Introduction
If you're trying to downgrade Firefox from version 133.0 to 128.5.2 ESR, but you're encountering the "You've launched an older version of Firefox" message, requiring you to create a new profile, this article is for you. In this article, we'll cover the key concepts and steps to downgrade Firefox to an older version while keeping your existing profile.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure that:
- You have the older Firefox version (128.5.2 ESR) downloaded and installed.
- Your current Firefox profile is not corrupted.
Downgrade Firefox
Follow these steps to downgrade Firefox:
- Close your current Firefox browser.
- Navigate to the Firefox installation directory. By default, it is located in:
- Rename the current Firefox folder to something like "Firefox_current".
- Extract the older Firefox version (128.5.2 ESR) installation package.
- Rename the extracted Firefox folder to "Firefox".
- Delete the "extensions" and "profiles" directories in the new "Firefox" folder.
- Copy your existing Firefox profile directory to the new "Firefox" folder. By default, it is located in:
- Start the older Firefox version (128.5.2 ESR) by running the "firefox.exe" or "firefox" executable.
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\
On macOS, it is located in:
/Applications/Firefox.app/
C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
On macOS, it is located in:
~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/
Troubleshooting
If you still encounter the "You've launched an older version of Firefox" message, try the following:
- Delete the "prefs.js" file in your Firefox profile directory and restart Firefox.
- Set the "app.update.auto" preference to false in "prefs.js".
- Try a different Firefox profile directory.
Downgrading Firefox to an older version (128.5.2 ESR) while keeping your existing profile can be a hassle, but with the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to achieve it successfully. If you encounter any issues, feel free to leave a comment below.