1584146 - The New Tab Sign In button is not displayed after a clear data is performed

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Firefox for Android Graveyard :: Awesomescreen, defect, P1)

Description

[Laurentiu Apahidean]

Environment:
Devices:
Pixel 3 XL (Android 9);
Prestigio Grace X5 (Android 4.4.2)

Build: Nightly 71.0a1 (2019-09-25)

Steps to reproduce:

1. Launch Fennec;
2. Login with valid credentials and confirm email address (if needed);
3. Go to device Settings -> Apps -> Firefox Nightly -> Storage and select "Clear Storage";
4. Relaunch Firefox

Expected result:
The New Tab Sign In button should be displayed when a new tab is opened.

Actual result:
The New Tab Sign In button is not displayed when a new tab is opened.

Comment 1

[Stefan Arentz | :st3fan | ⏰ EST | he/him]

Chris, what do you think we should do with this? Does this work as intended? If not, please move it into the engineering list.

Comment 2

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

Good find! While I think this might confuse some users, I don't think this is not a bug. Firefox accounts are stored in the system's "Users & accounts" settings, not Fennec's app data. So clearing the app data doesn't not delete the Firefox account information. When you launch Fennec after clearing the app data, you can see that Fennec's Settings menu still shows your account name is logged in.

Comment 3

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

Vlad says he has a fix for this bug in his patch for bug 1570880. :)

Comment 4

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

Vlad, if a Fennec user is signed into FxA and then clears Fennec's app data from the Android system settings, Fennec still knows the user is signed in. Wouldn't the actual result in comment 0 (New Tab's Sign In button is not shown) be the correct behavior? What does your fix do differently?

Does FxA Sync still work when the user is in the state where they have cleared their Fennec app data but they still appear logged in? For example, can those users send or receive tabs from other devices linked to their account?

Comment 5

[Vlad Baicu]

My fix verifies whether we are in a state that requires an additional action before being completely signed in (email, password validation etc.).

Tested this scenario with all of the patches in place on ESR. If I clear storage and relaunch the app, I will be prompted with a notification informing me that my account is not connected to sync, the awesomescreen sign up row is visible and neither the send or receive tab work. Basically I'm signed in, but not completely as I do not have access to the sync functionalities before validating my password.

Comment 6

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

(In reply to Vlad Baicu from comment #5)

Tested this scenario with all of the patches in place on ESR. If I clear storage and relaunch the app, I will be prompted with a notification informing me that my account is not connected to sync, the awesomescreen sign up row is visible and neither the send or receive tab work. Basically I'm signed in, but not completely as I do not have access to the sync functionalities before validating my password.

I see. Does your fix just restore the Aawesomescreen's Sign up button? When I launch Fennec after clearing the app data, Fennec's Settings menu still shows my account name is logged in. Perhaps we should apply a similar fix to the Settings menu (in a separate bug).

Comment 7

[Vlad Baicu]

Yes. Not entirely sure about the settings menu, if I go to the sync screen at the top there is a cannot connect prompt. Maybe we can change the ux of the sync row from the settings menu to display a red warning icon or something of the sort? Some UX input would be great here