How to Disable Firefox Quantum Updates in Windows

▶ Found this video helpful? Subscribe ✅ | Buy me a coffee ☕ ko-fi.com/journeybytes
▶ About this video: This video shows you how to disable updates and the update notification pop-up in the new Firefox Quantum (version 60 & 60 ESR and later) for Windows using Firefox Policies.

The full tutorial with the policy code and additional steps for Linux and macOS users is available in my blog post here: journeybytes.com/disable-firefox-quantum-update…

PLEASE NOTE: Disabling automatic updates simply means that the browser will not be able to download and install updates on its own. You'll still be able to update the browser by downloading the executable from the Firefox releases page and installing it on top of the existing version. Doing this will update Firefox to the latest version without losing your existing data and settings.

HOW THIS WORKS
The policy we activate is called DisableAppUpdate and can be enabled in two ways as shown in the video:

#1 By creating a folder named "distribution" inside the Firefox installation directory and then creating a policies.json file with a code disabling the updates.

The code can be copied from my blog here: journeybytes.com/disable-firefox-quantum-update…

For Portable versions of Firefox, the "distribution" folder should be created inside the following directories:
• FirefoxPortable\App\Firefox\Distribution
• FirefoxPortable\App\Firefox64\Distribution (for the 64-bit version)


#2 By using Firefox Policy Template inside Windows Group Policy Editor. This is ideal for system administrators managing many Windows user accounts but can also be used by individual users.

Before using this method, you need to make sure your version of Windows includes Group Policy. This typically includes all versions except for Home and Starter versions i.e.

• Windows 10: Pro, Enterprise & Education
• Windows 8/8.1: Pro & Enterprise
• Windows 7: Professional, Ultimate & Enterprise

You then need to download the Firefox Policy Templates which you can get from the Firefox GitHub page here: github.com/mozilla/policy-templates/releases

Make sure to download the correct templates for the version of Firefox you are using.

To install the templates, extract the ZIP package and copy the contents inside the Windows folder to the directory: C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\

After doing this you will be able to access Firefox Polices within the Local Group Policy Editor under Administrative Templates. In this case you need to Enable the Disable Update policy.

To view a documentation of other policies you can use, go to the address: about:policies in your Firefox.


Thanks for watching!

Background Music:
The Place Inside by Silent Partner