"Restore from file..." may not work in Firefox for Android

Prerequisites

I verified that this is not a filter list issue. Report any issues with filter lists or broken website functionality in the uAssets issue tracker.
This is not a support issue or a question. For any support, questions or help, visit /r/uBlockOrigin.
I performed a cursory search of the issue tracker to avoid opening a duplicate issue.
The issue is not present after disabling uBO in the browser.
I checked the documentation to understand that the issue I am reporting is not normal behavior.

I tried to reproduce the issue when...

uBO is the only extension.
uBO uses default lists and settings.
using a new, unmodified browser profile.

Description

A bug exists on Firefox for Android that may prevent restoration from a file.
This bug does not always occur and sometimes it works fine after multiple attempts.
On some devices, the restoration operation can be performed normally without the bug.
https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/111569199/203508375-5187622a-8b36-49ef-a3e8-c0cc629fc28f.mp4

A specific URL where the issue occurs.

moz-extension://[different add-on ID per device]/dashboard.html#settings.html

Steps to Reproduce

1.Open Settings.
2.Press "Restore from file..." button.
3.Select backup of ublock settings.

Expected behavior

A pop-up dialog will appear asking if you want to restore the settings.

Actual behavior

No pop-up dialog appears and settings are not restored.
However, if you then select "Reset to default settings..." afterwards, it will behave as if the dialog has already appeared multiple times (check box to prevent the dialog from appearing again).

uBO version

uBlock Origin 1.45.2

Browser name and version

Firefox Beta for Testers 108.0b3

Operating System and version

OPPO A5 2020 (Android 10)

@gwarser

@gwarser Why is this "closed as completed"? (rather than "not planned")

related issue

If I try restoring from Firefox home page, by launching uBO settings from add-on manager, then after applying the backup, Firefox will close the only tab leaving the browser with graphical glitch.

[...]

If I try restoring by first opening any page (like example.com), then accessing uBO UI from the browser menu, all is working completely fine.

That seems consistent with my experience with the issue. I'll try restoring the backup from somewhere other than the homepage

I'll try restoring the backup from somewhere other than the homepage

I tested, but the same behavior happens, regardless of homepage or site. The UI hangs, and there's no confirmation pop-up (usually)

It seems that there is a bug in Firefox for Android that causes Window.confirm() and window.alert() to fail to execute after selecting a file, since the error message by window.alert() when selecting the wrong file also does not seem to execute.
Is it preferable to wait for Firefox to fix it or change the implementation on the uBlock side?

For me, this problem appears because before I disabled default file manager in Android.

I would propose "recover from plain text" where users could paste the content of the file in an input field. I am encountering some issue on file chooser on Onyx Boox Go 7. It is hard to track the real issue (file chooser works in other Apps, such as Syncthing). Pasting to an input field does not require any specific permission or file chooser.

restore from file doesnt work in my pc firefox stable
uBlock Origin 1.75.0

backup taken from my phone but restoring in doesnt work

my-ublock-backup_2026-10-19_16.35.27.txt

I imported your backup file on my side and all seemed to have work fine:

config

uBlock Origin: 1.75.1b14
Firefox: 160
filterset (summary):
 network: 274110
 cosmetic: 241541
 scriptlet: 56017
 html: 4401
listset (total-discarded, last-updated):
 added:
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlazeFTL/My-Filters/refs/heads/master/My-Filters_Static_Sites.txt: 2021-13, 1m
  ublock-experimental: 20-0, 1m
  adguard-mobile: 12957-59, 1m
  adguard-cookies: 41103-104, 1m
  ublock-cookies-adguard: 5866-82, 1m
  fanboy-cookiemonster: 59462-15184, now
  ublock-cookies-easylist: 5866-5866, 1m
  adguard-social: 27217-45, 1m
  fanboy-social: 18020-908, now
  adguard-popup-overlays: 33824-1090, 1m
  adguard-mobile-app-banners: 8149-114, 1m
  adguard-other-annoyances: 16944-320, 1m
  [7 lists not shown]: [too many]
 default:
  user-filters: 147-1, never
  ublock-filters: 55336-231, now
  ublock-badware: 10384-17, now
  ublock-privacy: 4161-2, now
  ublock-unbreak: 2907-1, now
  ublock-quick-fixes: 730-13, now
  easylist: 91034-208, now
  easyprivacy: 56858-61, now
  urlhaus-1: 120950-11, now
  plowe-0: 3569-1131, now
filterset (user): [array of 171 redacted]
trustedset:
 added: [array of 3 redacted]
userSettings:
 advancedUserEnabled: true
 suspendUntilListsAreLoaded: false
 userFiltersTrusted: true
hiddenSettings:
 filterAuthorMode: true
 trustedListPrefixes: ublock- user- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlazeFTL/My-Filters/
 userResourcesLocation: [redacted]
supportStats:
 allReadyAfter: 6632 ms
 maxAssetCacheWait: 60 ms
 cacheBackend: indexedDB
 unsuspendAfter: 117 ms

doesnt work

What exactly doesn't work? What are the symptoms?

Somehow fixed in PC.. tested again now (when it was not working I did try multiple fresh ublock installs)

Details

screen-20261020-001419.mp4

my-ublock-backup_2026-10-19_19.29.01.txt

(Removed my define fork lines still doesn't work)
But in my phone Firefox stable it's not fixed

this is firefox problem as in github i tried choosing a file for upload..its doesn't show that file as selected

I believe this was brought before somewhere re. Firefox for Android.

Details

screen-20261026-171626.mp4

Currently i can select a file to upload but the uBlockOrigin problem stays in firefox Nightly

my-ublock-backup_2026-10-26_15.30.38.txt

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"Restore from file..." may not work in Firefox for Android #2378

Prerequisites

I tried to reproduce the issue when...

Description

A specific URL where the issue occurs.

Steps to Reproduce

Expected behavior

Actual behavior

uBO version

Browser name and version

Operating System and version

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"Restore from file..." may not work in Firefox for Android #2378

Description

Prerequisites

I tried to reproduce the issue when...

Description

A specific URL where the issue occurs.

Steps to Reproduce

Expected behavior

Actual behavior

uBO version

Browser name and version

Operating System and version

Activity

Rudxain commented on Nov 10, 2023

Rudxain commented on Nov 10, 2023

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BlazeFTL commented on Oct 19, 2026

gorhill commented on Oct 19, 2026

BlazeFTL commented on Oct 19, 2026

BlazeFTL commented on Oct 21, 2026

gorhill commented on Oct 21, 2026

BlazeFTL commented on Oct 26, 2026

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