552833 - Find Updates for Add-ons ignores compatibility updates if the add-on version number is not changed.

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[patrickjdempsey]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6

AMO allows developers to upgrade an add-on's compatibility without uploading a new version of the add-on.  However, Firefox will not automatically update the add-on if the version number is the same.  This forces users to manually find and install the add-on.  This can cause artificial add-on incompatibility for users upgrading to a new version of Firefox.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. You have an add-on compatible with say 3.0.
2. The developer up's the version limit on AMO to 3.6. 
3. You upgrade to Firefox 3.6 and check Find Updates.
4. The add-on will be disabled and not update.
Actual Results:  
When checking Find Updates, add-ons with the same version but different compatibilities are ignored.

Expected Results:  
In the case that the user has an add-on that is locally compatible with an OLDER version than their current version of Firefox, and the add-on exists on AMO with a higher compatibility but the same version number, the add-on should be updated. This should prevent artificial incompatibility and disabling of compatible add-ons when upgrading Firefox.

In the case that the user has an add-on that is locally compatible with their current Firefox, and the add-on exists on AMO with a higher compatibility but the same version number, the update should be ignored.  This will prevent useless update downloads.

Comment 1

[patrickjdempsey]

This appears to be fixed in Minefield, but I'm pretty sure it does not work in 3.6.  Will this be in 3.6.2?

Comment 2

[zug_treno]

Related to/duplicate of Toolkit bug 442677?

Comment 3

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

Reporter, are you still seeing this issue with Firefox 3.6.13 or later in safe mode? If not, please close. These links can help you in your testing.
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles

You can also try to reproduce in Firefox 4 Beta 8 or later, there are many improvements in the new version, http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

Comment 4

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

No reply, INCOMPLETE. Please retest with Firefox 3.6.13 or later and a new profile (http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles). If you continue to see this issue with the newest firefox and a new profile, then please comment on this bug.