Firefox may show performance declines over time due to certain extensions that you have added to it or the accumulation of cookies left, sometimes without your knowledge, by websites that you will crawl from time to time. You can make it regain its performance by means of a few simple tips to apply.
Steps
Method 1 of 8: Update Firefox
Step 1. Open Firefox
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
Firefox developers frequently release updates to the browser to make it faster and more secure. Follow the steps below to keep Firefox at its latest version
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click Help
This button, which is in the form of an icon representing a question mark ?
surrounded by a circle is found at the bottom of the Firefox menu.
Step 4. Click About Firefox
The browser will begin to check for an applicable update. If there is one available, you will see a button labeled Update Firefox to version "Number". If this button does not appear, Firefox is already updated to its latest version.
Step 5. Click the Update button
The update will download to your computer. When this is done, the text displayed on the button Update will turn into Restart Firefox to complete the update.
Step 6. Click Restart to complete the update
Firefox will close to take the update into account and restart automatically.
You may be asked to allow the update to be installed as a system administrator
Method 2 of 8: Free up memory for Firefox
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
The method we describe below may be useful if you notice that certain websites seem to be causing problems for Firefox. Also note that the internal Firefox commands are not translated into French and you will have to apply them as they are given to you here
Step 2. Enter about: memory in the browser's address bar
Press the Enter or Return key on your keyboard. This will open the Firefox allocated memory management tools page.
Step 3. Click Measure
You will find this button in the dialog box titled Show memory reports. If you believe you are a developer or advanced user of Firefox, this report will help you determine the memory consumption of each of the running processes. Expand the contents of the report to examine all the sections displayed.
- In the displayed report, you will see that some Firefox extensions are defined with their name in plain text, others are only defined in the form of a hexadecimal code.
- If someone from Mozilla Technical Support or the developer of an extension asks you to send them a memory usage report, you will need to click the button Measure and save which is in the box titled Save memory report and choose a location to save the file that will be produced. You can then attach this report to an email or upload it to a database reserved for this purpose, according to the procedure you have been asked to apply.
Step 4. Click Minimize memory usage
This button is located in the dialog box titled Free memory. Firefox should free some of the memory allocated to it, but it is no longer useful. After that, you should quickly see your browser speeding up.
If your actions have no effect and memory consumption remains high, your computer may not have enough memory to support the number of tabs or windows that are left open. Try to browse the web with fewer tabs and windows. You should also consider adding more RAM to your computer
Method 3 of 8: Use Safe Mode
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
- The mode without failure Firefox allows you to open a clean version of the browser, without any extensions or themes that could interfere with its operation. If you find that Firefox is faster when running in Safe Mode, you might assume that your issues are most likely with an extension or theme you have installed.
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click Help
This button, which is in the form of an icon representing a question mark ?
surrounded by a circle is found at the bottom of the Firefox menu.
Step 4. Click the Restart with Modules Disabled option
You will see a confirmation request.
Step 5. Click Restart
You will see an informational message about Firefox Safe Mode.
Step 6. Click Start in Safe Mode
This will have the effect of starting Firefox without any extension or additional theme.
Step 7. Browse the Internet
If you notice a noticeable acceleration in your Internet browsing, you can deduce that at least one of the extensions you were using may be involved.
- Refer to the method of disabling extensions for information on how to inhibit add-ons. Start by disabling them all. Put one back on and test the navigation. If the browser speed is not affected, let this extension work and add another one that you choose from those that you have disabled before.
- Continue to validate your extensions one after the other, testing each time, until you find the module responsible for your problems.
Method 4 of 8: Disable extensions and themes
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
- Plugins and display themes are often responsible for slowing internet browsing. If you find that Firefox is much faster in Safe Mode, use this method to find out which plugin or theme is responsible for the performance drop.
- If you are an advanced Firefox user, you will be able to initiate a memory usage report request to assess the amount of RAM consumed by certain extensions.
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click Add-ons
This button is located in the middle part of the menu.
Step 4. Click Extensions
This button is located in the left panel of the Modules Manager page.
Step 5. Click one of the buttons labeled Disable
You will find these slide-shaped buttons opposite each of the installed expansion modules. This will have the effect of deactivating the installed extensions without having to delete them.
Step 6. Click Themes
You will find this button in the left panel of the Modules Manager page.
Step 7. Click the Disable button
You will find this button in the form of a slider in front of the active theme. This will deactivate the active display theme. The default browser theme will be automatically reactivated.
Step 8. Select a theme or extension to reactivate
To find the module that is causing the problem, click on the button titled Activate which is in front of the extension of your choice, taking care to leave all the other modules disabled.
Step 9. Experiment with browsing the Internet
If you do not notice any noticeable drop in performance using the extension you just activated, it cannot be blamed.
Step 10. Activate another expansion module
As before, activate another extension and try browsing the Internet again. Repeat this process until you come across the module responsible for your browser's performance drop.
- If, whatever extension you use, Firefox continues to shine with its slowness when browsing any website, you could attribute this problem to a faulty hardware driver. If, on the other hand, this slowness only manifested itself when you go on a certain website, this last one could be the cause of your troubles and you will have to take it into account during your future browsing.
