Why use Firefox ESR?

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I have seen mention of Firefox ESR, which also gets updates.
Why would one use ESR rather than the regular version? I am not a large organization, like a university or a business, which is what the Firefox ESR page says about ESRs — I’m just a lone customer user.

Firefox ESR is now 102.10.0. Regular Firefox is 112.0.

If I were to switch to ESR, would I have to manually change settings that I now have in regular FF?
Can I open/use both ESR and regular FF (either simultaneously or in sequence)? Or am I forced to have one or the other installed, but not both?

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ESR can be used by anyone and is for those who prefer to receive major updates less often which can provide for more stability. Whereas the rapid release version receives major updates much more frequently which can introduce bugs and instability that require another update to fix. That’s why there are often numerous small point releases each month on the rapid release channel, whereas the ESR channel typically only has one.

Below is from Mozilla regarding the two versions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/choosing-firefox-update-channel

“ESR: receives major updates on average every 42 weeks with minor updates such as crash fixes, security fixes and policy updates as needed, but at least every four weeks.

Rapid Release: receives major updates every four weeks and minor updates such as crash fixes and security fixes as needed during those four weeks.”

You can install/use both ESR and rapid release on the same system, even nightly, beta or developer versions. Each version just needs to be installed in a different directory. And each installed version uses their own dedicated profile. See this link from Mozilla for more info: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/dedicated-profiles-firefox-installation

3 users thanked author for this post.

lmacri, Microfix, WCHS

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I use Firefox ESR Portable.
I don’t need new Firefox updates every 2 days…
ESR is stable with new updates following New Firefox releases (not dot releases).

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WCHS

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Current ESR’s are mature, no toys or tests included so patches on patches are fewer, some Firefox patch days don’t see security updates for ESR released as they’re not required. Fewer disturbances can mean better usability, more productivity, too.

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WCHS, SueW, Microfix

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WCHS wrote:

I have seen mention of Firefox ESR, which also gets updates.
Why would one use ESR rather than the regular version? I am not a large organization, like a university or a business, which is what the Firefox ESR page says about ESRs — I’m just a lone customer user.

Firefox ESR is now 102.10.0. Regular Firefox is 112.0.

If I were to switch to ESR, would I have to manually change settings that I now have in regular FF?
Can I open/use both ESR and regular FF (either simultaneously or in sequence)? Or am I forced to have one or the other installed, but not both?

You can run more than one version of Firefox simultaneously by using different Firefox profiles :
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/939994

I use this method myself to run two different Firefox ESR versions (currently 102 and 78.15.0).

I use Firefox ESR since 45 and am quite satisfied with it. As others mentioned no new features are added during an ESR cycle which can result in less unexpected changes and more stability.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

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WCHS

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Firefox ESR is more stable and only gets security updates within the month, whereas mainstream FF gets the NPI features with security and the point releases to fix NPI features each month things are introduced.
IOW, Firefox ESR gets less updates per month with the same level of security across both versions.

NPI = New Product Introduction

Win8.1/R2 Hybrid lives on..

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WCHS

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Hi WCHS:

Mozilla ended support for my old Vista SP2 computer in 2018, but before that happened my Firefox browser was automatically switched from v51.0.1 to v52.0 ESR on 08-Mar-2017. That switch to the ESR (extended support release) was done by Mozilla to give Win XP and Vista users an extra year or so of security updates before support for FF ESR v52.9.0 (the last FF browser released for Win XP and Vista) ended on 26-Jun-2018.

My switch to FF ESR v52.0 was seamless – there was no change in the browser interface or settings or in the way my browser behaved, and all my browser extensions functioned correctly. Whenever a security patch was released for the “regular” Firefox channel my FF ESR v52.x browser received the same security patch at the same time.

As noted by other users, the only major difference in the “regular” and ESR versions is that new non-security feature updates are dribbled out to the “regular” Firefox each month or so (and can sometimes be buggy and make your browser unstable), while feature updates are only pushed out to FF ESR about once a year after most of the bugs have been fixed. For example, the Firefox Release Calendar shows that FF ESR v102.0 was initially released on 28-Jun-2022 on the same day as the “regular” FF v102.0. FF ESR v102.x has now reached FF ESR v102.10 and continues to receive monthly security updates, but all the monthly feature updates made to the “regular” Firefox v103.x, v104.x, v105.x, etc. will be delayed until ~ 04-Jul-2023 when FF ESR v102.13 begins its direct jump to FF ESR v115.x.

