Disable Firefox auto-update to beta

[uly]

I've heard that Mozilla has adopted a new development philosophy since Firefox 4: instead of major releases followed by many incremental updates, new major versions have been developed and released in quick succession. Now this may sound fine on paper, but from an end-user's perspective, this is becoming a bit of a nuissance.

In the past I've supported Firefox's development by using the beta versions and submitting bug reports. But these days it seems that only weeks after a major release, the beta version for the next major release comes out. The problem is that everytime I update to a beta version, half of my add-ons get disabled. This just gets annoying instead of helpful.

So my questions are:
1. The auto-update dialogue says that it's "strongly recommended" that I update from Ff5 to Ff6 beta for security reasons. Are the "security reasons" all that critical?
2. Is there a way to disable auto-update for beta releases, but still get auto-update for major releases?

[Alan Baxter]

1) Fx 6.0 is still in beta; it's safe for you to stick with Fx 5.0.
2) You're currently on the beta channel, which pushes the most current beta. To get back on the release channel, download and install the release version of Firefox right on top of your current version. You don't need to uninstall your current version.
www.mozilla.com

[rob64rock]

I've heard that Mozilla has adopted a new development philosophy since Firefox 4: instead of major releases followed by many incremental updates, new major versions have been developed and released in quick succession. Now this may sound fine on paper, but from an end-user's perspective, this is becoming a bit of a nuissance.

In the past I've supported Firefox's development by using the beta versions and submitting bug reports. But these days it seems that only weeks after a major release, the beta version for the next major release comes out. The problem is that every time I update to a beta version, half of my Add-ons get disabled. This just gets annoying instead of helpful.

So my questions are:
1. The auto-update dialogue says that it's "strongly recommended" that I update from Ff5 to Ff6 beta for security reasons. Are the "security reasons" all that critical?
2. Is there a way to disable auto-update for beta releases, but still get auto-update for major releases?

1. If you want to continue being a Beta tester then use ACR extension to keep your incompatible extensions enabled after updating, but there's no guarantee that they will continue to work properly. Also, if the security risks are to high or to severe to wait for Firefox 6 to be released, then we may see Firefox 5.0.1 like we did when Firefox 4.0.1 was released just prior to Firefox 5. Releases now have the potential to land moderate to minor security fixes and the chance of none and up to a few new features that have the chance to Break Add-ons compatibility. If the Add-on developers stay involved with whats going on with Firefox Dev process they have a good 18 weeks to get their Add-ons ready for the next Firefox release if there compatibility isn't bumped on AMO site automatically. Also, with Mozilla now doing automatic Add-on compatibility bumps for Add-ons that won't break on next up incoming version of Firefox that helps both the Add-on users and Add-on developers move to the next Firefox release a lot easier. More info about AMO site Automatic Add-on Compatibility process: http://blog.mozilla.com/addons/2011/05/20/subscribe-to-add-on-compatibility-announcements/

2. Download and install Firefox 5.0 Release over the Beta installation you are currently using.
Get Firefox 5.0 from here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox

[Alan Baxter]

Thank you for adding all that additional information, Rob.

2. Download and install Firefox 5.0 Release over the Beta installation you are currently using.
Get Firefox 5.0 from here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox

I think that's what I said, but I guess it doesn't hurt to say it twice.

[rob64rock]

Thank you for adding all that additional information, Rob.

2. Download and install Firefox 5.0 Release over the Beta installation you are currently using.
Get Firefox 5.0 from here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox

I think that's what I said, but I guess it doesn't hurt to say it twice.

I was typing a response when you were typing a shorter and faster post before I realized you had already posted something.

Sorry my bad...but it happens we hear echos....echos.... throughout the forum.

[Alan Baxter]

No problem. Just raggin' on ya. The same thing happens to me too. I'm glad you took the time to post a more thorough answer than mine.

[L.A.R. Grizzly]

2. Is there a way to disable auto-update for beta releases, but still get auto-update for major releases?

viewtopic.php?p=11010977#p11010977

[uly]

Thanks for the responses. I've followed L.A.R. Grizzly's suggestion and changed my prefs. When I feel up to it, maybe I'll go back to beta later and try out the ACR extension.

[uly]

Hello again. I haven't had time to deal with it until now...

As it turned out, Grizzly's method did not work for some reason. I went to about:config and set app.update.channel to "release". But I'm still getting auto-update prompts to Ff6 Beta. Is there a way to make sure that it's disabled?

[Gingerbread Man]

1. Exit Firefox.
2. Open <installation folder>\defaults\pref (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref).
3. Open the channel-prefs.js file, preferably in a text editor that can understand UNIX line breaks, like Notepad++. Regular Notepad should work just as well, though the text will look messed up.
4. Edit the appropriate line as follows:
   

   Code: Select all

   pref("app.update.channel", "release");

5. Save and close the file.

[James]

app.update.channel is no longer used as it was from before the new channel system as it was used from Firefox 1.5 and on (well earlier as in August 2005). The app.update.channel does not account for the new Aurora channel for example.

[Anonymosity]

You can disable automatic updating in Firefox, and if you do, the check to see if an update is available still works. If you use that, you can still see what the next version is, but the update is not forced on you. Change that in about:config.

app.update.auto - set to false
app.update.autoUpdateEnabled - set to false