Method 5 of 8: Clean Firefox cache, cookies, and history
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
- Cache issues, bad cookies or too long browsing history can also contribute to slow browsing with Firefox. Use the method we suggest below to overcome these problems.
- Clearing cookies will log you out of any websites you have visited in the past.
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click Preferences
You will find this button in the central part of the Firefox menu.
Step 4. Click Privacy & Security
You will find this button in the left panel of your browser's preferences window.
Step 5. Scroll down the page and click Clear Data
You will find this button in the section called Cookies and site data on the right side of the page.
Step 6. Select the information to erase
Check the two boxes titled respectively Cookies and site data and Cached web content. The space occupied by each of these categories of data is displayed in front of their name.
Step 7. Click Clear
You will see a confirmation request.
Step 8. Confirm by clicking Erase Now
This will immediately clear the cache and cookies and bring you back to the page privacy and security.
Step 9. Scroll down until you see the Clear History button
You will find it in the section called Historical.
Step 10. Select the information to erase
Select All in the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog window. Your browsing history will be completely erased and not just the sites you just visited.
Step 11. Click Erase Now
This will immediately erase your browsing history.
Method 6 of 8: Block trackers and third-party cookies
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
Trackers that track you while you browse the web also slow down your browsing. The following method will allow you to block these trackers and should improve your browsing speed while ensuring more security on the web
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click Preferences
You will find this button in the central part of the Firefox menu.
Step 4. Click Privacy & Security
You will find this button in the left panel of your browser's preferences window. The section titled Enhanced tracking protection is at the top of the window titled Privacy and security.
Step 5. Check the box labeled Strict
You will have the choice between the permanent blocking of trackers in all the windows of your browser or only in private browsing mode.
Although you can now see an improvement in browsing speed, some tools and websites will not be able to load. If you had any problems with this, you can always come back to this page and temporarily allow the activity of certain trackers
Step 6. Check the box labeled Cookies and Site Data
Click the Trackers button. This will have the effect of preventing cookies from third-party sites from tracking your Internet browsing habits.
Step 7. Select the signal to send to websites
At the bottom of the section titled Enhanced tracking protection, you will see two checkboxes placed below the line Send a "Do not track me …" signal to websites The best choice you can make here is to check the box labeled Only when Firefox is set to block known trackers.
- This means that provided that you have previously checked the option Strict, you will not be tracked by any website. If you want to disable Strict Tracker Blocking for troubleshooting, this reporting feature would also be automatically disabled.
Step 8. Delete the cookies and clear the Firefox cache
Now that you've updated your settings, it's time to delete the items collected during your previous browsing. Refer to this method for how to do it.
Method 7 of 8: Disable computer hardware acceleration
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
If you find text, photos, videos, or game displays disturbed or jerky, try the following method
Step 2. Click the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
You will find it in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Step 3. Click the Preferences button
You will find this button in the central part of the Firefox menu.
Step 4. Click the General button
You'll find it at the top of the left column of your browser's preferences window.
Step 5. Expand the contents of the window to the Performance section
You will find it towards the bottom of the page.
Step 6. Clear the Use recommended performance settings check box
You will see a dialog for choosing additional options.
If this box was not checked, skip this step
Step 7. Clear the Use hardware graphics acceleration if available check box
This will deactivate the graphics acceleration functions. You will need to restart your browser for your choice to take effect.
Step 8. Click on the ≡ button on the Firefox menu
Click on the Exit button at the bottom of the menu.
Step 9. Restart Firefox
Your browser will now launch without graphics acceleration, which may lead you to see better browsing performance.
Method 8 of 8: Troubleshoot JavaScript issues
Step 1. Open Firefox on your computer
You will find it in the section called All applications from the Windows start menu or in the folder named Applications from your Mac.
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This method applies to your browser if websites using JavaScript block it or display error messages similar to
Warning, a script is not responding. You can change a setting that controls how long a script runs before it displays a dialog allowing you to turn it off. IT professionals call this delay a timeout.
- In some environments, a fairly large script may take longer to run. You can give it up to 20 seconds before it displays its error message.
Step 2. Enter about: config in the browser's address bar
Then press the Enter or Return key on your keyboard. You will see a warning ATTENTION DANGER asking you to act with caution and warning you about the risks of reduced performance and level of security.
Step 3. Click Accept Risk and Continue
You will see a search bar at the top of the screen. You will see just below this search bar the complete (but very long) list of acceptable configuration options for Firefox.
Step 4. Enter dom.max_script_run_time in the search bar
The latter is at the top of the screen. When you have finished typing, you will see the contents of the dom.max_script_run_time option below the search bar.
Step 5. Click dom.max_script_run_time
Below the search bar you will see a dialog asking you to enter a value.
The default displayed timeout value is 10, but this may vary from one browser version to another. This value indicates that a script will have 10 seconds to run before displaying an error message
Step 6. Enter 20 as the new value
Then click on the OK button for this value to be taken into account. Scripts will now have a 20 second delay to run before displaying an error message giving you an opportunity to stop them.
