Firefox has always been considered the best alternative to Google Chrome. It’s been there for years, and Mozilla community developers have been doing an excellent job.
Like Chrome updates, Firefox regularly releases updates that include new features, security patches, and improved user privacy. Hence, it is essential to keep the Firefox browser up to date as soon as we receive the latest build releases.
My mother prefers using Firefox over Chrome. However, since she is not a tech geek, she finds difficulty in updating her Firefox browser to the latest version. So, I had to teach her how to update Firefox on the laptop.
In this article, we will learn how to update Firefox on any machine running on Windows OS, macOS, and Linux-based operating systems. The steps are almost similar in all variants of OS.
Update Firefox Browser
The Firefox browser has a feature to automatically check and update to the latest version in the background. However, follow these simple steps if you want to verify and update Firefox manually.
Here are the steps on how to update Firefox Mac, Windows, or Linux:
- Launch the Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer.
- Hit on More
for options and select Preferences/Options from the list.
- Within General preferences, scroll down to the Firefox Updates section.
- Hit on button.
- The Firefox will check for updates, automatically start the installation and ask to relaunch the browser.
That’s it; the Firefox browser is updated. If there are no new updates, it will show a message “:) Firefox is up to date“. Using these steps, you can update Firefox running on any operating system.
Alternative Steps to Update Firefox Quantum
There are also a few alternative steps that can help in updating the Firefox browser. These alternative steps work in Windows 10 and earlier and Linux-based operating systems.
Follow these steps to update Firefox on Windows or Linux:
- Launch the Mozilla Firefox browser.
- Hit on the More for options.
- Select the Help > About Firefox option
- The About Mozilla Firefox window will appear, and start checking for updates.
- Firefox will download the updates and automatically install them in the background. I may also ask to relaunch the browser for significant upgrades.
You can access About Firefox from the Menu bar for the macOS machine.
This was another way to update Firefox from the About Firefox option. You will get the same features with both of these updating ways. So, you do not have to keep on using both.
Mozilla Firefox Update Frequency
Like Google Chrome has different channels with varying update frequencies, Mozilla follows similar fundamentals. Each channel has different usages and updates frequency.
- Download Firefox — The updates are quite a few, once or twice a month (most stable, highly recommended)
- Firefox Beta — The updates are pretty frequent, almost weekly (partially unstable)
- Firefox Developers Edition — similar to beta, the updates are weekly (unstable)
- Firefox Nightly — this channel has nightly updates.
Bottom Line: Check for Update Firefox
Like Chrome, Firefox comes up with new updates to its UI with every new version or update. The new versions will provide enhanced privacy, security, and other bug fixes.
We should always stay up to date with the latest version of the Firefox browser. For the same, one should know how to update Firefox.
I taught my mother how to update Firefox on the laptop. She was more than happy with the same.
Let me know if you’ve any questions or are facing any challenges while updating the Firefox browser on your computer in the comments below!