XNotifier 4.0.2 just wiped out all my email accounts

Just opened up my Firefox to see an apparent X-notifier update, followed by my typical menu toolbar location being removed and dumped over to the right.  Then clicking on the X-N icon, all my email listings are gone.  What is going on??????

I got the same problem & worse  !!  I filled out all my emails' details and they disappear each time I restart Firefox ( i.e. my browser ) .

This must be a bug or  you have to donate  to save the options  ???      ;-)  

RogerThompson's picture

I'm having similar issues with Relaease 4.0.2 and Firefox 50.0.2. Reverted to X-Notifier Release 3.5.23 and everything back to normal. Had several Firefox addons update at the same time and took some trial and error to figure out that it was X-Notifier Release 4.0.2 that was causing the issues.

CFBancroft's picture

Tobwithu wrote last August...

http://xnotifier.tobwithu.com/dp/node/3353

Please use export/import function before you update to 4.0.

POP3/IMAP no longer work, cry, cry, cry...

Further reading

http://xnotifier.tobwithu.com/dp/node/3354

http://xnotifier.tobwithu.com/dp/comment/11334#comment-11334

 

 

Thanks, CFBancroft, for the infos .  I installed X-notifier Neo   . This add-on is utterly useless   as it could not save any email Password at all ! When you restart Firefox , you have to sign-in from scratch for all the 5 available emails   ( i.e gmail, hotmail, iclod, yahoo & aol ) !!  

 For the meanstime, I got to use the Mail program in Win 10 to check my emails ....

fenigolf's picture

Same here....ALL addresses lost yet AGAIN... Why oh why has this brilliant (up to now) addition been fiddled with AGAIN to make it unusable.

No longer a link to my POP3 account with ntlworld.com (my main UK address) and struggling to get XNotifier to accept AND retain other previously included addresses

Surely this latest debacle will lose Tubwith many IF NOT ALL of his devoted followers.

Pity he/they couldnot leave well alone

 

BWH

Blackburn

UK

X-Notifier 4.x is a work in progress, because FF 50+ is a work in progress.
(Firefox 50+ is changing their software engine... such that X-Notifier 4.x can no longer support POP3/IMAP or custom scripts.)
Firefox 49.x and X-Notifier 3.5.23 is the most stable and feature-rich combination.

CFBancroft's picture

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all/

with XN 3.5.23! works GREAT!

Thunderbird work on  POP3 and IMAP GREAT!

Honestly, with as much work as it would be to setup all of my 18 email accounts, this is no longer worth the hassle.  I'll just check email on my iPhone since I manually had to enter them all there, then if needed manually log into my Gmail, Yahoo, Earthlink, Hotmail, Cable accounts.

This was a great utility for several years, but have to move on to a more practical & reliable solution.

fenigolf's picture

Very true....  some of these "developers" don't seem to be capable of adhering to "IF it aint broke...don't fix it". This WAS brilliant..NOW it's unworkable and will be ZAPPED asap

jeroen's picture

You guys are criticizing what you don't understand.

X-Notifier 4.x is a work in progress, because FF 50+ is a work in progress.
(Firefox 50+ is changing their software (application programming interface)... such that X-Notifier 4.x can no longer support POP3/IMAP or custom scripts.)
Firefox 49.x and X-Notifier 3.5.23 is the most stable and feature-rich combination.

jeroen's picture

For add-on developers to be able to add functionality to Firefox, like is common to a lot of software products out there in the world, Mozilla offers (developed) an interface to the software product that enables add-on developers to interact with the Firefox software. That is called an API - Application Program Interface. To fully explain, I would have to explain the concept of OO - Object Orientation in Software Development.

The issue / supposed threat is the present API offers t0o many hooks to address the Firefox software code. The new, safer API dictates what the add-on developer can do. That is also the reason why custom scripts will not be allowed in the future. That is... there is no clear permanent decision as of yet. As you might have noticed, the present Firefox 50+ releases are still working with the old API used in XN 3.5.23. (On a personable note: the security threat is a bunch of crap to me. There must be another business motivation for this course)

jeroen's picture

So, it is not a case of "IF it aint broke...don't fix it".

The (sole not a team) developer is forced to rebuild his add-on using the new, "safer" API. Comprende?

;)

I use a simplistic description for general 'users'... with ambiguity for the fact that Mozilla has not yet, apparently, implemented their ultimatum to change to the new API.

jeroen's picture

Mozilla already implemented the new WebExtension API.

  1. X-notifier 4- uses XPCOM, XUL interfaces to address Firefox 50+
  2. X-notifier 4+ uses WebExtension interface to address Firefox 50+

That means for now both interfaces are offered by Firefox 50+.
Mozilla will just remove 1. when they decide so (when add-on developers received enough time to migrate). And of course Mozilla gets more time to improve on 2. in this scenario.

