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Why does Sync prompt me to install "on another device" when this is the fourth or fifth active device I've logged into the account with?

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Over the past few days, I've logged into Firefox on a few new devices - mainly, a Windows partition on my computer, and on a school computer.

In both instances, after logging in, it doesn't give me any indication of being finished - instead it prompts me to "install on another device". Most recently, on this computer, it asked me to send an SMS to my phone to login to Firefox Sync on my phone.

This would be reasonable, except for the fact that I'm already using Firefox on my phone, and have it actively logged in with the account I'm logging in to. When I go to look at my devices on accounts.firefox.com, I have 6 devices listed, including my phone "last seen 7 hours ago" and my main computer "last seen 3 hours ago". It's clear to me that these are active devices, and that I don't need to install on any other devices to get sync working.

The main reason this is annoying is that I don't get any confirmation that I've completed logging in - only a prompt to do something unnecessary. I can work around this by simply ignoring the prompt, but I'm concerned for other less tech-savvy consumers who might be confused, thinking they're still not done when they login to Sync on their second device! Imagine someone logs into their phone first, and then the computer - it'd be pretty confusing to then have the computer ask them to sign in on the phone.

I personally was slightly confused, and had to double check that bookmarks were actually syncing and that I hadn't accidentally made a new account or done something to erase my previously logged-in devices...

Over the past few days, I've logged into Firefox on a few new devices - mainly, a Windows partition on my computer, and on a school computer. In both instances, after logging in, it doesn't give me any indication of being finished - instead it prompts me to "install on another device". Most recently, on this computer, it asked me to send an SMS to my phone to login to Firefox Sync on my phone. This would be reasonable, except for the fact that I'm already using Firefox on my phone, and have it actively logged in with the account I'm logging in to. When I go to look at my devices on accounts.firefox.com, I have 6 devices listed, including my phone "last seen 7 hours ago" and my main computer "last seen 3 hours ago". It's clear to me that these are active devices, and that I don't need to install on any other devices to get sync working. The main reason this is annoying is that I don't get any confirmation that I've completed logging in - only a prompt to do something unnecessary. I can work around this by simply ignoring the prompt, but I'm concerned for other less tech-savvy consumers who might be confused, thinking they're still not done when they login to Sync on their second device! Imagine someone logs into their phone first, and then the computer - it'd be pretty confusing to then have the computer ask them to sign in on the phone. I personally was slightly confused, and had to double check that bookmarks were actually syncing and that I hadn't accidentally made a new account or done something to erase my previously logged-in devices...

Chosen solution

David Ross said

Do you know if there's anywhere I could submit a bug report or feature request to change this message, then?

There is already an open bug related to the phrasing of this an similar Firefox Sync-related messages that have caused some confusion.

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All Replies (5)

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I think it's standard for that message to appear, simply for convenience if you are looking to install Firefox on your phone. Doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

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Wesley Branton said

I think it's standard for that message to appear, simply for convenience if you are looking to install Firefox on your phone. Doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

Do you know if there's anywhere I could submit a bug report or feature request to change this message, then?

I mean it did all work - the way it's phrased just seems a bit confusing, and I'd believe it could be more confusing to someone less tech oriented.

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You can close the tab where you are asked to add another or more devices.

Adding more devices is optional and setting up Sync has finished once you see this page for the first time, so simply close this tab.

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cor-el said

You can close the tab where you are asked to add another or more devices.

This is what I did - it does work.


cor-el said

Adding more devices is optional and setting up Sync has finished once you see this page for the first time, so simply close this tab.

The problem is that I've already added a ton of devices, including a mobile one! I mean I get that it's optional, but I think it would be nicer if there was some recognition that I already have a phone added. Even suggesting to "add another phone" could be better?

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Chosen Solution

David Ross said

Do you know if there's anywhere I could submit a bug report or feature request to change this message, then?

There is already an open bug related to the phrasing of this an similar Firefox Sync-related messages that have caused some confusion.