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Lost passwords and bookmarks

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  • 2 have this problem
  • 49 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I was having problems with Windows 11 and I reinstalled it, After the new installation I lost my passwords and bookmarks from Firefox. I signed into Firefox however I did not know my password so I had to renew it, does this mean I have lost the passwords and bookmarks forever? I didn't have a recent back up, either. I tried to do a system restore but the new version of Windows 11 did not have any restore points. Regards from Narelle Patterson

I was having problems with Windows 11 and I reinstalled it, After the new installation I lost my passwords and bookmarks from Firefox. I signed into Firefox however I did not know my password so I had to renew it, does this mean I have lost the passwords and bookmarks forever? I didn't have a recent back up, either. I tried to do a system restore but the new version of Windows 11 did not have any restore points. Regards from Narelle Patterson

All Replies (2)

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Hi

Firefox Sync is not designed as a backup service, but to sync bookmarks and other data such as passwords between copies of Firefox.

If you have changed your sync password, you will have lost anything that was being synced between copies of Firefox. If you have your data on another copy of Firefox or have backed up your Firefox profile, you will be able to recover your data.

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if you are talking about sync;

Resetting the sync password, or changing its e-mail will remove all data from the servers. The username and password are used to create the encryption.

This is a security feature. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ive-lost-my-firefox-sync-account-information

  • I've lost my Firefox Sync account information - What to do
  • I’ve forgotten, or don't have access to, my Firefox Account email address

Note: Only the data on the servers is cleared. The profile data is not changed or removed.


In the event that the passwords information is lost, you should record all information in a separate text file somewhere else on your hard drive, or written down. You can easily copy and paste if you need to do so. If you are concerned about someone else looking at that file, you can compress it using a password.