Hi.   I think it suffices to say that Mozilla is changing the API.  
Since I'm not a software expert (I dabble) I don't want to go into the fact that there's two API's loaded in Firefox, and someday, they'll remove one.  Simpler to just say, they're changing API's... eventually.  Few users complaining are programmers.

CFBancroft's picture

Myself I have 22 email in iPhone!
BUT
do not show passwords!
I stay with with FF5.0 and XN 3.5.23!

Reason I pick that method?
Firefox=>Preferences=>Security=>Logins=>[click]Saved Logins...=>[click]Show Passwords=>Confirm[click]Yes

Do Screenshot... then print out... then put in Metal/Fireproof Safebox...

Reason? I did put allll DIFFERENT passwords on each website, impossbile for me to remember for each emails... iPhone will NOT help you!

Looks neats than my hand-write, Smile.

Thunderbird... you don't worry about re-enter password only need export from Firefox and import into Thunderbird! JUST PURPOSE to check if any NEW email that all, and open in iPhone... unless you have LONG, LONG type... then open email in Firefox manually!

I understand your uses, but I use Roboform for all my devices, so it is easy to log into my various accounts if I need to access email by PC.  Or maybe I will just use Outlook again.

Well, not sure what is the down side of using this last version, but I just followed this person's suggestion rolling back to version 3.5.23 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/xnotifier/reviews/831558/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/xnotifier/versions/

Then in FF==>Tools==>Add Ons, find this application in your list, and click on the "More" link which gives you access to turn off automatic updates.

 This restored all of my existing profiles, logins, as if the "evil 4.02" had not entered my universe.  I'm sure at some point, something in FF development will break this version, but for now I'm happy again.

 

Thanks,  Zebran...   Rollback to v3.5.23 worked like a charm !!  Back to the good old days again   :-) 

jeroen's picture

The last Firefox update to version 50.0.1 resets the setting to prevent X-notifier from updating to version 4+ (from 3.5.23).

Thank you for this tip about every FF update resetting the auto-update for X-notifier. 

There is an option in FF==>Tools==>Options==>Advanced==>Update Tab to choose: 

  • "Automatically install updates (recommended: improved security)" or
  • "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them" or
  • "Never check for updates (not recommended: security risk)"

I chose the middle choice so I have control over resetting X-notifier back if I want to intentionally update FF.

 

I even downloaded the x_notifier_for_gmailhotmailyahooaol-3.5.23-fx+sm+tb.xpi Firefox X-Notifier Add-On file in case it gets deleted.  Others may wish to do the same by opening Chrome/MS I.E. and downloading from:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/downloads/file/492548/x_notifier_for_gmailhotmailyahooaol-3.5.23-fx+sm+tb.xpi?src=version-history

jeroen's picture

Good one.
I just hope it will not update X-notifier at the same Firefox-update step, so you get the opportunity to reset automatic XN-update?

Well even if it likely does simultaneously update X-notifier at same time FF update is applied, worst case you have to manually restore back X-n ver 3.5.23 which does restore all your email & password accounts that are stored in a folder described (for Windows) here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data

I periodically copy my whole Mozilla folder which as of now is only 94MB which grabs all those X-notifier logins as well as bookmarks, toolbars, etc.

jeroen's picture

I know all of that Joe.
But it is not necessarilly likely or obvious that the update of XN happens simontaneously. Since, when one is unaware of the Firefox update, the XN update might well happen on the following startup of Firefox.

Kali's picture

Can you fix this ? Or tell me what options do I have to dissable in CCleaner ? Cookies ¿?

Kali,  I suspect that you think that Crap Cleaner is deleting all your email accounts, rather than the Firefox & X-Notifier updates actually being the culprit.  Read the above solutions.  This has nothing to do with CC which is also an excellent program.

Kali's picture

I check that if I dissable clean cookies with "Piriform CCleaner" ( Not Crap I Think ) for the program FIREFOX, the accounts are kept.

What can I do to not clean cookies only for X-Notifier for this program ?

Oh I see what you are saying now that I look at my CCleaner.  It used to be called "Crap Cleaner" because it cleaned out all the crap on your computer, but then became more politically correct in its name.   So what you can do if you are not having the update problem with FF & X-Notifier that we are discussing in this thread, is open up your Crap Cleaner....

Go to Options==>Cookies==>Look at all the vari0us lines related to the X-Notifier program, and one by one, move them to the right side of "Cookies to Keep"

  • accounts.google.com[xn#gmail#.....
  • google.com[xn#...
  • login.yahoo.com[xn....
  • mail.google.com[xn...
  • mail.live.com[xn...
  • yahoo.com[xn....