767232 - Installing Firefox using the installer should ensure app.update.auto and app.update.enabled is true for the default profile

Status: NEW

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

Installing Firefox using the installer should ensure app.update.auto is true for the default profile. If the user is re-installing Firefox, we should take this to mean that the user desires updates.

This will also allow update campaigns to move old beta users forward (and keep them updating) in bug 754773.

Comment 1

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

Hey Rob - is this a bug that we could fix on Nightly/Aurora prior to the next merge? It'd make bug 754773 significantly more effective. Thanks!

Comment 2

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

Why not just change the name of the pref instead of having the installer which doesn't understand our pseudo javascript preference file mess with this preference file? There is also the additional benefit of this applying to all platforms though there is the downside that it would apply to Thunderbird and Seamonkey as well.

Comment 3

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

I also really, really don't want to try to teach the installer how to mangle our preference file when there are much cleaner ways to accomplish this same end result.

Comment 4

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

(In reply to Robert Strong [:rstrong] (do not email) from comment #2)
> Why not just change the name of the pref instead of having the installer
> which doesn't understand our pseudo javascript preference file mess with
> this preference file?

We're looking to preserve the preference for users who aren't using the installer to pave over their install. The main motivation for doing this on the FF14 timeline is that we're going to be suggesting pave-over installs users who grab the download from the about:home page.

Would flipping the pref post-install be any simpler?

Comment 5

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

(In reply to Alex Keybl [:akeybl] from comment #4)
> (In reply to Robert Strong [:rstrong] (do not email) from comment #2)
> > Why not just change the name of the pref instead of having the installer
> > which doesn't understand our pseudo javascript preference file mess with
> > this preference file?
> 
> We're looking to preserve the preference for users who aren't using the
> installer to pave over their install. The main motivation for doing this on
> the FF14 timeline is that we're going to be suggesting pave-over installs
> users who grab the download from the about:home page.
Keeping in mind that anything involving an "installer" would be once again, windows only. I think this should be solved in product and thereby be all platforms.

> Would flipping the pref post-install be any simpler?
Yes, due to the fact that the installer does not understand our preference system though I am not sure how it would accomplish this along with my team including myself are already busy on other high priority work.

Comment 6

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

Perhaps another option is to recognize when the version has changed but no auto/manual update has  been applied for that version and change the automatic update pref accordingly. I'm not sure if that's architecturally simpler.

Will be in touch on priorities.

Comment 7

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

Firefox keeps track of the previous app version in a pref and updates the pref when it changes. There is also a pref that gets set on a successful app update. Between those two preferences it should be possible to accomplish the same end result across all platforms in a simpler manner than trying to do this via the windows installer.

Comment 8

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

I am not going to have time to work on this due to other priorities. Also, this should IMO be handled entirely in Firefox code and be cross platform so most Firefox developers should be able to handle this.

Comment 9

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

There are 3 update options in preferences controlled by 2 prefs:
  - app.update.auto
  - app.update.enabled

Would you also want to set app.update.enabled to true? 

Telemetry data for updates: (Beta and Release data is not available)
- app.update.auto set to false:
  - Nightly: 6.4%
  - Aurora: 6.22%
- app.update.enabled set to false:
  - Nightly: 1.16%
  - Aurora: 0.5%

These percentages on old unsupported versions of Firefox will probably be higher. 
Why? They are less likely to have the new builds that have telemetry data!

Comment 10

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

(In reply to Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy] from comment #9)
> There are 3 update options in preferences controlled by 2 prefs:
>   - app.update.auto
>   - app.update.enabled
> 
> Would you also want to set app.update.enabled to true? 

Definitely - that makes a lot of sense to me.

Comment 11

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

Is there any chance that somebody would have the time to work on this in the next 6 weeks (for beer)? We're blocking the campaign in bug 771732 on this, to make it more effective.

Comment 12

[Lukas Blakk [:lsblakk] use ?needinfo]

untracking for now, Alex is meeting with Rob next week and this can be re-tracked when we have a clear time frame.