How to Fix: Mozilla Firefox not Loading Pages?

Firefox has always been at the epitome of providing a safe and secure browsing experience. One shouldn’t look any further than its Enhanced Tracking Protection, which further strengthens its presence in the privacy domain.

However, as is the case with other browsers, it isn’t free from a few occasional hiccups either.

Recently I was trying to access a webpage, but the browser would refuse to load it. Attributing it to the site’s back-end issues, I tried opening another website, but the same issue popped up again.

It turned out; the websites were functioning well and good; it was some underlying issue with the browser itself. Well, it isn’t a one-off problem either. This is because many users seem to have encountered this issue in the past as well.

While some get a ‘Problem Loading Page’ notification, others are greeted with the Connection Has Been Timed Out error.

If you are also on the same page, then this guide is here to help you out. Given here are various methods to fix the Firefox not loading pages issue. Follow along.

Check Network Connection

Count it along the obvious lines, but if your internet connectivity isn’t working, then the browser wouldn’t be able to load any pages whatsoever. So double-check whether your network is up and running or not.

If your answer is in a negative tone, then consider switching over to the wired connection (via Ethernet) from wireless (WiFi) or vice versa.

Likewise, you may also share your device’s internet via hotspot. Try out these network tweaks and see if they can fix the Firefox not loading pages issue.

Clear Cache and Cookies

If the browser’s stored data gets corrupted or outdated, it could spell out trouble for the associated web pages. To rectify this, you would have to delete these temporary data, which could be done as follows:

1. Launch the Firefox browser on your PC.
2. Keypress Ctrl + Shift + Del shortcut keys to open the Clear Data dialog box.
3. Enable checkbox for Browsing & Download History, Cookies, and Cache options.
   
4. Select Today under Time range to clear.
5. Hit OK button, and wait for the process to complete.

Once done, retry accessing the page and check if it fixes the Firefox not loading pages issue.

Deleting temporary data might sign you out of some websites and could also result in sites loading a few seconds late. However, this is only a one-time delay and would automatically be rectified once the site data gets re-populated.

Disable Extensions

Third-party add-ons, specifically those related to JavaScripts or changing in-page elements, have been notorious for breaking page components that result in their inability to load properly.

It would help if you started the browser in safe mode to verify whether that is indeed the case this time. Doing so shall disable all the extensions, and you may then act accordingly.

1. Launch the Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Click on the menu situated at the top right.
3. Select on Help > Troubleshoot Mode option.
   
4. Click Restart in the confirmation dialog box.
   

The browser will now boot to the Safe Mode. If you can access the websites in this mode, the issue was related to third-party extensions.

So close the Safe Mode and boot to the normal mode. Then go to the about addons page and disable all the extensions.

Turn them on one at a time until you can recreate the issue. When that happens, consider uninstalling that issue-causing addon from the browser right away. Now access the desired page and check if the Firefox not loading pages issue has been fixed or not.

Extensions tend to add more features to the browser’s arsenal. However, if they end up disrupting the browser’s normal workflow, then it’s better to maintain a safe distance from them.

Disable DNS Prefetching

A DNS Prefetch automatically picks up the required resources related to the DNS lookup that the browser might ask for. So when the browser does indeed make such a request, the DNS lookup would already have occurred.

As a result, the browser would load that site a few seconds faster. However, in some instances, this prefetch technique could result in the breaking of websites or the loading of incorrect configurations. Hence it would be best if you considered disabling this feature and then check out the results.

Here are the steps to disable the DNS prefetching in Firefox:

1. Launch Mozilla Firefox and go to its about:config page in address bar.
2. Click on the Accept the Risk and Continue button.
   
3. Type in the below keyword in the search bar and hit Enter button.

   network.dns.disablePrefetch

4. Click on the toggle button situated at the extreme right to change its value from False to True.
   
5. Now try reloading the site and check if it fixes the Firefox not loading pages issue.

As already mentioned, the DNS Prefetch technique does speed up the loading of sites. However, if they interfere with the site’s normal loading, the few precious seconds saved wouldn’t account for much.

Therefore, it’s better to keep this feature disabled and take an overall balanced approach.

Opt for Standard Tracking Protection

Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection brings in three levels of security: Standard, Strict, and Custom. Out of these three, the Strict tends to block nearly every on-page tracker and element.

While it translates to the most protective environment, such strong restrictive measures could harm the loading of websites. Therefore, if you have the Strict Mode enabled, it’s better to switch to the Standard Mode.

1. Launch the Firefox browser, and go to the about:preferences#privacy page.
2. Within that, select Standard Mode and click on the Reload All tabs button.
   
3. When the tabs reload, try accessing the desired website and verify if the Firefox not loading pages issue has been fixed or not.

Rather than straightaway going for the extreme privacy measures, it is better to opt for a steady and stabilized option. In this regard, the Standard Mode is enough to checkmark these requirements.

Reinstall Firefox

If none of the aforementioned methods managed to work out in your favor, then you should consider uninstalling the browser and then reinstalling its latest build.

Everything would then start afresh from scratch, and this could well fix the underlying issue as well.

1. Head over to the Start menu and search Apps & Features.
2. Now scroll to Mozilla Firefox, select it, and hit the Uninstall command.
   
3. Once the uninstallation is complete, open File Explorer and go to the below location:

   C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

4. Now delete all the contents of that folder.
   

Once done, download the latest version of Firefox, launch it and proceed with the on-screen instructions to install it.

That’s it, and you should now have no issues accessing the site of your choice.

Deleting these files would not affect your saved passwords and bookmarks. All these are still secure and would automatically be imported to the browser upon the next install.

Bottom Line: Firefox Not Loading Page

So with this, we round off the guide on how you could fix the Firefox not loading pages issue. We have shared six different methods that could help you to rectify this issue.

In my case, deleting the browser data (cookies and cache) and then switching over to a balanced privacy measure (Standard Protection) spelled out success.

Do let us know which method worked out for you in fixing the Firefox not loading web page.