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Firefox updates do not restore tabs correctly

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by jfrench1

jfrench1
jfrench1
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      • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS Mojave 10.14.6, Firefox 97.0.1 ***

After relaunching Firefox following the last several Firefox updates, the tabs on my frontmost window no longer reflect the set of tabs that had been there previously. Instead, they appear to have come from weeks to months ago, obliterating quite a lot of work.

*** iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS Mojave 10.14.6, Firefox 97.0.1 *** After relaunching Firefox following the last several Firefox updates, the tabs on my frontmost window no longer reflect the set of tabs that had been there previously. Instead, they appear to have come from weeks to months ago, obliterating quite a lot of work.

All Replies (2)

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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You can check for problems with the sessionstore.jsonlz4 file in the Firefox profile folder that stores session data.

  • rename/remove sessionstore.jsonlz4 and sessionstore.js

You may also have to rename the sessionstore-backups folder.

When sessionstore.jsonlz4 is deleted you lose pinned-tabs and open tabs and you will have to recreate them, so if necessary make a note or bookmark them. sessionstore.jsonlz4 is only present in the Firefox profile folder when Firefox is closed.

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

jfrench1
jfrench1 Question owner
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Looks promising. However, in order to maintain several of my projects, the suggested procedure will require a temporary change to my normal workflow. Please bear with me while I make the necessary adjustments.

FWIW, after I filed the original problem description, I probed further and discovered that the "ancient" tabs were being restored in ALL four of the browser window I normally keep open, not just the frontmost window. In particular, two windows contained tabs whose dates were easily determined; and from these, I found that the tabs being restored were from more than a month before my last Firefox update. The tabs I should have seen were from 16-18 February; instead, the tabs that appeared were from 10-11 January—lost quite a bit of work. :-(

I'll change my workflow to accommodate your recommendations, then I'll report back with the results. Looking ahead and assuming your instructions work, please be thinking about whether there is a way to prevent this phenomenon in the future. As I originally reported, this has been happening with every Forefox update for at least the last several generations.