4 Ways to Fix a Black Screen in Firefox [Video, Maps, YouTube]

Among the many problems people have with their browsing experiences is the Firefox screen suddenly turning black or blank.

The problem happens with most browsers, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Internet Explorer included. But it appears it’s with Mozilla Firefox users that the problem causes most frustrations.

Often, this error happens without warning, and while you are already logged into Firefox. It happens randomly and for varying lengths of time.

A black screen will also log you out of all the web pages, and in more severe cases, you won’t be able to use Firefox at all.

Why did my Firefox background turn black?

Judging from the reports sent by those who have encountered this problem, there could be several causes for it.

Some only started facing the problem after installing a new driver, extension, antivirus, or other forms of software.

Others say they started noticing the issue after they upgraded the OS. Yet there are also quite a few who don’t recall installing any new software prior to this problem popping up.

There are a few fixes you could try to resolve the Firefox black screen video problem from within the browser. But what if you can’t even access the browser?

So we would start with those fixes that do not need you to be logged into the browser. And then we’ll move on to other solutions.

Quick Tip:

If you’re experiencing a black screen on Mozilla Firefox, perhaps this is the right time to test a different browser. You can switch from Firefox browser to Opera One and import all your bookmarks and passwords.

Further on, you can customize the browser by changing settings for usability to make Opera One your backup browser in case you decide to stick to Firefox as your main.

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How do I fix the black screen on Firefox?

1. Scan your computer for viruses

Whenever your computer starts to misbehave, your first suspicion is usually a virus attack. Unfortunately, these have become quite common and everyone, especially those who work online, is at risk.

Another common source of viruses is external devices, like memory sticks and external hard drives, that you connect to the computer. Before you consider the other fixes, you should perhaps first scan your computer for viruses.

On this note, we recommend using a powerful third-party antivirus to perform an in-depth scan. Please make sure that you run a reliable and up-to-date antivirus utility.

It is very important to have a security tool that keeps track of all cyber threats because new risks arise on a daily basis. We recommend you look for an antivirus that comes with multi-layered protection.

If you secure your system with more than just one type of shield, the chances of detecting and blocking threats grow significantly.

Additionally, make sure that your antivirus comes with a powerful firewall and a straightforward privacy policy.

For the most part, antiviruses are built to protect your identity and browsing data, but it is important to check and know for sure that that’s the case.

Perform a full system scan and see the results. If your AV found any threat, make sure to quarantine or remove it. After you get rid of the intruder, check to see if the error persists.

2. Uninstall recent software

1. Press Windows + R to launch Run, enter appwiz.cpl in the text field, and click on OK.
2. Now, select the problematic program from the list, and click Uninstall.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

If the Firefox black screen flash problem starts to occur after you have recently installed a new piece of software on your Windows computer, there is a big chance that software could be interfering with your Firefox browser.

In fact, randomly installing third-party software has many risks for your computer. And if you have installed more than one such software, you may want to make a list of these and uninstall them one by one.

Ideally, you will want to uninstall them, starting with the one you installed immediately before you started encountering this problem.

An instance where this quick fix has been proven to work is where people started facing this problem after recently updating their graphics driver. The problem was fixed by simply undoing the update and reverting to the previous version.

For a more efficient result in terms of removing programs, we suggest using a dedicated uninstaller tool. Removing with the help of Windows settings will most likely leave behind some leftover files.

These will not only take up memory space for no reason, but they may also interfere with the functionality of your PC. Uninstallers can detect and safely remove all these types of files.

On top of that, in case the problem is caused by a malicious app, dedicated uninstallers are the way to go as well. They can force-uninstall apps that you won’t be able to remove otherwise.

So, if you earlier came across Firefox black screen when playing video, uninstalling conflicting apps should do the trick.

3. Disable hardware acceleration within Firefox

1. Launch Firefox, paste the following path in the address bar, and hit Enter:about:preferences#general
2. Scroll down to Performance, first uncheck Use recommended performance settings, and then the Use hardware acceleration when available option under it.

This solution works if the Firefox turned black and remains inaccessible.

Hardware acceleration is meant to improve your browser’s performance by enabling the hardware to take over functions that the software on your PC isn’t able to execute as efficiently.

But it tends to clash with some graphics processors and drivers, which can cause this black screen problem to occur.

After disabling the feature as shown, check if the Firefox blank screen problem is fixed.

4. Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode

1. Launch Firefox, click on the hamburger icon near the top-right, and select Help.
2. Now, click on Troubleshoot Mode.
3. Click Restart on the confirmation prompt.
4. Finally, click Open in the dialog box that appears.
5. Go ahead and check if the problem still comes up.

Starting Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode might work because a potential cause of the problem could be an extension you recently added to your browser.

By default, starting Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode temporarily disables all extensions, installed themes, and custom settings on your browser. This is also a good way of temporarily disabling the hardware acceleration feature mentioned before.

How do I fix Google Maps’ black screen in Firefox?

If you are getting a black screen when opening Google Maps in Firefox, it could be a problem with the extensions or cache. First, press Ctrl + Shift + R to reload the page and bypass the existing cache.

If that doesn’t work, look through the extensions installed on Firefox, and disable the non-critical ones. Also, clearing the browsing data has helped fix the problem for many users.

Hopefully, one of the possible fixes discussed here has helped you solve the Firefox black screen problem in Windows 10/11.

Also, find out what to do if the problem is not limited to Firefox, but you are seeing a black screen on Windows.

If you have suggestions or even other solutions, share them with us using the comments section below.