5 Ways to Fix Firefox Not Responding on Windows 10 and Windows 11

Quick Tips

• Launch Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to see if one of your add-ins is causing the issue.
• Disable hardware acceleration and clear the browsing data to see if that gets Firefox to work again.
• If nothing works, use the Refresh Firefox option to reset the browser and fix the issue.

Fix 1: Force Close Firefox Processes

Sometimes, Firefox processes may become unresponsive on your PC due to temporary issues. In most cases, you can fix the problem by closing Firefox processes via the Task Manager on Windows.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the Task Manager.

Step 2: In the Processes tab, select Firefox and click the End task button at the top.

Fix 2: Try Troubleshoot Mode in Firefox

If you rely on add-ons in Firefox to improve your productivity, they could be causing issues. To verify if this is the case, launch Firefox in Troubleshooting Mode, which disables all add-ons, themes, and custom settings.

To launch Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode, hold down the Shift key and double-click the Firefox app shortcut. Then, click Open.

Now, use Firefox for a few minutes. If it works fine, the issue is likely due to one of the add-ons. To identify the culprit, try disabling all add-ons, then re-enable them one by one. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner and select Add-ons and themes from the list.

Step 2: Use the switches next to the add-ons to turn them off.

Once disabled, close Firefox and try opening it again. After that, enable each add-on one by one to find the one causing the issue.

Fix 3: Disable Hardware Acceleration

By default, Firefox comes with hardware acceleration enabled. This feature uses your PC’s GPU instead of the CPU to speed up processes. However, depending on your PC’s graphics card, it can sometimes cause Firefox to freeze. To see if this resolves the issue, try disabling Hardware Acceleration in Firefox. Here’s how:

Step 1: Launch Firefox on your PC, click the menu icon in the upper right corner and select Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down to go to the Performance section and uncheck the box that reads Use recommended performance settings.

Step 3: Uncheck the Use hardware acceleration when available option.

Fix 4: Clear Cache and Cookies

Browsers like Firefox use cache and cookies to enhance your browsing experience. However, over time, this old browsing data can accumulate and cause conflicts, leading to Firefox freezing or crashing. To address this, try clearing the cache and cookies from Firefox. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open settings on Firefox.

Step 2: Switch to the Privacy & Security tab on your left and scroll down to Cookies and Site Data. Then, click the Clear Data button.

Step 3: In the Clear Data panel, mark the boxes that read Cookies and Site Data and Cached Web Content. Then, hit Clear.

Fix 5: Refresh Firefox

If none of the previous solutions work, resetting Firefox might be your last option. Fortunately, it’s a straightforward process, as Firefox offers a refresh option. This option removes your add-ons and preferences while keeping your bookmarks, saved passwords, and open tabs intact. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Hold down the Shift key and double-click on the Firefox app shortcut to open it in Troubleshoot Mode.

Step 2: Click the Refresh Firefox button.

Step 3: Select Refresh Firefox to confirm your action.