Compatibility: an increasing number of websites and features do not work in Firefox on Linux
I believe everyone has a right to choose the browser and operating system they use. I choose to use Firefox because I care about my privacy, and because of features like multi-account containers - as a software developer these are non-negotiable. I choose to use Linux for similar reasons, and many Linux distributions come with Firefox preinstalled as a default browser. In light of recent changes to Google's data collection through Chrome, I am more than ever committed to using Firefox as my only browser.
However over the last year or so, I have noticed an increasing number of websites or features on websites have stopped working in Firefox on Linux, forcing me to use Chrome against my wishes. Examples include the entirety of the Australian government's MyGov website; the phone call feature in Slack; and Google Meet meetings (no audio). I know people who use Firefox on other operating systems and they have not had these problems, so I can only assume that the issue is specific to Firefox on Linux.
I am not trying to suggest that Mozilla is responsible for this in any way - if Google or Slack or the government refuse to support Firefox on Linux, that's their responsibility, not Mozilla's. However, I am not convinced that the lack of support is intentional, or that it isn't a quirk of the particular Linux distribution I use or the version of Firefox included in the package manager. Any advice would be appreciated.
My Firefox version is 84.0.1, and my Linux distribution is KDE Neon User Edition 5.21 which uses Ubuntu 20.04 under the hood.
All Replies (7)
Just saying that a site doesn't work for does not help us help you. Need more detail and screenshots of the issues with the government site and Slack. For Google meets is the audio allowed or muted ? We can meet to verify. see screenshot
Modified by jonzn4SUSE
My apologies, I just realised that I said MyGov when I meant to say My Health Record (which you connect to using SSO via MyGov). I had trouble finding the info, but they do in fact have a table on their support site that shows that they only support Firefox on Windows: https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/for-you-your-family/howtos/compatible-browsers
The image I've attached shows what happens when you try to use My Health Record in Firefox on Linux (observe 400 error in console). I imagine something similar happens in Firefox on Mac though I haven't tested it.
Thanks for the screenshots - I am 99% sure this was not a case of user error, but it's always worth checking ;) I'll provide more info on the Google Meet and Slack issues when I'm back at work next week. I didn't want to collate all that info upfront if nobody was going to be interested.
I am using Firefox (v.87) on a Linux OS and I can load the Australian website my health record. Enhanced Tracking Protection is on.
tjn21 said
I am using Firefox (v.87) on a Linux OS and I can load the Australian website my health record. Enhanced Tracking Protection is on.
Thank you for that info. What Linux distro are you using? I've just updated Firefox, so am now on v.87 also, with Enhanced Tracking Protection set to Standard, but I am still getting the 400 error on the My Health Record dashboard. May I also ask what URL you are accessing successfully? Maybe we're not looking at the same page. (You would not be able to get to the page that is failing to load unless you are an Australian resident with a My Health Record account set up).
I notice a "bad request" mention in the screenshot.
Such an error can be caused by corrupted cookies.
You can try these steps in case of issues with webpages:
You can reload webpage(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.
- hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
- press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
- press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)
Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Options/Preferences).
"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:
- Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"
"Clear the Cache":
- Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> Cached Web Content: Clear
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.
- switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
- do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
I loaded the website, not the page you referenced. I also got access through myGov. Any more information can wait until you've dealt with cor-el's post.
I believe I've found the issue. I have umatrix installed. I had it set to "off" for all websites by default (red power symbol in the top left corner disables script blocking globally) but I had no idea that even when it's "off" it still spoofs the noscript tag by default, and it seems you can only turn the noscript spoofing off on a case-by-case basis. For now I'm going to disable umatrix until I have the energy to go through and save settings for individual sites that don't work.
I've yet to confirm whether the noscript spoofing caused my issues with Slack and Google Meet, however I can confirm that it caused issues with: - My Health Record - Vodafone I forgot to mention Vodafone in my first post. It was giving me a very strange error when I tried to log in (see attached screenshot) - I can assure you I had no other sessions running. I also had issues with logging in to the account dashboard on Optus, which I can't recall the details of nor attempt to replicate now as I cancelled my account with them. Just posting this info in the off chance that there is someone else in my extremely specific and unusual situation.
