I have a very specific personal startpage set to open when I start firefox. In addition I have also set it up under browser.newtab.url. When I open firefox or a new tab, it starts on the correct page, but the cursor does not recognize the search box, and settles in the address url. The strange thing is when i click on the "home" icon on the navigation toolbar, firefox directs the cursor to the search box correctly. I have tried safe mode. The initial page opens with the cursor in the search bar correctly, but the new tab still goes to the address. I then attempted to disable my four extensions one at a time, and the problem was not fixed. Apparently under some circumstances, firefox recognizes the search box on the home page, and under others it does not!

There is a thread where the person has a similar problem, but the problem is consistent every time they open a new page, no matter how. In my case it is different depending on how I go to this page!