The only drawback I can see to using FF ESR is that all the non-security feature updates dribbled out to the “regular” Firefox over the course of one year tend to be delivered to FF ESR in one big whack on an annual basis. Some people don’t like this (I installed FF ESR on my new Win 10 laptop back in Aug 2018 but switched back to the “regular” FF in Sep 2020 because I didn’t like having to search through old release notes to find details about all the once-a-year FF ESR feature changes), but others don’t mind and prefer to use FF ESR for it’s superior stability.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.2728 * Firefox v112.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2302.7-1.1.20200.4 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.26.259-1.0.1976 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Charlie, WCHS

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lmacri wrote:

The only drawback I can see to using FF ESR is that all the non-security feature updates dribbled out to the “regular” Firefox over the course of one year tend to be delivered to FF ESR in one big whack on an annual basis.

Can this One Big Whack Annual Feature update be skipped over?

Have you seen the price of Tums? It's enough to give you heartburn.

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Charlie wrote:

Can this One Big Whack Annual Feature update be skipped over?

Of course. Don’t update.

I use only portable Firefox esr.

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Alex5723 wrote:

Of course. Don’t update.

I do want to continue with security updates later on, I just want to skip the Feature stuff.  Will this be okay to do?

Have you seen the price of Tums? It's enough to give you heartburn.

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Charlie wrote:

I do want to continue with security updates later on, I just want to skip the Feature stuff…

Hi Charlie:

I’m not sure about Firefox Portable, but I don’t know of any way to do this with Firefox ESR or the “regular” Firefox desktop editions that are installed on your hard drive. As Alex5732 suggested in post # 2576771, you would have to turn off automatic updates at Tools | Settings | General | Firefox Updates (see image below and the Mozilla support article Enable background updates on Firefox for Windows when Firefox is not running). Unfortunately, once you stop applying updates that means you also aren’t receiving the security updates to patch the vulnerabilities documented at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/.

I like to patch the security vulnerabilities in my Firefox browser as soon as possible, but I normally wait a day or two just to ensure there are no major bugs in a new release and then run a manual check for the latest available version at Help | About Firefox.

Firefox ESR receives all security updates at the same time they are released for the “regular” Firefox Desktop edition.  It’s just the feature updates that roll out on a delayed schedule with Firefox ESR as shown in the Mozilla support article Firefox ESR release cycle.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.9-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Charlie

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I want to switch to ESR.  Should I download 102.13.0 ESR or 115.0.3 ESR

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You may wish to go with 115.0.3esr, as the 102esr branch is scheduled to go away on September 26th with the release of Firefox 115.3esr.

The above date was taken from the release chart located here:

https://wiki.mozilla.org/index.php?title=Release_Management/Calendar&redirect=no

More great info about installing 102.13esr vs. installing 115.0.3esr  from @lmacri in post 2576803 right below here!

For those with the 102esr branch currently installed, at some point in the near future they’ll be offered an upgrade to the 115esr branch by the built-in updater.

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Babe wrote:

I want to switch to ESR. Should I download 102.13.0 ESR or 115.0.3 ESR

Hi Babe:

I would suggest using the latest available FF ESR v115.x installer. The Mozilla support article Switch to Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) for Personal Use notes that if you downgrade to a previous (earlier) version when you switch to FF ESR then you will have to create a new Firefox profile (see <here> for further details).

I’ve never tried this myself (my switch to FF ESR v52 on my old Vista machine in 2017 that I described in post # 2551561 was done automatically by Mozilla), but if you uninstall your “regular” Firefox desktop edition (which I assume is currently Firefox v115.0.3 or older) from Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features and then run the latest Firefox ESR v115.0.3 installer (available at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/#product-desktop-esr – be sure to choose 115.0.3esr for your version) I think the transition should go relatively smoothly. Note that uninstalling your “regular” Firefox desktop edition from the Control Panel should not delete your Firefox user profile in C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ that stores your bookmarks, browser extensions, etc., but it’s always best to save a backup of your bookmarks (Bookmarks | Manage Bookmarks | Import and Backup | Backup) first just in case something goes wrong.

Someone else following this thread might be able to tell you if it is safe to do a quick over-the-top installation with the ESR v115.0.3 installer (Firefox Setup 115.0.3esr.exe) without having to uninstall your “regular” Firefox v115.0.3 desktop edition first.

Also note that Win 7 and Win 8.x users will be automatically switched to Firefox ESR v115.x and don’t need to do this switch themselves. See the support article Firefox Users on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 Moving to Extended Support Release.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.9-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Oops!  I installed 102.13.o esr.  I have an IMAC.  Should I delete it and install 115.0.3 esr?

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I don’t have a Mac, I have a Windows machine. So, I don’t know how hard it would be to move your profile from one installation to another.

IF you haven’t used the 102.13esr installation for too long and DON’T have much any customization in the settings just yet (including not having a lot of bookmarks), you might be able to simply uninstall 102.13esr and then install 115.0.3esr in its place.

HOWEVER, ff you were using another version of Firefox for quite a while and migrated from that version to 102.13esr, I’d advise you to ask in this thread for some help from one of the MVPs who has both a Mac and uses Firefox, such as @PKCano . However, I’m sure that there are others here besides PK who both use a Mac and run Firefox as their default browser.

