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Which version of Firefox should I use and why?

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  • Last reply by Sue

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I have an iMac with Sonoma 14.3.1 with Firefox 115.9.1 esr . It is for personal use, not for a business. I just learned that there is another Firefox version (124.0.2) which is not esr....

Which version should I use and why?

If I should use the "normal" version, how do I replace the esr version with the "normal" one ?

Thanks.

I have an iMac with Sonoma 14.3.1 with Firefox 115.9.1 esr . It is for personal use, not for a business. I just learned that there is another Firefox version (124.0.2) which is not esr.... Which version should I use and why? If I should use the "normal" version, how do I replace the esr version with the "normal" one ? Thanks.

Chosen solution

Did you update your macOS in the past from a no longer supported OS X 10.12/10.13/10.14 platform and ended up with the 115 ESR version ?

With your current Sonoma 14.3.1 operating system, there is no need to stay with the ESR version and you can install the current release (125.0.1). Best is to backup your current personal data just to be sure.

You will have to download the full release version. You can find the full installer of the current Firefox release (125.0.1) in all languages and all operating systems here:

See also:

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Chosen Solution

Did you update your macOS in the past from a no longer supported OS X 10.12/10.13/10.14 platform and ended up with the 115 ESR version ?

With your current Sonoma 14.3.1 operating system, there is no need to stay with the ESR version and you can install the current release (125.0.1). Best is to backup your current personal data just to be sure.

You will have to download the full release version. You can find the full installer of the current Firefox release (125.0.1) in all languages and all operating systems here:

See also:

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Thanks, cor-el. I will wait, as 125.0.1 was released only 2 days ago.

Do you know if the backup saves ALL present configuration options and exceptions I saved for everything? Does the installation process you pointed me to preserve everything in my profile and all settings, configurations, exceptions?

How do I get rid of the esr version after I install the 125 version? I wish I wouldn't have to go through this....

Ever since I got the new Mac with Sonoma, all I am doing is fighting problems caused by Sonoma and by bugs in 3rd party software I have. Nobody appears to do testing before releasing software anymore. All applications have the old bugs (nothing ever gets fixed) + many new bugs.... If it wasn't for security, I would never upgrade, as new versions do not add usually enough value to justify the problems, huge amounts of wasted time, frustration, etc.

BTW, the email notification of your reply has a button to "Mark it solved". Clicking on it takes me to a tab where nothing is displayed. I marked it solved after logging in the support website. Just another bug, which luckily I can ignore.

Modified by Sue

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Firefox 125.0.1 was released to address issues with updating on Mac (not mentioned explicitly in the release notes apart from the note at the top). There is another 125.0.2 dot release planned to address issues with downloading files that are blocked or otherwise fail, so it looks like a good idea to postpone updating.

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Thanks.

Hopefully by the time there will be a tested, fully functional and reliable version of Firefox for the Mac, someone will be able to answer my THREE QUESTIONS in my prior post.

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I am returning to this thread after getting notices for a new version of this esr version (from 115.10.0esr to 115.13.0esr. I do not know how and why I got onto this "esr update channel" after I got a new iMac with Sonoma.

I do not care which Firefox version I am using as long as it works as bug free as possible (e.g. doesn't jump the page, doesn't force me to use Safari for printing, etc.).

What is the difference between the "esr channel" and the other version of Firefox? Is this esr version kept up-to-date? Why the 2 versions?

I am concerned about any new versions as I do not want to lose any of my saved configuration options and exceptions and I do not care for new bugs on top of the old ones.

Can someone clerify my questions about these versions? Thanks.