Need to set up Firefox on a Chromebook the simple manner? Till this week, Mozilla formally mentioned there are two methods. Neither of them is right. You may set up the Android model of Firefox or hop right into a Linux terminal and get Firefox as a flatpak.
However there’s a 3rd manner now that Mozilla is providing Firefox packages for Debian and Ubuntu Linux. Since Linux on Chromebooks makes use of Debian, you may straight obtain Firefox and rapidly set up it.
Obtain Firefox straight from Mozilla to your Chromebook
Essentially the most present launch of Firefox for Linux is model 122. Mozilla launched it simply yesterday. And right here on Mozilla’s ftp web site, the corporate has the brand new Firefox obtain obtainable in a .deb file. That’s the kind of Linux file or software, that Chromebooks can natively set up via in ChromeOS Recordsdata app.
So all it’s worthwhile to do is navigate to the Mozilla web page exhibiting the brand new .deb file and click on the hyperlink to it. That may obtain Firefox to your Chromebook.
Be aware that this obtain will solely work with Chromebooks utilizing an x86 CPU similar to one from AMD or Intel. I regarded for a construct that works with ARM-based units however didn’t discover one. Sorry!
The Firefox obtain will probably be obtainable in your Recordsdata app. To see it, you may click on the “Present in folder” hyperlink as seen within the above photograph. Or you may merely open the Recordsdata app in your Chromebook and consider the Downloads folder.
Use the Set up with Linux characteristic in ChromeOS
As soon as you may see the downloaded .deb file, right-click it and choose the “Set up with Linux” choice within the menu that seems.
Click on “Set up” to proceed with the set up.
ChromeOS will notify you when Firefox is put in, which ought to occur comparatively rapidly. Now you can shut Recordsdata and the set up window since you’re carried out!
Firefox will now seem within the Linux Apps folder of your Chromebook Launcher. You may click on the Firefox icon to open the browser or you may seek for Firefox in your Launcher.
This whole course of ought to solely take a minute, perhaps two. That’s as a result of Mozilla is constructing the Firefox .deb packages and making them obtainable straight. You can actually use the command line interface in Linux to perform the identical factor.
Nevertheless, it’s a bit unwieldy for many who aren’t aware of Linux. Immediately downloading the Mozilla-built .deb file and putting in it with the ChromeOS Recordsdata app is much simpler and faster. This technique must also obtain updates as new Firefox variations arrive. And you’ll all the time verify for updates proper within the browser settings, similar to you may with Chrome.
Must you use Firefox on a Chromebook?
Must you use Firefox in your Chromebook? Nicely, that’s a private alternative.
I’ve moved away, at the very least partially, from utilizing the Chrome browser on my Chromebook. For a number of months, I’ve used Sidekick due to some added options and knowledge privateness protections. I feel I’ll attempt Firefox as my essential browser over the subsequent few months for comparability functions.
