android. Thanks!

All Replies (11)

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The current info is: not earlier than July.

There's already a number of extension in new version (ublock origin, noscript, dark reader, .... ) but i'm afraid that tampermonkey won't get there very soon.

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I was hoping for a little more information…a URL for a release calendar? Some sort of authoritative reference beyond a few words in a forum post. Is there anything like that?

Thanks.

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Hi

There is not a released calender for Firefox Preview at the current time as if is not fully released software - our developers are still working on it and adding new features.

Firefox Preview does have add-ons, but as mentioned above, there is currently only a curated selection with our developers working to ensure that more are available as we get closer to a point where the app is ready for Release

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> The current info is: not earlier than July.

Hi! I wanted to re-up this question as time is marching on, and I continue to be nervous every time my Android device prompts me to update Firefox. I keep wondering, "Is this time going to be the update I regret, that I should never let it take?"

That's not a great feeling. Especially in a security-conscious world where we want users to be encouraged to take updates, not fearful that they will lose mission-critical functionality if they do.

Thanks!

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Hi John

I would strongly recomend to update your copy of Firefox for Android when prompted to make sure you have the latest security and stability updates.

We hope to include support for more add-ons with future updates. However, the team is evaluating how to do this in a way that avoids the security and compatibility issues we had with previous versions of Firefox.

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Hi, Seburo:

I'm not sure you understood the question. The question is, When is Firefox for Android expected to drop support for Add-Ons, and how can I learn the timeline?

In May, the answer was, "not earlier than July." But what is the answer now? It has not been answered.

You wrote:

 > I would strongly recommend to update your copy of Firefox for Android when
 > prompted to make sure you have the latest security and stability updates.
 

That is … not a helpful answer, and I hope that sentiment is not prevalent throughout the development team.

Of course security and stability are important, but for many users, they are not more important than having a product that actually works.

I would very much like to take every Firefox update. I don't have enough information now to easily know if an update will break what I consider to be critical functionality. If it's going to break, I'll skip the update. If it's not going to break, I'll take the update.

 > We hope to include support for more add-ons with future updates.
 > However, the team is evaluating how to do this in a way that avoids
 > the security and compatibility issues we had with previous versions
 > of Firefox.
 

Perhaps it is impolitic to say it, but the only reason I ever use Firefox for Android is for Add-On support. For casual day-to-day browsing on Android, I usually use Google Chrome. Consequently, it is easy for Add-On support to be a make-or-break issue for me with Firefox. If I take an update where it goes away, I will try to back out to an older apk, or in the alternative, simply not use Firefox.

It seems clear that the Firefox team is committed to a roadmap that will drop support for most Add-Ons in the near-term. Although I disagree with that development decision, I assume it is unchangeable, and so my only questions are how to work around it. How long can I keep taking updates before it Add-Ons stop working? How can I mitigate the damage? Maybe I should install Firefox Preview and its update notices will give me more information? I am not sure.

I'm sorry that I cannot offer a more positive set of explanations for my persistent questioning. Thanks.

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Hi

Firefox for Android is not dropping support for add-ons. Add-ons are available in the forthcoming update.

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> Firefox for Android is not dropping support for add-ons.

 > Add-ons are available in the forthcoming update.
 

Err, am I misinterpreting? https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/02/11/faq-for-extension-support-in-new-firefox-for-android/ seems to say that at present, Firefox for Android supports essentially all add-ons supported in Firefox Desktop, but

 Currently, uBlock Origin is the only supported extension for the
 new Firefox for Android. We are working on building support for
 other extensions in our Recommended Extensions program.
 

and

 We would like to expand our support to other add-ons. At this time,
 we don’t have details on enabling support for extensions not part
 of the Recommended Extensions program in the new Firefox for Android.
 

Is that information obsolete?

The most recent blog update seems to be https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/07/07/new-extensions-in-firefox-for-android-nightly-previously-firefox-preview/ that indicates there are now 9 add-ons supported by Firefox for Android Preview (Firefox Preview for Android?).

As noted initially, my primary concern is Tampermonkey. Although there are others too. But if support is not added before Firefox Preview become Firefox, then it's not helpful to me? Thanks!

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Wow. Apparently this happened and Firefox Mobile updated on my phone while I wasn't watching, and completely destroyed my ability to use it. No warning.

This is horrible.

Can someone walk me through installing an APK of FF68?

I am extremely disappointing in how the FF team has rolled this out. It could have been done in a way that did not hurt users and destroy our faith in you, and that path was not chosen. (What is the right forum to express disappointment to the project management?)

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John Hawkinson said

Can someone walk me through installing an APK of FF68?

Here's what I did: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1300966

Another way is to install the F-Droid app store, and from there install the latest "Fennec F-Droid", which is essentially Firefox 68 without the Mozilla branding. I haven't myself tried that yet (I probably will when I get round to it), but one advantage of that is that you don't have the risk of accidentally re-upgrading yourself to v79 with a careless tap in Play Store.