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When Firefox tries to update, it gives "connecting to update server".... then nothing seems to happen. Is this a common issue?

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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The last two times when have opened Firefox, it triues to update itself and attempts to connect to the update server..... just that the dialog box that opens sits there waiting waiting waiting to connect to the server. In the end, I get frustrated and close it down and return to browsing with Chrome.

Is this a firewall issue?

The last two times when have opened Firefox, it triues to update itself and attempts to connect to the update server..... just that the dialog box that opens sits there waiting waiting waiting to connect to the server. In the end, I get frustrated and close it down and return to browsing with Chrome. Is this a firewall issue?

All Replies (2)

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Quite possibly it is a firewall issue. Also Firefox & the mirror severs may be unusually busy at present, a new release occurred, then a problem caused that to be suspended and a fresh release has been made.

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If files already have been downloaded then remove the files in the updates and updates\0 folder. You can also delete active-update.xml and possibly updates.xml if present.

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox\updates
(%LOCALAPPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox)

If there are problems with updating then best is to download the full version and uninstall the currently installed version.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

  • Uninstall your current Firefox version.
  • Do not remove personal data when you uninstall the current version or you lose your bookmarks and other data in the profile folder.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

  • It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored elsewhere in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by a reinstall, but make sure that you do not select to remove personal data if you uninstall Firefox.