Firefox 115.0.3 fixes a Stable to ESR migration bug for Windows 7 and 8.1 systems

Mozilla plans to release a new stable point update for the Firefox web browser today. The new update, Firefox 115.0.3, fixes a bug that affected the migration of Firefox 115.x installations to Firefox 115.x ESR.

The Firefox 115.0.3 update for the stable channel should not be confused with the Firefox 115.0.3 update for the browser's ESR channel, which Mozilla released last week.

Mozilla revealed plans to migrate Firefox installations on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 devices to Firefox ESR recently. Microsoft stopped supporting the operating systems at the beginning of the year and many companies, including those that use Chromium as the source, have already stopped supporting the operating systems.

Mozilla has pledged continuous support for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 systems. First, by continuing to release stable Firefox updates for these operating systems, and then, after the release of Firefox 115, by migrating these installations to the Extended Support Release. Doing so allows Mozilla to continue supporting the operating systems until late 2024.

Firefox ESR is widely used by organizations, as the releases focus on stability and security, and not the integration of the latest features or user interface modifications.

The official Firefox 115.0.3 changelog lists just a single entry:  "Improved migration experience for users switching to the ESR release".

The linked bug report reveals details on the issue that Mozilla addressed in the release. According to the description, migration of Firefox Stable installations to Firefox ESR caused the creation of  anew client_id.

Mozilla notes here that the client ID is a randomly generated UUID that is used by the Firefox Health Report service. It is unclear if the issue would affect the migration itself, or if it would cause reporting problems only.

Firefox users who don't run the browser on Windows 8.1 or older systems do not require the update, as it does not affect them.

The update will start rolling out to the stable Firefox population later today, if you are reading this on July 27th, 2023. The next major Firefox release will be released on August 1, 2023.

Now You: do you run Firefox? If so, which channel?

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