Modernizing Firefox required a new internal design for Firefox's accessibility functionality. As a result, versions 18 or earlier of Freedom Scientific's JAWS screen reader are not compatible with Firefox 60 ESR. Unfortunately, users of earlier versions of JAWS using Firefox 52 ESR were automatically updated to Firefox 60 ESR, thus rendering web pages unusable.
What is being done to correct this?
Although we can no longer support earlier versions of JAWS, we regret that users were automatically updated without warning to a version which is unusable to them. To correct this, we are rolling out an update which disables some of Firefox's modern features in order to restore functionality to users of older JAWS versions. If you are affected, once this update is downloaded, you will be prompted to restart Firefox to apply these changes. Once Firefox restarts, you will be able to continue to use Firefox as you did previously. Please note that using Firefox in this configuration is unsupported by Mozilla. In addition, affected users will not receive future updates to Firefox. Unsupported browsers receive no security updates, have known exploits, and can be dangerous to use.
How can I get the newest features of Firefox?
If you want to keep your Firefox up to date, with all the latest features and updates, you'll need to upgrade to the latest version of the JAWS screen reader. JAWS 2018 includes improvements necessary for users who move to Firefox version 60 or above. For more information, see What's New in JAWS 2018 Screen Reading Software. Once JAWS 2018 is installed, Firefox will re-enable the features that were disabled for old JAWS versions, and future updates will be installed when they become available.
