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How to Permanently Stop Firefox Screen Tearing When Scrolling
4 min. read
Updated onJuly 9, 2024
updated onJuly 9, 2024
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If you reached our page, then the Firefox screen is tearing when scrolling webpages. Sometimes, it looks like a piece of a strip with small squares on it.
Other readers experienced an effect where the text, images or both were turning into long vertical streams down the page. There are also cases of Firefox screen tearing on YouTube that seems to pop up more often.
Just likeYouTube glitches on Firefox, screen tearing is pretty common. It doesn’t do much harm but can become annoying after a while. Needless to say, the issue is not exclusive to Firefox, or Windows for that matter.
In fact, you can just as well encounter Chrome screen tearing, or if we’re to resume to the browser under discussion, Firefox screen tearing in Linux.
But first, let’s understand why is Firefox so choppy. Is screen tearing normal?
Why is my screen tearing when I scroll?
This problem can be caused either by the VSync feature or the hardware acceleration option.
Of course, another possible issue may be caused by an old, damaged, or incompatible driver because that’s obviously a graphics-related occurrence.
Now that we know what the problem is and what it’s caused by, let’s go through the possible solutions.
?️Quick Tip:
In case you don’t want to spend too much time repairing Firefox’s recurring issues, you can use the opportunity to switch to a more skilled browser.
We tested Opera and we strongly recommend it for steady navigation that does not impact your graphics or your PC’s performance.
Opera
How do I stop Firefox screen tearing?
1. Disable hardware acceleration in Firefox
This is how todisable the hardware acceleration in Firefox. After you perform this action, you shouldn’t experience screen tearing anymore.
And speaking of that, if you also experiencebattery drains with Firefox, you should notice an improvement in energy consumption after you turn off this feature.
However, there were readers who, on the contrary, fixed the issue by turning on the hardware acceleration so try to switch this feature on or off and see if you experience any more screen tearing.
If this solution didn’t work in your case, perform the second solution below.
2. Disable acceleration from about:config
Disabling the hardware acceleration from the Firefox advanced configuration settings should solve this issue completely.
How to perform a screen tearing test?
You can’t disable VSync in a browser but the screen tearing in Firefox often comes from a vertical synchronization problem.
The solutions above should fix this problem too but here’s how to perform a screen tearing test:
This test was conceived by a disgruntled but knowledgeable user who discovered that Firefox did not perform ideally on this.
If you want to get a more detailed view ofhow Firefox competes against Chrome or Brave, we’ve prepared an in-depth comparison for you.
We hope that by using our solutions, you managed to fix the screen tearing in Firefox. If the issue is still present, you can still use a better browser and improve your experience.
Radu Tyrsina
Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).
For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.
Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.
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Radu Tyrsina
