How To Change Search Engine in Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a browser that is open source and free to download. Although it is not as popular as Chrome these days it is still a capable browser that is fast and secure. There are several customization settings that you can do on this browser and one of this is to change search engine in Firefox. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will show you how this is done.

Change the default search engine in Mozilla Firefox

Most of the popular and modern browsers will have a default search engine setting. Sometimes you will want to change this search engine with another one or change some of its settings.

Time Needed : 2 minutes

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

  2. Click on the menu button

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

  3. Click on Options

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

  4. Select Search in the left pane

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

  5. Use the drop down menu under Default Search Engine to choose the search engine you wish to use by default.

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

  6. You can further customize the search settings by enabling or disabling the following: Provide search suggestions, Show search suggestions in address bar results, Show search suggestions ahead of browsing history in address bar results, Show search suggestions in Private Windows.

    Change Search Engine in Firefox

The new settings you made will take effect immediately.

What if the default search engine does not change?

If you are unable to change the default search engine then you will need to perform the troubleshooting steps listed below.

Disable add-ons

  • Click the menu button.
  • Click add-ons
  • Select extensions
  • Click the blue toggle to disable the extension ( do this for all extensions)
  • You can also click the 3-dot icon for the extension you wish to remove and select Remove.
  • Restart the browser.

Try to check if the search engine can be changed.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode

You can start the browser in Safe Mode to temporarily disable all extensions, use the default theme, and turn off hardware acceleration. Running Firefox in Safe Mode can help determine if one of these is causing your problem.

  • Click the menu button.
  • Click Help
  • Select Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • The browser will now restart in Safe Mode.

Try checking if the issue occurs in this mode. If it doesn’t then it could be caused by an extension, a theme, or due to an enabled hardware acceleration.

Having Issues with your computer? Feel free to contact us using this form. We’ll try to help.

Leave a Comment