This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

provide search suggestions won't turn off

  • 2 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by marcelleqb

more options

I have unchecked "Provide search suggestions", "Show search suggestions in address bar results", and "Show search suggestions ahead of browsing history in address bar results." Every time I start to type in the search bar (where the url goes), up pops multiple suggestions. I've tried changing the search engine (startpage, bing, duckduckgo) - makes no difference. I tried using address bar and add search bar configuration. Doesn't make a difference.

It's frustrating because when I type urls that I'm familiar with and hitting enter, it's entering the one that it's highlighted and 'finishing' my url. For example, something like ebay.com becomes ebay.com.au. So now I have to type ebay.com/ to stop it from finishing or suggesting something different.

Firefox is up to date. I clear my history every time I close Firefox.

I have unchecked "Provide search suggestions", "Show search suggestions in address bar results", and "Show search suggestions ahead of browsing history in address bar results." Every time I start to type in the search bar (where the url goes), up pops multiple suggestions. I've tried changing the search engine (startpage, bing, duckduckgo) - makes no difference. I tried using address bar and add search bar configuration. Doesn't make a difference. It's frustrating because when I type urls that I'm familiar with and hitting enter, it's entering the one that it's highlighted and 'finishing' my url. For example, something like ebay.com becomes ebay.com.au. So now I have to type ebay.com/ to stop it from finishing or suggesting something different. Firefox is up to date. I clear my history every time I close Firefox.

Chosen solution

Hi marcelleqb, it's actually five different possible kinds of "suggestions":

(1) In-URL-bar "autofill"

Typically from history, but also could be from bookmarks. If you don't want this -- if you prefer the bar to stay blank as you type -- I'll mention a setting change at the end.

(2) "Autocomplete" drop-down

This panel can show up to four sources:

(A) Search engine suggestions from your current default search engine. This is managed on Preferences > Search.

(B) URLs from your History

(C) Bookmarks

(D) Currently open tabs

B, C, and D are managed under Preferences > Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the Address Bar section.

Note that if you disable all of (A) - (D), the address bar may not work correctly. We've had some strange reports.


If you want to turn off autofill:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste URLB and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.urlbar.autoFill preference to switch the value from true to false

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

Hi marcelleqb, it's actually five different possible kinds of "suggestions":

(1) In-URL-bar "autofill"

Typically from history, but also could be from bookmarks. If you don't want this -- if you prefer the bar to stay blank as you type -- I'll mention a setting change at the end.

(2) "Autocomplete" drop-down

This panel can show up to four sources:

(A) Search engine suggestions from your current default search engine. This is managed on Preferences > Search.

(B) URLs from your History

(C) Bookmarks

(D) Currently open tabs

B, C, and D are managed under Preferences > Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the Address Bar section.

Note that if you disable all of (A) - (D), the address bar may not work correctly. We've had some strange reports.


If you want to turn off autofill:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste URLB and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.urlbar.autoFill preference to switch the value from true to false

more options

Thank you jscher2000!

The one that worked for me was the one managed under Preferences > Privacy & Security.