Firefox lost my primary password
After updating Firefox this morning on my main PC, I noticed that it didn't ask for my primary password.
I then noticed that it wasn't filling in passwords automatically.
My primary password has disappeared as well as my stored passwords. When I try to set a primary password it tells me that it can't change the password.
I tried creating a new profile and that didn't fix it.
I can use firefox on other devices and all the information is there. But I can't get my passwords on my primary PC.
How do I fix this?
i'm running Firefox 105.0.1 (64-bit) on a Win 11 PC.
All Replies (4)
First, if you haven't already, please do a regular shutdown and restart of Windows. The purpose of this is to release any file locks and complete any pending updates.
Any improvement?
New Profile
You said this didn't solve the problem. Did you mean it also doesn't work in the new profile? Just to confirm:
(1) The feature is still turned on on the Settings page. Ref. Password Manager - Remember, delete and edit logins and passwords in Firefox
If the setting is grayed or locked off, we need to help you investigate that.
(2) A new profile doesn't have a Primary Password set. In a new profile, you would be created a new Primary Password. It doesn't work? Ref. Use a Primary Password to protect stored logins and passwords
None of the obvious fixes solved the problem. I concluded that my profile had become corrupted in some way (I've seen this behavior with Thunderbird -- suddenly it decides that a) there's no primary pw and b) it won't allow a new one to be set).
After some amount of fiddling around with creating a new profile and then swapping back and forth between which was the default, I was able to set a new primary password with the new profile. It was also able to sync everything and restore my various logins. Bookmarks and such I had to transfer manually. Similarly, I had to manually rebuild my various window/tab configurations. However, it now seems to be working.
If Firefox can spontaneously lose a profile like this, that strikes me as a fairly serious bug.
Data files sometimes gets corrupted, but I don't know whether there is a clear pattern to what might cause that.
Many people recommend not relying on browser-based password managers and suggest using disk-based or cloud-based options instead. There are many options, but a free/open-source one is
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/bitwarden-password-manager/
If you are connected to Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting/repair.
If you have a desktop device with the logins then you can copy/transfer logins.json and key4.db (encryption key) from its profile folder to your current profile folder with Firefox closed.
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data