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Babe wrote:

Oops! I installed 102.13.o esr. I have an IMAC. Should I delete it and install 115.0.3 esr?

Hi Babe:

Your 30-Jul-2023 post # 2576827 is still in moderation (likely because you’re posting as a Guest instead of signing into this AskWoody forum as a registered user), so I’m not sure what additional information you might have posted there for us. For the moment, I will assume that you previously had the “regular” Firefox for Mac v115.0.03 on your iMac and want to switch to Firefox ESR for Mac.

If you’ve already installed Firefox ESR for Mac v102.x (and it seems to be working correctly and did not prompt you to create a new Firefox profile) then simply check for an available update at Help | About Firefox as instructed in the support article Update Firefox to the Latest Release. Mozilla is slowly rolling out ESR v115.x to ESR users (the release calendar <here> shows the rollout of ESR v115.x won’t be completed until 26-Sep-2023 when all Firefox ESR users should be updated to FF ESR v115.3), so you may be offered the update to ESR v115.0.3 immediately, or the update check may recommend that you stay on ESR v102.x for now. Either way, your Firefox ESR for Mac will eventually be updated to ESR v115.x.

EDIT:

Sorry, your post # 2576827 just came out of moderation and I can see that you’ve already uninstalled FF ESR for Mac v102.x and installed v115.x. Just glad to hear you are up and running. If you notice any problems (e.g., if your bookmarks are missing, etc.) let us know if you were prompted to create a new Firefox user profile when you first downgraded to FF ESR for Mac v102.x.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.9-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Thanks everyone for the responses.  I did uninstall Firefox 102.13.o and now have 115.0.3 esr installed.

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Firefox ESR 115.1 update will be available tomorrow via update channels.
If you want it quicker, 115.1 ESR is available over on the Mozilla FTP Site

Win8.1/R2 Hybrid lives on..

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So, if I skip the “One Big Whack Feature Update” I’m also skipping the Security aspect of it too. What I’m wondering is if when I do the next Security update later on, I will get the security updates that were on the “OBWFU”.  Any chance of that happening?

Have you seen the price of Tums? It's enough to give you heartburn.

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Charlie wrote:

… What I’m wondering is if when I do the next Security update later on, I will get the security updates that were on the “OBWFU”…

Hi Charlie:

I’m not sure I understand your question, but here’s an example.

Let’s say you are currently using FF ESR v102.13 (rel. 04-Jul-2023). If you turn off your automatic updates today to prevent the update to FF ESR v115.x that just started rolling out (your so-called “OBWFU”) you will not receive any further feature or security updates. If you decide to turn your automatic updates back on six months later on 23-Jan-2024, for example, your FF ESR v102.13 will be updated to the latest available version (which will be FF ESR 115.7 according to the release calendar <here>) that will include the ESR v115 “OBWFU” plus all security patches you missed that were released between 04-Jul-2023 and 23-Jan-2024. In this scenario all you’re doing is postponing your “OBWFU” by a few months, and even worse, while your FF ESR v102.13 automatic updates are disabled your unpatched browser will be vulnerable to any new exploits discovered in that 6-month time period.

Make sure you read the support article Firefox ESR Release Cycle that explains how security updates are included in monthly “point” releases (e.g., ESR v102.0, v102.1, v102.2, etc.) while feature updates are included in annual version changes (e.g., when ESR v102.x skips to v115.x).
_____________________

If you are that concerned about getting a big batch of feature changes ~ once a year when the ESR jumps ahead to the next version (e.g., from ESR v102.x to 115.x) then you shouldn’t try to avoid the problem by disabling your browser updates – it’s much safer if you stick with the “regular” Firefox desktop version and accept the incremental feature (and security) updates that dribble out every month or so.

The main drawback of the “regular” Firefox desktop is that new monthly releases sometimes include a bug that wasn’t caught during beta testing, but most of these bugs aren’t serious and only affect a small percentage of users.  If a bug causes a serious problem like an intermittent browser crash then a bug fix is usually released within a few days.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.9-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Charlie, WCHS

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I suppose that if there was a way to avoid the annual OBWFU updates someone would have found a way to do it by now.

Have you seen the price of Tums? It's enough to give you heartburn.

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Morning! I’m a lowly, drink my  coffee, surf the net in the morning kind of guy, oh, and pay my bills. Recently, Chase Back, won’t let me into my account off my Mac Desktop. The chase site wants me to down load an updated browser, what the heck! Worked for years the way it was, No other site for bill paying requires a “updated” browser. Here is what i currently have for my operating system. Sierra 10.12.6

What can i do for my browser and maybe operating system? Thanks

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You are running unsupported (and insecure) MacOS Sierra and Safari.
Depending on your Mac device you should upgrade MacOS (and Safari) to the latest version compatible with your Mac.

https://endoflife.date/macos

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