Remove old devices from sync list of devices
I've never been impressed with firefox sync, it works erratically in my experience. One feature of it that is useful is the feature to send a tab from one device to another. I use that a lot eg when looking at a site that uses flash which doesn't work on teh Android platform, I send the tab to my PC and next time I log in, the tab is there.
The problem is that sync has been so troublesome and no-functional that I've had to remove my account and create another one, many times to try to get it working. This means that when I go to send a tab from either of my android devices, I have a long list of old names for my desktop PC, and it's getting impossible to know which name is the correct one.
I need a way of clearing out the old/obsolete names, leaving only the functioning device names. Deleting the accounts on all devices doesn't work, instead what happens is that when a new account is created, sync creates ANOTHER name for the PC which then appears in the 'send to' list. Disconnecting the PC from sync and reconnecting also does not work, because on reconnecting, sync creates YET ANOTHER name for the PC (what genius thought that up?). The list now contains 12 names for my PC, some/most dating from last year.
Each account creations needs an email address and password and I've now run out of email addresses that haven't been used for sync. Reusing an email address and password runs the risk of syncing old data from a previous sync account.
I think I've reached the end of the road with Firefox, despite being a big fan since version 2, if I can't get this fixed, there's no reason to stay with it, lots of frustrations, especially with Android version, and not much fun, so I'll have to look fro a replacement.
Anyone any ideas? Did Mozilla really create a sync system where old devices can't be removed from an account, and old accounts can't be killed completely, leaving all that data out there waiting to be discovered?
I'm using FF 43.0.1 on WIN 7 PC and 43.0 on Android
All Replies (4)
to add some information, because basically, I'm looking at dumping firefox because this one feature that I use many times a day is unworkable and untidy as it is:
uninstalling firefox on the android devices, clearing the cache and cookies and changing the IP address doesn't solve the problem. On creating a new account, (extremely difficult now as I've run out of unique email addresses) a warning pops up on my PC :
"Are you sure you want to sign in to Sync? A different user was previously signed in to Sync on this computer. Signing in will merge this browser’s bookmarks, passwords and other settings with ****@***.com"
(This itself is a security risk, any subsequent user of the PC can get a copy of all my bookmarks, passwords and anything else I've synched. I'm shocked at the amateurish way this is done.)
This warning means that there is some information on the computer (it can't be the FF server as the IP is different) that sends its identity to the server, hence it makes a connection with the other names/accounts that have been used.
I now have 17 names for my 2 android devices and PC in the "send to" list. Obviously, only 3 of these work, but its impossible to know which 3. The way the old names are still kept alive when the accounts have been 'deleted' is quite frankly, pathetic and totally amateurish.
Removing the device identifier would seem to be key to eliminating all these old, defunct names, but there is no documentation about this, and most of the information about sync problems relates to the old sync method.
Having removed ff from my android devices to no avail, the next step would be to remove it from my PC as well and start fresh with all 3 devices, except I have absolutely no confidence that whatever info is sent to the server to identify the devices would be removed. It wasn't on the android devices, so no reason to assume it would be on the PC. Also, if I have to go to the trouble of recreating bookmarks and add-ons etc, its more sense to do it with a different browser. Shame, but after 12 years or so, it looks like that's the way I'm going, unless someone can crack this problem.
the lack of response is more than a little disappointing. Does it mean that in the whole Mozilla empire there is no-one who knows anything about the bugs and flaws in sync?
You can try to change the password of the Firefox Sync account to reset all data stored on the server. It can take some time for sync data from no longer used devices to be removed.
Thanks for your response, it's much appreciated but your suggestion doesn't work.
As I said, I have deleted my sync account and recreated a new one with new email/username and password several times and the problem persists. Somehow, when my PC connects with the sync server, the previous accounts and device names are recognised and appear in the list of available devices. Some of these device names go back to early last year so they are persistent.
It is not sync data I want to remove, it is the device names. When I want to send a tab from an android device to my PC or other android device, I have a choice of 17 names to choose from, even though I only have (and only have had) 3 devices!
I obviously cannot send tabs to those old device names, because the accounts are closed/removed, and all devices are logged into the current account. I couldn't log into those accounts if I wanted to because I've forgotten all the names and passwords.
The sync function itself doesn't work very often so the only thing I use sync for is to send a tab from mobile to PC.
Mozilla - you should be ashamed for turning out such a bug ridden, half baked useless piece of crap. To think of all the times I've defended Firefox to colleagues over the last 14 years or so that I've used an otherwise good piece of software. Is it any wonder you've lost such a big chunk of market share?