Clicking the play button on the website doesn't work on macOS in Firefox

Bug Reports Website Bugs
#1

I didn’t attach logs since none were generated for the bootstrapper.

For several months now, Roblox has not launched on macOS with Firefox installed. I have the 16" 2019 Macbook Pro and it used to work, however doesn’t anymore.

I click the play button, and it doesn’t play the game. It just opens the games page like it would if it were just installed. No logs are generated in the logs directory either.

Weirdly, the game works with Chrome, however I’d prefer not to have to use two different browsers just to play the game.

I am running the latest macOS Catalina, 10.15.3.

Also if you try to open Studio, this will appear:

Which generated the following logs below:

1584139577.15785,b061dc0,6 

Command line:
/Applications/RobloxStudio.app/Contents/MacOS/RobloxStudio


1584139577.15941,b061dc0,6 Finding AppSettings.xml
1584139577.15952,b061dc0,6 Opening AppSettings.xml
1584139577.15957,b061dc0,6 Parsing AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16007,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'Settings' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16009,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'ContentFolder' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16011,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'BaseUrl' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16013,b061dc0,6 BaseUrl loaded from 'AppSettings.Xml'
1584139577.16014,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'IsScriptAssetUploadEnabled' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16015,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'IsAnimationAssetUploadEnabled' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16015,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'IsImageModelAssetUploadEnabled' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16016,b061dc0,6 Looking for 'CrashMenu' element in AppSettings.xml
1584139577.16033,b061dc0,6 BaseUrl: https://www.roblox.com/
1584139577.16034,b061dc0,6 fetchClientSettingDataViaHttps
1584139577.34097,b061dc0,6 LoadClientSettingsFromLocal group: "ClientAppSettings"
1584139577.34103,b061dc0,6 LoadClientSettingsFromLocal group: "StudioAppSettings"
1584139577.34216,b061dc0,6 Studio Version: "0.423.0.391560"
1584139577.34219,b061dc0,6 Hardware Model: "MacBookPro16,1"
1584139577.41157,b061dc0,6 CrashpadManager::initialize: started crashpad handler for https://www.roblox.com/
1584139577.41187,b061dc0,6 SQUIRREL: "ROBLOX_STUDIO_EXTENSION="
1584139577.41228,b061dc0,6 SQUIRREL: computed="extensions/qt/libSQUIshRobloxReflectionExtensionLibrary.dylib"
1584139577.41229,b061dc0,6 SQUIRREL: extensionPath="extensions/qt/libSQUIshRobloxReflectionExtensionLibrary.dylib"
1584139577.47011,b061dc0,6 systemLocale.name() = en_US
1584139577.51114,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::RobloxMainWindow - start
1584139577.52504,b061dc0,6 Info: RPC:Constructor Started server - RBX_STUDIO_26279
1584139577.52624,b061dc0,6 StudioABTests using browserTrackerId 48792658264
1584139578.18626,b061dc0,6 setAssetFolder /Applications/RobloxStudio.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/content
1584139578.18664,b061dc0,6 setExtraAssetFolder /Applications/RobloxStudio.app/Contents/Resources/ExtraContent
1584139578.18792,b061dc0,6 Reflection::load /Applications/RobloxStudio.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/ReflectionMetadata.xml
1584139579.45751,b061dc0,6 Metal renderer: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M
1584139579.45754,b061dc0,6 Caps: ThreadSafe 1 Framebuffer 1 FpFramebuffer 1 Shaders 1 Compute 1 Instancing 1 ConstBuffers 1
1584139579.45755,b061dc0,6 Caps: Framebuffer: MRT 4 MSAA 8 Stencil 1
1584139579.45755,b061dc0,6 Caps: Framebuffer: Depth16 1 Depth24 1 DepthFloat 1 DepthClamp 1
1584139579.45756,b061dc0,6 Caps: Texture: RGB10A2 1 RG11B10F 1
1584139579.45757,b061dc0,6 Caps: Texture: DXT 1 PVR 0 ETC1 0 ETC2 0 Half 1
1584139579.45757,b061dc0,6 Caps: Texture: 3D 1 Array 1 Depth 1 MSAA 1 MSAAFP16 4
1584139579.45758,b061dc0,6 Caps: Texture: NPOT 1 PartialMips 1 CubeMipGen 1 CubeFramebuffer 1
1584139579.45758,b061dc0,6 Caps: Texture: Size 4096 Units 16
1584139579.45759,b061dc0,6 Caps: ConstantBufferSize 65536
1584139579.45760,b061dc0,6 Caps: 32bIdx 1 Memoryless 0
1584139579.45761,b061dc0,6 Caps: ColorBGR 0 HalfPixelOffset 0 RTFlip 0 MinusOneToOneDepth 0
1584139579.46031,b061dc0,6 Metal: creating framebuffer 200x200
1584139579.46034,b061dc0,6 Video memory size: 2147483648
1584139579.47374,b061dc0,6 Loaded 306 shaders from pack metal_osx variant default (1805043 bytes)
1584139579.47376,b061dc0,6 Compiled 306 shaders in 13 ms
1584139579.49951,b061dc0,6 Info: 		RenderScheduler::RenderScheduler - start
1584139579.49953,b061dc0,6 Info: 			Marshaller
1584139579.49954,b061dc0,6 Info: 			RenderJobCyclic
1584139579.64922,b061dc0,6 Info: 			BindToWorkspace
1584139579.66947,b061dc0,6 Info: 			ConfigureStats
1584139579.66952,b061dc0,6 Info: 			RenderJobCyclic
1584139579.67434,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::showNativeLoginPageWidgets
1584139579.67866,b061dc0,6 ======== Studio Startup Times =======
1584139579.67868,b061dc0,6 FastFlagsLoadTime  : 0.1841 sec
1584139579.67870,b061dc0,6 Authenticated : NO
1584139579.67871,b061dc0,6 LoginPageOpenTime  : 2.6785 sec
1584139579.76353,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::RobloxMainWindow - end
1584139581.19565,b061dc0,6 StudioABTests using UserId 1627420
1584139581.44236,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::showNativeStartPageWidgets
1584139587.70418,b061dc0,6 ======== Studio Startup Times =======
1584139587.70421,b061dc0,6 FastFlagsLoadTime  : 0.1841 sec
1584139587.70422,b061dc0,6 Authenticated : YES
1584139587.70422,b061dc0,6 StartPageOpenTime  : 10.7040 sec
1584139587.74641,b061dc0,6 Error: Could not open the file "" because it no longer exists.
1584139588.51462,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139589.68717,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139592.53236,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139596.84935,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139605.64914,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139621.59913,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139653.61196,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139717.65443,b061dc0,6 Error: Forbidden
1584139720.83842,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::closeEvent
1584139720.85312,b061dc0,6 Info: End of main, return value 0
1584139721.09805,b061dc0,6 Info: RobloxMainWindow::~RobloxMainWindow
1584139721.25739,b061dc0,6 Info: RPC:Destructor Removed server - RBX_STUDIO_26279
1584139721.25742,b061dc0,6 Info: RPC:Destructor Destroyed server - RBX_STUDIO_26279

