Simple Firefox customizations for the Librem 5

Here are some mobile-friendly Firefox customizations for the Librem 5 that can enhance your browsing experience:

  1. Responsive Design Mode

Enable Responsive Design Mode: This allows you to view web pages as they would appear on different devices. Access it through the developer tools (F12) to simulate various screen sizes.

  1. Mobile User Agent

Change User Agent: Use an add-on to change the user agent string to mimic a mobile browser. This can help load mobile-optimized sites.

  1. Touch-Friendly Interface

Install Touch-Friendly Add-ons: Look for extensions that enhance touch navigation, such as larger buttons or simplified interfaces.

  1. Ad Blocker

Use an Ad Blocker: Install an ad blocker extension to improve page load times and reduce distractions from ads.

  1. Bookmark and Quick Access Customizations

Organize Bookmarks: Create a bookmarks toolbar with frequently visited sites for easy access.
Use Pocket: Save articles to Pocket for offline reading, which is great for mobile use.

  1. Custom Search Engines
  • Add Custom Search Engines: Set up quick search options for your favorite sites to speed up access.
  1. Dark Mode

*Enable Dark Mode: If you prefer a darker interface,enable Firefox’s dark mode or use a theme that suits your style.

  1. Privacy Settings

Enhance Privacy Controls: Adjust your privacy settings to block trackers and protect your data while browsing.

  1. Gestures and Shortcuts

*Use Gestures: Consider add-ons that allow for gesture navigation, making it easier to browse with one hand.

  1. Sync Across Devices

Enable Sync: Sync your bookmarks, passwords, and history with your Firefox account to have a seamless experience across devices.

These customizations should help you make the most of your browsing experience on the Librem 5 using Firefox!

4o mini

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Nice list. Just to keep it comprehensive, lets also remember the other thread Mobile-Friendly Firefox Customizations for Librem 5 and that work at Mobile-Friendly-Firefox (FriendlyFox) (updates notes at FirefoxCSS@fedia.io)

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Just asking for clarity; is it actually safe to use Firefox on the Librem 5 at the moment or is it still going to be too old of a Firefox version on Byzantium such that the Firefox is vulnerable to the Zero-Day attack takeover that was reported as being actively used in the wild this week?

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came back to correct the link my post and figure i should correct yours too

updates are in the microblog section: Firefox Customs - Microblog - Fedia

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That depends on your threat model.

If there’s an issue with updates with the version in the L5’s repo, would installing Librewolf get around that? It’s probably faster and more secure (or maybe at least more private) anyway…

Any reason Librewolf isn’t the default for Purism?

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Not sure for both questions. You can contact Purism if you want to know the reason(s), if any:

https://docs.puri.sm/Contact.html

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Hi everyone. i am a new owner of Librem 5 and besides some issues here ans there i love it. However i can’t seem to find a way to force mobile view of web pages. I have tried a lot user agent addons but they dont work. I can’t seem to be able to enable responsive mode since without keyboard/mouse when you click the icon on the upper right corner nothing happens. I did find some settings regarding responsive mode in about:config but don’t know which to change. Can anyone help ?

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I would recommend using the mobile config from postmarket OS. Implementation can be achieved via the following post from @linmob

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wow it worked like charm ! Thanks a lot . Mobile sites are now displayed fine. It also comes with ublock installed

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And the toolbar being at the bottom of the interface.

Yeah that too . Much more convenient

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How is browser speed in general for you? I’ve found it pretty slow, but I don’t know if that’s because I’m using AT&T’s crappy network in a maybe not so great signal location, or maybe it’s just slow rendering (or both).

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its for sure slower than my android phone. Some sites are painful slow . Others are fine but this postmarket mobile config at least makes the browsing experience acceptable . I wish the scrolling was smoother. Is hardware acceleration not enabled i guess ?

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Not sure what hardware acceleration is in play (or not). Scrolling is one of the pain points for sure though. I guess the browsers we have are just not optimized for a mobile device.

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Since version 128 it’s really fast. No 30s waiting anymore until the white page get some content. Of cause not as fast as a desktop PC (and don’t know compared to Android), but 5s until page is loaded is much faster than it was with FF ESR 115 and before.

Btw it’s interesting that so many people like the mobile UI, mobile websites and aggressive installed addons (that cannot be removed/replaced through addon-settings).

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Whaat, really? I’ll have to try it again, I haven’t done much with the browser since I usually have an alternative available (hard to compete with a desktop).

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