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I have been having this issue since I was a kid. Why does this happen? Which part of Firefox changes that makes it "Uncompatible" with an add-on which is just 0.0.1 version older than the new one.
This is really bothering me as I am having to re-install all add-ons (about 40) again each time it (****ing) updates itself.
I have disabled update and shutted it off to not speak any more about update. Aside from above questions, Does chrome have this issue? If not I will love it and leave Firefox forever...!

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  • Firefox has seen several design changes over the years. It makes sense that some functionalities (those addons were relying upon) got cut off or were replaced with better ones, which explains why they stop working as intended. Unless the addon keeps its track with Firefox, it will eventually become obsolete. This may also occur with Chrome, as it is a general problem regarding third-party addon software. Sep 24, 2014 at 14:41
  • Not one... IDMCC is like this. FireBug is same, and amny others stop working. Even Kaspersky addones are now disabled! See: upload7.ir/imgs/2014-09/40030941544671183838.jpg
    – UltraDEVV
    Sep 24, 2014 at 14:57
  • The API changed that's likely the reason
    – Ramhound
    Sep 24, 2014 at 14:58

2 Answers 2

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This is because the old way of creating Firefox add-ons is quite complicated, but results more powerful and integrated add-ons. There was no well-defined add-ons API, and sometimes add-on developers were using the same code as the browser itself was using for rendering elements and UI.

Due to this dependency and lack of specific add-ons APIs, the developers need to verify working of their add-ons at every new release of Firefox. This used to be quite painful. On the other hand, (thankfully?) there were no frequent updates like the current release cycle.

Well, Chrome changed everything, from release cycle to add-on development process. Chrome introduced well-defined and simple extension APIs based on JavaScript & other open standards - and independent of the browser architecture and code-base. Most of the stable APIs hardly change with the time, and thus developers don't need to verify their add-ons on every new release.

Firefox team followed this, and introduced Jetpacks, which simplified the add-on development process. Now, Firefox team automatically checks for compatibility issues with the upcoming new releases and alerts add-on developers in advance if any issue is detected. This gives developers enough time to update their add-ons.

AFAIK, most of the add-on developers have migrated to the jetpacks, but some of them are still using the old way.

(PS: also read this article)

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This is done so you don't blame Firefox if a third-party extension won't work with changes made in newer versions.

You can "hack" an extension to change the versions it is set as compatible for. Note that this may expose bugs or other weird, unexpected behavior, or the extension may crash Firefox or not work at all, and you'll probably have to redo the change if the author of the extension updates the extension.

Download to your computer a copy of the extension (the ".xpi" file).

Extract (unzip) the .xpi file. It is simply a zipped file with an .xpi extension, so you should be able to use something like unzip or Stuffit-expander (on Mac) to extract it.

Open the "install.rdf" file with a text editor such as Notepad. Find a tagline like this showing the "maxVersion" number (in this case 2.0, but it may differ depending on the extension): 2.0

Change the "2.0" to "3.0.*" or whatever you need (the * covers any minor updates to release versions). That tells the installer that the version can be installed with the corresponding version number of Firefox or Thunderbird.

Optionally, to indicate that you modified the extension for your own private use, you can also edit the lines describing the author/contributor and version of the extension. Save the changes you made to the install.rdf file.

Create a zip archive containing all the files that were in the original .xpi file, including your modified install.rdf file. Rename it to "myExt.xpi" or whatever you like. The crucial thing here is to use ".xpi" for the file extension.

Strongly recommended: before installing the extension, make a temporary backup of your profile folder or at least of the "extensions" folder inside your profile folder, which contains the installed extensions. That way, if something goes wrong, you can revert the changes easily.

Finally, install the extension: If it's a Firefox extension, open the .xpi file from Firefox and it should install. If it's a Thunderbird extension, install it via the "Tools -> Add-ons" menu.

Source (and further reading you should do): http://kb.mozillazine.org/Editing_an_add-on_to_change_its_compatibility

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  • After firefox new update (to 32.0.2) I have a folder said Old Firefox Data on desktop which does not have any usable xpi file (just json) I didnt blame if it just happened for some, But it happens for all and each time!
    – UltraDEVV
    Sep 24, 2014 at 14:56
  • Sounds like something reset your Firefox profile. I don't think this should normally be happening. You might want to backup everything from your Firefox profile, delete it completely, uninstall Firefox completely, and reinstall/restart completely from scratch.
    – LawrenceC
    Sep 24, 2014 at 15:01
  • IDK, Also I have another problem too. Its likely a bug in new 32.0.2 .Mouse cursor starts blinking fast when there are many tabs open (10 or more). But thanks all, I will stick to firefox to see what will happen in the future.
    – UltraDEVV
    Sep 24, 2014 at 15:04

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