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Firefox Sync actually works

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Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#21

Post by herdcall »

sherr wrote: post #11
herdcall wrote: post #8

Yes, it just works; but a few days back all my devices suddenly lost almost all of the passwords. Not all but most of them, couldn't make out any pattern or reason. Luckily a Linux laptop that I don't usually use had the full set and I had to export them, sync, and import them back to restore everywhere. Very scary, any ideas why this could've happened? I immediately backed up for the future, but this kind of loss sh…

No idea. I've been using Firefox and Sync for years, currently on 5 devices (one android). Never had a problem. Firefox 121.0 (64-bit). This is the "release" channel. Maybe you're beta testing?

You know what, you could be onto something. I'm using the Firefox Developer version (122.0b3 64 bit). In any case, how are the differences resolved? E.g., in my recent case, all the devices ended up with only a handful of passwords (17), whereas the Linux laptop had 858. When I brought that laptop online (after exporting them), it synced and also ended up with the 17. I wonder what the logic was to deduce that the 17 are the ones to keep and the 858 should be deleted (there are some common ones of course). Because after sync when I imported the 858 back, it kept them all and synced them to all other devices, so it considered them as additions that should be kept.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#22

Post by ilayn »

Filligree wrote: post #17
ilayn wrote: post #16

Why would anyone need a reason? I mean it seriously. Chrome users on this platform really baffling for me. They know what the consequences are, they know quite well what the icon with their picture on the corner does. Still being OK with this is super interesting. Most products are often get grilled here for having closed code parts or similar concerns but when it comes to giving complete audit of their online existe…

Firefox stutters. Every couple of seconds, if I'm doing anything active on the page, it freezes up for a fraction of a second. I have no idea if that's a garbage collection issue or what, but it makes it painful to use. That being said, I'm on Safari instead. Chrome doesn't make me happy.

When does it do that? I mean during doing what?

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#23

Post by pzmarzly »

Can some long-standing user of iOS Firefox say if the sync issues there have been fixed? Halfway-broken sync on iOS version of Firefox (as well as a general lack of love for it and the UI that kept getting redesigned every other month) was the reason why I switched to Safari 4 years ago.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#24

Post by stavros »

xrd wrote: post #12
sherr wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea. I've been using Firefox and Sync for years, currently on 5 devices (one android). Never had a problem. Firefox 121.0 (64-bit). This is the "release" channel. Maybe you're beta testing?

Me too. It is so flawless that I had forgotten how good it works until seeing this article pointing that fact out.

Same, I've been using Firefox for years and it's always just worked. Recently it got faster, too, now sending tabs between devices is instant.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#25

Post by ddxv »

This is the exact reason I've started using Firefox for the past few years and never looked back. My passwords are synced across devices and I just let FF autogenerate them. I memorize a couple important ones like email and banking, rest is handled by Firefox. Best is that it also works for apps on my Android.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#27

Post by threePointFive »

gausswho wrote: post #18

I've avoided FF sync because I don't want my browser history on the cloud. I only really want my profile configuration, such as my addons and userjs flags. Unfortunately the FF directory in my .config is intermixed enough between config and content that I don't try to back it up. Am I missing something?

FF Sync doesnt work by backing up your config directory to some cloud storage. That would be a recipe for disaster since your profile has certain machine specific settings configured automatically by the browser. When you enable Sync you get to explicitly decide which things you want to include in the sync. I have mine set to just addons, configs, and bookmarks.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#28

Post by stavros »

gausswho wrote: post #18

I've avoided FF sync because I don't want my browser history on the cloud. I only really want my profile configuration, such as my addons and userjs flags. Unfortunately the FF directory in my .config is intermixed enough between config and content that I don't try to back it up. Am I missing something?

The sync contents are encrypted between devices.

EDIT: After writing this, I realized I should investigate the claim, because new devices are added just by logging in, not by giving them any sort of password.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#29

Post by nidnogg »

I have nothing but praise for Firefox's Sync. It has saved me countless times. Back when I had more than 4 active machines it would sometimes trip up here and there with a bookmark or another, but it was always really solid overall.

Re: Firefox Sync actually works

#30

Post by LtWorf »

saberworks wrote: post #4

I'm not convinced. Recently moved to a new computer and firefox didn't sync my settings in about:config and didn't sync my container assignments (had to go in and enable it manually in both the source and target computers, buried deep in the settings for the containers extension). It doesn't sync addons or addon settings. I don't think it synced all the interface customization (like removing pocket icon from the url…

You have to login and enable sync separately in the containers plugin for that to work.
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