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Two finger scrolling freezes up. Any solutions?

  • 4 cavab
  • 69 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by sunvox

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Mac OS X 10.9.2 Firefox 28.0 Apple Magic Trackpad

Scrolling only freezes in Firefox. Operates normally in Safari and Chrome. Tried turning of smooth scrolling in Preferences:Advanced:General but that did not solve my problem. Scrolling still works using scroll bar on side pane with a 3 finger drag. Happens after about 1 to 2 minutes of use. Closing Firefox and reopening restores function for another minute or 2.

Any suggestions?

Mac OS X 10.9.2 Firefox 28.0 Apple Magic Trackpad Scrolling only freezes in Firefox. Operates normally in Safari and Chrome. Tried turning of smooth scrolling in Preferences:Advanced:General but that did not solve my problem. Scrolling still works using scroll bar on side pane with a 3 finger drag. Happens after about 1 to 2 minutes of use. Closing Firefox and reopening restores function for another minute or 2. Any suggestions?

All Replies (4)

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Can you try to start Firefox in Safe Mode to see if Firefox works properly with no error? You can start Firefox in Safe Mode below:

  • Windows/Mac: Go to Help > Restart with add-ons disabled
  • Linux: Run firefox -safe-mode in the Terminal/Konsole

If Firefox opens up fine with no problems, it's probably one of your extensions that's causing the issue. You can re-enable your add-ons one by one until you find the one that causes the issue upon being re-enabled.

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I tried Safe Mode, and it took a little longer to appear, but ultimately the two finger scrolling froze up again while in safe mode. I should note I can also scroll using the keyboard without any trouble. It's just the 2 finger track pad function that seems to get lost. Very strange.

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Hello sunvox,

This seams not to be a problem related to Firefox, it's more likely related to OS X itself. I'm a Mavericks user myself and I've experienced this a couple of times. When it occurs, it's not only Firefox that bugs though, it's all browser I've installed.

I have yet to find a solution. A temporary fix is to either reboot or log out of your account and log in again.

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I'm not sure I agree with your analysis as in my situation I have not experienced this problem when using either Chrome or Safari. I only lose control of 2 finger scrolling in Firefox. In addition I have been using this Magic Trackpad for well over 2 years and the problem only started yesterday. Finally, I would note that an online search brings up an equal number of people with this problem only on Firefox and also on multiple platforms so I feel there may be more than one program that can cause this issue, but in some instances it is just one program, and given my experience I feel my case is the latter.

It would be a shame to stop using Firefox after so many years of loyal use just because my trackpad doesn't work.