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Firefox (Mac) unresponsive, and doesn't load any pages including internal ones such as settings, or about:support, even after complete app reinstall.

jacobchurch10
jacobchurch10
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I have reinstalled Firefox on my Mac many times, completely removed all files using app cleaner, and reset Firefox by holding shift and option on start. Despite this, the app is very slow to launch, and when it does no pages load or render. Opening a new tab freezes the entire app for 15-30 seconds, and when the tab opens it is completely blank. Attempting to browse to a URL does nothing, and the address bar just returns to being empty. Attempting to open settings does nothing, although parts of the app that open separate windows such as the about version info and bookmarks work fine. The only thing I haven't done at this point is completely reinstalling macOS, so maybe there is something wrong with my system config. I first noticed this issue when using the early macOS Sequoia betas, and assumed the app wasn't updated to support it yet. However after updating macOS and completely removing and reinstalling all traces of Firefox, it still doesn't work. I am currently using macOS 15.1 beta, however the issue also persisted on 15.0.

I have reinstalled Firefox on my Mac many times, completely removed all files using app cleaner, and reset Firefox by holding shift and option on start. Despite this, the app is very slow to launch, and when it does no pages load or render. Opening a new tab freezes the entire app for 15-30 seconds, and when the tab opens it is completely blank. Attempting to browse to a URL does nothing, and the address bar just returns to being empty. Attempting to open settings does nothing, although parts of the app that open separate windows such as the about version info and bookmarks work fine. The only thing I haven't done at this point is completely reinstalling macOS, so maybe there is something wrong with my system config. I first noticed this issue when using the early macOS Sequoia betas, and assumed the app wasn't updated to support it yet. However after updating macOS and completely removing and reinstalling all traces of Firefox, it still doesn't work. I am currently using macOS 15.1 beta, however the issue also persisted on 15.0.

Chosen solution

This issue turned out to be caused by having the boot argument “amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1” set. To disable it, run sudo nvram boot-args=“amfi_get_out_of_my_way=0”. Hope this helps someone else. I don’t know how the boot argument was enabled but you can check by running sudo nvram boot-args and it will list the current arguments.

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All Replies (2)

NoahSUMO
NoahSUMO
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This might be related to Mac Sequoia's firewall blocking Firefox from the internet. Read this article: Firefox blocked by macOS 15 Sequoia firewall - What you need to know

Helpful?

jacobchurch10
jacobchurch10 Question owner
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Chosen Solution

This issue turned out to be caused by having the boot argument “amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1” set. To disable it, run sudo nvram boot-args=“amfi_get_out_of_my_way=0”. Hope this helps someone else. I don’t know how the boot argument was enabled but you can check by running sudo nvram boot-args and it will list the current arguments.

Helpful?

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