Have you ever been surfing along happily in Firefox when – bam! – you get that dreaded “connection reset” error? As the page greys out and the dreaded pop up appears, you let out an audible groan.
Not again! We feel your pain. This error on Firefox browser is as annoying as stepping on a Lego brick barefoot. But don’t worry – we’ll show you how to fix it for good!
What Causes This Neverending Nuissance NS_ERROR_NET_RESET Error on Firefox Browser?
Before solving any problem, it helps to understand why it happens. In this case, a “connection reset” occurs when the server unexpectedly cuts off its connection to Firefox. Instead of sending back a proper response, it slams the proverbial door in Firefox’s face. Rude!
This could happen for a few reasons:
- Network Hiccups. Maybe there was a brief wifi blip or your roommate started streaming Netflix. Transient network issues can temporarily interrupt connections.
- Website Problems. The site’s server could have crashed, restarted, or gotten overwhelmed with traffic. Poorly coded sites tend to “reset” more frequently.
- Firefox Gremlins. Corrupted cache files or funky configurations in your Firefox browser can muck up communications between Firefox and websites.
Troubleshooting NS_ERROR_NET_RESET Error on Firefox Browser
Like an annoying neighbor that keeps “resetting” your conversations, this error prevents Firefox from retrieving the website content you wanted. But alas, we can banish it once and for all!
Step 1: Check Connections and Retry
Before playing computer exorcist, first rule out any temporary network glitches. Disconnect and reconnect your wifi or ethernet. Or use your phone’s mobile hotspot to see if pages load properly through another connection.
If it starts working, great! Your network likely just burped for a second there. Make sure your router firmware and other network gear is up-to-date to avoid further hiccups.
If the error persists on other connections, move on to the next step…
Step 2: Exterminate Any Firefox Gremlins
Corrupted cache and cookie files are common culprits behind connection failures in Firefox. Let’s take out some Firefox trash!
- Click the menu ☰ then click Options
- Select “Privacy & Security”
- Under “Cookies and Site Data”, click “Clear Data”
- Check all boxes to delete ALL cache and cookie data
- Click “Clear” and close out
This nukes any corrupted Firefox files that could be blocking communications. Once finished, restart Firefox and try loading the problematic page again.
If Firefox still thinks the website “reset” its connection, we’ll need to dig deeper…
Step 3: Check Your Security Software
Firewall and antivirus tools are designed to monitor network traffic and block suspicious connections. Unfortunately, this leads them to occasionally block legitimate connections from Firefox by mistake.
Open up your antivirus or internet security software and look for any options related to browser connections. Try fully disabling the firewall and network monitoring modules temporarily to see if that fixes it.
If that works, add Firefox as an approved app in your security tool to prevent future false positives. You may also consider switching security tools if you find yours to be overzealous.
Step 4: Uninstall and Reinstall Firefox Browser
If you’ve made it this far without resolving the issue, drastic measures may be needed. Let’s completely remove Firefox and reinstall fresh:
- Open “Add or Remove Programs” in Windows
- Select “Mozilla Firefox” and click Uninstall
- Download latest Firefox version from https://www.mozilla.org
- Reinstall Firefox on your machine
This eliminates any deeply embedded gremlins and starts you off with a clean Firefox profile. As a last resort, this should exterminate any lingering connection reset errors!
Still Seeing Errors on Firefox? It Could Be The Website’s Fault
If the error persists even after all troubleshooting, the underlying cause may be an issue on the website’s server itself.
Check if the site works properly in other browsers like Chrome or Edge. If it fails there too, you’ll need to contact the website administrator and provide details like:
- The URL causing errors
- Your Firefox version
- Any error codes shown
- Steps you’ve tried already
With this info, their technical team can investigate and fix any server-side bugs triggering the resets.
