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Whenever entering YouTube, Firefox immediately loads a channel and keeps spam-refreshing every second

  • 6 cavab
  • 2 have this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by S3lvah

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Starting today, all I need to do is enter youtube.com, and the site launches to a random channel, probably one from a video on the front page (more precisely to its 'Community' tab), and then proceeds to refresh it forever. Any attempts to move elsewhere on the site are rebuffed by immediately being sent back. The red loading bar at the top of the browser happens with every load.

The only way I've found to stop is to force a refresh with F5.

Here is an animation of what happens. (For context, I've binge-watched DB clips on Youtube, but I've never navigated to that particular channel myself.) https://i.imgur.com/7oXahoL.gif

Any idea what's up?

Starting today, all I need to do is enter youtube.com, and the site launches to a random channel, probably one from a video on the front page (more precisely to its 'Community' tab), and then proceeds to refresh it forever. Any attempts to move elsewhere on the site are rebuffed by immediately being sent back. The red loading bar at the top of the browser happens with every load. The only way I've found to stop is to force a refresh with F5. Here is an animation of what happens. (For context, I've binge-watched DB clips on Youtube, but I've never navigated to that particular channel myself.) https://i.imgur.com/7oXahoL.gif Any idea what's up?

All Replies (6)

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Any help? Or did I post this in the wrong place?

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Hello S3lvah! I'm sorry that no one has replied to your question yet. Have you tried any troubleshooting steps on your own yet? If not, try clearing the cache, that helps fixing most problems with websites.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to. You may also lose any settings for that website.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Did this help?

While you are in safe mode;

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration in Firefox. Since this feature was added to Firefox it has gradually improved but there are still a few glitches.

How to disable Hardware Acceleration {web link}

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Thank you for your responses. The problem hasn't occurred for the past day or two. However, I took the above steps to clear stored cache anyway (so no, I hadn't done that yet).

If I don't post on this topic again, you can take it as indication that the problem went away on its own or that clearing the cache helped.

I'll also remember clearing the cache for any similar issues in the future. I feel a bit silly for not thinking about it myself. Again, many thanks!

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In case it returns:

An extension named YouTube High Definition has been linked to this problem:

https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/aesm24/youtube_redirecting_to_a_channel/

You can view, disable, and often remove unwanted or unknown extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
  • type or paste about:addons in the address bar and press Enter/Return

In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions.

Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right side. Any extensions Firefox installs for built-in features are hidden from this page, so everything listed here is your choice (and your responsibility) to manage. Try removing YouTube High Definition, and anything you do not remember installing or why.

Any improvement (test YouTube in a new tab)?

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Aha, that would likely have been it, as I had that very extension. This problem soon reoccurred after my previous post, making me resort to refreshing the whole browser. This incidentally removed that extension and (thus far) the problem.

Thank you for pointing this out!

Modified by S3lvah