A Problem with Firefox in High Sierra

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Level 4

2,407 points

A Problem with Firefox in High Sierra

On my 2013 MacBook Air (i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, 500 GB internal SSD) I upgraded to MacOS 10.13 then to 10.13.1. It reformatted my drive as APFS as expected. And in Firefox I repeatedly got this error when going to a new page from the top of a website like New York Times or LA Times:

"The page isn’t redirecting properly

Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete.

This problem can sometimes be caused by disabling or refusing to accept cookies."

I had pre-tested 10.13 using a beta test external SSD I use for such purposes -- and retested with that drive this morning. That drive did not reformat as APFS but was in HFS+. And no such issue occurred.

This morning I booted from another SSD which I had pre-formatted as APFS and backed up MacOS 10.13.1 to (using Carbon Copy Cloner) and the same error occurs consistently.

As a result I used my CCC backup of my last Sierra OS state to return this machine to MacOS 10.12.6 and there I will stay until I know more. Firefox (or Waterfox, which does the same thing in HIgh Sierra on APFS) are to central to my way of using this computer, and I don't particularly like Safari.

Based on my work with external SSDs it would seem the APFS file system might be the issue for some reason. In any case no other app I tried exhibited any flaws.

Has anyone else seen this issue? Does anyone have a solution? I'd like to be using High Sierra on this computer, but cannot so long as this problem persists.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), macOS High Sierra (10.13), null

Posted on Nov 3, 2017 10:10 AM

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Answer 1

w7ox Author

Level 4

2,407 points

Nov 3, 2017 1:17 PM in response to dialabrain

By George, I think you've got it. I disabled all but 2-3 extensions and the problem occurred only once at BBC site -- and not at all at the other two. I can live with occasionally 🙂

Thanks!

Phil

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

155,822 points

Nov 3, 2017 10:21 AM in response to w7ox

The circular page redirect is not caused by High Sierra per se and cannot possibly be caused by its file system. It's a function of the website, the browser, or its settings including Internet plug-ins, add-ons and similar user modifications.

If you don't want to use Safari, consider starting Firefox in "Safe Mode": Troubleshoot Firefox issues using Safe Mode | Firefox Help

For Safari and Mac-specific concerns continue below. Otherwise, ask Mozilla for support with their products.

Here are some troubleshooting steps to follow for Safari, in no particular order:

For system-wide operational anomalies not specific to browser activity:

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

Determine if the problems exist in Safe Mode. Then, restart normally.

If you don't get anywhere, you can use the following procedure to determine if the problem is internal or external to your Mac. Causes may involve your router, your ISP, the DNS Server(s) it uses, or certain user-configurable options.

Shut down your Mac.
Load macOS Recovery by holding ⌘ and r (two fingers) while you start your Mac with a third finger.
At the macOS Utilities screen, release those two fingers.
Choose Get Help Online.
Safari will launch, but it will lack your bookmarks, favorites, history and other preferences.

Determine if the problem persists while using Safari in that mode. After that, restart your Mac normally, and reply with your observations.

Needless to say, if you are using any non-Apple "anti-virus", "cleaning", or "Internet security" products, anything at all in that broad category of utterly useless garbage, don't. A lot of things won't work if you do.

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Nov 3, 2017 1:22 PM in response to w7ox

FWIW, I get no redirect errors with any of those sites. Perhaps it's an extension you are using?

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Answer 4

w7ox Author

Level 4

2,407 points

Nov 3, 2017 10:32 AM in response to gail from maine

I normally use FF v. 54 due to some issues in the navigation bar (no Back Arrow for some reason, just a blank space with 56). I've also tested beta of FF v. 57 (and I hate the changes they will make). I did use the latest release 56.0.2 and it acted the same way re the error I mentioned with 10.13.1 and APFS (but not with HFS+)

Phil

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Answer 5

John Galt

Level 10

155,822 points

Nov 3, 2017 11:30 AM in response to w7ox

w7ox wrote:

Good discussion -- but why does the identical configuration work flawlessly with HFS+ formatted external SSD but not with APFS formatted SSD.

The obvious answer is that the configurations are not identical.

What is a representative URL with the problem? Every time I have noticed the recursive redirect you describe, it occurred in all browsers.

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Answer 6

w7ox Author

Level 4

2,407 points

Nov 3, 2017 12:45 PM in response to John Galt

The ones that do it essentially every time are the NY Times, LA Times and BBC home pages.

The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

http://www.latimes.com/

http://www.bbc.com/news

However the "Try again" option always works. So it's not a roadblock so much as a continuing annoyance.

BTW -- Running 10.13.1 now. But "Who is John Galt?" 😉

Phil

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Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Nov 3, 2017 10:53 AM in response to w7ox

FWIW, I run High Sierra on two Macs formatted as APFS and two as HFS+. I run both Firefox 56.0.2 and Firefox Nightly on all of them and have never seen the error you reported. As John mentioned, the file system cannot be the issue.

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Answer 8

w7ox Author

Level 4

2,407 points

Nov 3, 2017 11:02 AM in response to dialabrain

Thanks for that info with Firefox test data.

So there is some other factor causing the problem. I do have Malwarebytes running: Perhaps that likes HFS+ but not APFS. I will next explore that possibility. I would like to return this system to High Sierra and get with the program ;-)

Phil

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Answer 9

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Nov 3, 2017 11:52 AM in response to w7ox

w7ox wrote:

Dialabrain, are you using 10.13 or 10.13.1?

Phil

Yes. and 10.13.2 betas.

John reminded me of something. Every once in awhile I would get a redirect message in Firefox but it was only while clicking a link from a particular site. I forget which site, it was last year some time.

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Answer 10

w7ox Author

Level 4

2,407 points

Nov 4, 2017 11:23 PM in response to dialabrain

Ironically, with all that effort to get HIgh Sierra working flawlessly, I discovered today that my printer, an HP Laserjet multi-function, does not yet work with High Sierra! So now I'm back to Sierra. I have a bootable High Sierra Carbon Copy Cloner backup (fast SSD USB3 drive) which I can boot from, test the printer based on any new HP software, and use to restore High Sierra when I can print from it.

Others here have reported the same issue -- and Sierra is very usable for my needs.

Phil

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