1845613 - No way to restore default search engines

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox for Android :: Search, defect, P1)

Description

[Teoh Han Hui]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Android 13; Mobile; rv:109.0) Gecko/116.0 Firefox/116.0

Steps to reproduce:

I have previously deleted the default search engines other than Google.

Actual results:

I have no way to restore the list of default search engines.

Expected results:

I should be able to restore the list of default search engines.

Comment 1

[jackyzy823]

STR:

1. Install an old version Fenix (like 112)
2. Goto "Settings" -> "Search" , Delete any one of "Google", or "Bing" or "DuckDuckGo" by clicking 3-dot menu.
3. Update Fenix to 115.2
4. Goto "Settings" -> "Search" -> "Default search engine" , you can observe that only two search engine shows (the one you deleted previously not show here).
5. By clearing app data, you can observe that three search engine (Google/Bing/DuckDuckgo) shows by default.

In old version Fenix, if you have deleted a search engine, you can add it back by "Add search engine", there're checkbox to the deleted search engine in the edit ui.

Now there's only text input in "Add search engine" UI .

---

This bug somehow shares similar problem with bug 1842790.

Comment 2

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco]]

The severity field is not set for this bug.
:skhan, could you have a look please?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 3

[Roger Yang [:roger]]

:mavduevskiy, can you please take a look and see if this is related to the change for https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1826473? Thanks

Comment 4

[Mike a [:mavduevskiy]]

Hi, Teoh. Thank you for reporting the bug.

I have to admit it's an edge case we didn't think through. The search settings screen had to be simplified in order to incorporate settings for the quick search menu. It moved away from the removing/adding back default search engines, and we didn't think about users that have removed them before the update and want them back.

A proper fix would take some UX work. I might cautiously assume that the amount of users facing the issue is not high enough that it will become a high priority soon.

Meanwhile If you would like to restore the default list of search engines, you could clear the app storage. It will clear all the data, and the default list of engines will be restored to its original state.

Comment 5

[Mike a [:mavduevskiy]]

I am assuming that the number of users that have previously deleted a default search engine and want it back isn't big enough to make it a high impact issue. Also, deleting cache would solve the issue.

Comment 6

[Teoh Han Hui]

Is there a workaround to manually restore the default search engines? As long as it doesn't require root, I'm up for it.

Comment 7

[jackyzy823]

(In reply to Mike a [:mavduevskiy] from comment #4)

and we didn't think about users that have removed them before the update and want them back.

Please don't assume that.

---

Previously , deleted engine is stored in PREFERENCE_KEY_HIDDEN_SEARCH_ENGINES (key hidden_search_engines) in share_prefs/mozac_feature_search_metadata.xml.

So

Also, deleting cache would solve the issue.

No , it won't , because it's in shared prefs.

---

In the new version, why not just ignoring this key since users no longer have ability to hide a engine?

Comment 8

[Mike a [:mavduevskiy]]

Teoh, yes, there is. If you clear the app data, the list will be restored. Clearing the app data could be done by going into app info >> storage and cache >> clear data

Please note that it clear all the data, basically making it a fresh install. You probably would want to sync up the data and you will have to log in again.

Also, if clearing app data looks like an overkill, there is also an option to manually adding the deleted engine. All custom added engines are available as the default search engines.

Comment 9

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings (#3281)

Comment 10

[Mike a [:mavduevskiy]]

hey, jackyzy823, thanks for the tip! the implementation ended up to be a bit trickier, but your suggestion was spot on!

Comment 11

[BMO Github Automation]

Authored by mike a
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/a0687ea720893dafb407f405bd1449845b9b5dbc
[main] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings

Comment 12

[Lorand Janos]

I verified this using the following steps:

1. Installed a Nightly that has the old Search Settings version (112.0a1).
2. Deleted a default search engine (Google).
3. Updated to a newer Nightly version but prior to the fix (119.0a1 from 2023-09-06).
4. Checked if the issue was reproducible. The deleted default search engine (Google) was no longer displayed in the new Search Settings screen's Default search engine section.
5. Updated again to the latest Nightly build (119.0a1 from 2023-09-08) and checked the same issue. This time the deleted default search engine (Google) was re-displayed in the Default search engines list.

Device used: Google Pixel 7 (Android 14).
Marking the issue as verified for 119.

Comment 13

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings (backport #3281) (#3636)

Comment 14

[Mike a [:mavduevskiy]]

Comment on attachment 9353033 [details] [review]
[mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings (backport #3281) (#3636)

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Users that have previously deleted default engines won't have a way to get it back unless resetting the app
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: Yes
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: Yes
• Needs manual test from QE?: No
• If yes, steps to reproduce:
• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Low
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): It's a one-time-run operation to restore saved as hidden values
• String changes made/needed:
• Is Android affected?: Yes

Comment 15

[Pascal Chevrel (relman team) -> :pascalc]

Comment on attachment 9353033 [details] [review]
[mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings (backport #3281) (#3636)

Approved for 118.0b9 (last beta)  thanks.

Comment 16

[BMO Github Automation]

Authored by mike a
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/c994603f3022fbd219ecd480378f09fcc5e50c9d
[releases_v118] Bug 1845613 – restore hidden engines for unified search settings

Authored by https://github.com/pascalchevrel
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/022b5afd1e5de61873124ae9051eb8737215cebc
[releases_v118] Merge pull request #3636 from mozilla-mobile/mergify/bp/releases_v118/pr-3281

Comment 17

[Lorand Janos]

I verified this using the following steps:

1. Installed a Beta that has the old Search Settings version (112.0b2).
2. Got to 3dot menu>Settings>Search>3dot menu from Google>DeleteDeleted a default search engine (Google).
3. Updated to the current Beta version (118.0b9).
4. Got to the dropdown menu from the search engine icon from the search bar (Bing was set as default as Google was previously deleted, but as the menu opened, Google was displayed again, at the top). Got to search settings > Default search engine, where Bing was set as default, and Google was displayed at the top of the list.

Device used: Google Pixel 7 (Android 14).
Marking the issue as verified for 118 as well.