Stop Firefox From Auto-Updating and Restarting

Firefox ships with auto-updates on by default, and two separate things can install them: the browser's own updater and the Mozilla Maintenance Service in Windows. Stopping one does not always stop the other, which is why the restart nag keeps coming back.

This guide covers the Settings page, the about:config preference, the policies.json method, and the Linux package approach for full control over Firefox updates.

In this guide, I have covered:

Why Firefox keeps updating and asking you to restart

You are not imagining it. Firefox really does push updates aggressively. Mozilla ships the browser with “automatically install updates (recommended)” turned on by default.

When a new build lands, Firefox downloads it, applies it, and then shows a yellow “Restart to update Firefox” banner. Closing the tab does not dismiss it. The next launch triggers the update and closes your session.

The reason this feels relentless is that two separate things are running. Firefox itself checks for updates. A small background helper called the Mozilla Maintenance Service can install them even when Firefox is closed. Stopping one does not always stop the other, which is why most readers need to do both.

Use the Firefox Settings page to stop automatic installs

The built-in Settings page is the safest starting point. It does not fully switch updates off, but it stops Firefox from installing them without your say-so. That also gets rid of the restart nag. The trick is to choose the “check but ask” option and uncheck the background helper.

1. Click the hamburger menu at the top right of Firefox and choose Settings.
2. In the left sidebar, select General.
3. Scroll down to the "Firefox Updates" section near the bottom of the General panel.
4. Select the radio button "Check for updates but let you choose to install them."
5. Uncheck the box "Use a background service to install updates" so the Mozilla Maintenance Service does not install updates while Firefox is closed.
6. Close the Settings tab. Firefox will now notify you of updates but will not apply or restart on its own.

You’ll know it worked when any available update appears in the Firefox Updates section with a button to apply it whenever you are ready.

On macOS, the same path is Firefox in the menu bar → Settings (or Preferences on older versions) → General → Firefox Updates. The radio buttons and the background-service checkbox are identical.

Stop automatic updates from the about:config page

If you want Firefox to stop checking for updates at all, flip the preference that the radio button above writes to. This is a per-user setting, so it travels with the Firefox profile, not the whole computer.

1. Open a new tab and type about:config in the address bar, then press Enter.
2. Click Accept the Risk and Continue on the warning page.
3. In the search box, type app.update.auto and open the result.
4. Use the toggle to set the value to false, then click the checkmark or Save to apply it.
5. For extra silence, search for app.update.checkInstallTime and set it to false as well.
6. Restart Firefox so the change takes effect.

With app.update.auto set to false, Firefox will not download or prompt for updates by itself. The Firefox Updates section in Settings will read “Updates disabled by your system administrator” or a similar line, depending on your build.

TIP: If you ever want to undo this, return to about:config, search app.update.auto, and click the arrow to reset the preference to its default of true. If Firefox misbehaves after these tweaks, you can also reset Firefox settings to defaults for a clean slate.

Fully disable updates with a policies.json file

For the strictest, system-wide lockout, use a Firefox policies.json file. This is the same method system administrators use on managed computers. It overrides anything set in the user UI or about:config. The DisableAppUpdate policy turns the update system off completely.

1. Close Firefox fully so it is not running in the background.
2. Create or open the policies.json file in the distribution folder inside your Firefox install directory. On Windows this is normally C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\policies.json. On macOS, right-click Firefox in Applications, choose Show Package Contents, and edit Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/distribution/policies.json. On Linux, use firefox/distribution/policies.json for a single install or /etc/firefox/policies/ for a system-wide file.
3. Paste the following JSON into the file and save it. Make sure the file is saved as UTF-8 without a BOM.

{
  "policies": {
    "DisableAppUpdate": true
  }
}

4. Reopen Firefox. Open the Firefox Updates section in Settings. You should see the message “Updates disabled by your system administrator,” and the radio buttons will be greyed out.

The DisableAppUpdate policy is the all-or-nothing option. If you would rather keep update checks on but block silent installs, replace it with "AppAutoUpdate": false instead. That tells Firefox to download updates but wait for you to apply them.

If you installed Firefox through the Microsoft Store on Windows, the policies.json method does not apply. Microsoft Store apps are updated by the Store itself, so you would need to pause updates for the Firefox listing in the Microsoft Store instead.

Linux: stop your package manager from updating Firefox

On most Linux distributions, the build of Firefox you installed from APT, DNF, or another package manager is not the same as the Mozilla download. Flipping app.update.auto to false only stops the in-browser updater. The package manager keeps reinstalling the latest build on every system update. You have to tell the package manager to hold Firefox back.

1. On Debian, Ubuntu, and related distros, open a terminal and run sudo apt-mark hold firefox. This marks the package as held so it is not upgraded by future apt upgrade runs.
2. On Fedora and other RPM-based distros, use the dnf versionlock plugin. Install it with sudo dnf install python3-dnf-plugin-versionlock, then run sudo dnf versionlock add firefox.
3. If you use the Snap package on Ubuntu, Firefox updates are managed by Snap. Run sudo snap refresh --hold firefox to pause automatic refreshes.
4. Restart Firefox. The Mozilla updater inside the browser is now silent, and the system will leave your installed version alone.

To resume updates later, run sudo apt-mark unhold firefox, sudo dnf versionlock delete firefox, or sudo snap refresh --unhold firefox depending on your system.

How to confirm Firefox is no longer auto-updating

Whatever method you picked, double-check that the nag and the restart really are gone before you move on. Two quick checks cover the bases.

1. Open the Firefox menu → Settings → General → scroll to "Firefox Updates." The status line should read "Updates disabled by your system administrator" if a policy is set, or show the "Check for updates but let you choose to install them" radio button if you used the UI method.
2. Type about:config in the address bar, accept the warning, and search app.update.auto. The value should read false if you used the about:config or policies method.

If both checks pass, Firefox will not download, install, or restart for updates on its own. You can still update manually whenever you want, for example by following our guide to downgrading and installing an older version of Firefox if a new build breaks something for you. If a session feels stuck, you can also clear the Firefox cookies and cache to rule out leftover data.

RELATED: Downgrade and Install Older Version of the Firefox browser