Thanks.

5 Likes
#2

My friend also experiences this, too - anyone know a solution to this problem?

3 Likes
#3

Some investigation: it appears the url https://www.roblox.com/client-status?_=some_number is sent repeatedly to Roblox and is returning “Unknown” as the response - some_number of course is replaced with the number it sends to the website. When the game launch works, it should return “AppStarted” afterwards.

Everything else appears to work - besides game launch and Studio launch. Also for a day Studio worked - but not the game client.

Edit: Website launches games in Safari as well as Chrome but not Firefox. When launching Roblox Studio from Firefox the image in the original post is what happens, with the same log file.

3 Likes
#4

Friends are experiencing this problem as well.
Firefox on Mac opens the RobloxApp, but instead of launching the game, it just opens another browser tab which is the Games tab.
Constant troubleshooting has not lead me to fixing the problem.

2 Likes
#5

It’s been 4 months and I still have this issue - and there’s no resolution. Other people have confirmed to be having this issue too. I really want to be using one browser rather than a separate one for Roblox. Any updates to this - has anyone looked into this?

#6

It seems like Studio works again, but I don’t know how long that will last - however the Roblox Player is still having this issue.

Edit: Actually really interesting behavior, I can launch to edit group games - but not personal games. This is a really weird issue that only affects Firefox on macOS Catalina (which I have the latest version of installed)

Edit 2: It seems like it doesn’t even work now - odd cause an hour ago it worked.

Edit 3: Really interesting - so it seems like the client bootstrapper generates a log file now, unlike in the original post. This is the following log file for the client - which is generated when attempting to load a game from Firefox:

2020-07-22 13:26:28.944 Roblox[85404:7027278] Starting
2020-07-22 13:26:29.043 Roblox[85404:7027278] applicationWillFinishLaunching
2020-07-22 13:26:29.044 Roblox[85404:7027278] urlString = https://clientsettingscdn.roblox.com/v1/settings/application?applicationName=MacClientBootstrapper
2020-07-22 13:26:29.620 Roblox[85404:7027278] Response status code:200
2020-07-22 13:26:29.620 Roblox[85404:7027278] stringContent = {"applicationSettings":{"DFFlagRbxFormatMultiByteSizeFix":"True","DFStringHttpInfluxDatabase":"roblox_bootstrapper","FFlagBootstrapperCountersUseHttps":"True","FFlagBootstrapperInputSizeFix":"True","FFlagCommonBootstrapperCleanUpBuildGenericApiUrl2":"True","FFlagWindowsBootstrapperAdditionalManifestData":"True","FFlagWindowsBootstrapperNonFatalVersionFailure":"True","FFlagWindowsBootstrapperPassEnvPatch":"True","FFlagWindowsBootstrapperXpUninstallFix":"True","FIntInfluxReportExceptionPermyriad":"10000","FIntWindowsBootstrapperStartTimeoutInfluxPermyriad":"1000","UseCdn":"True","FFlagWindowsBootstrapperCanRunRecovery":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperAlwaysSaveUrlArguments":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperCanUsePinnedVersion":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperCheckRealAppVersion":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperDoNotUseEmbeddedState":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperInstallerKillOtherBootstrappers":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperMoreCountersAndLogs":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperUseNewVersionEndpoint":"True","FFlagMacClientGetBaseUrlFromEmbeddedBootstrapper":"True","FFlagRemoveDepracatedGetProcessForPIDCalls":"True","FFlagRemoveDepracatedSetFrontProcessCalls":"True","FIntMacBootstrapperUseNewVersionEndpointPermyriad":"10000","FFlagMacBootstrapperPreserveBaseUrlPort":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperFixRelaunchClientFromDock":"True","FFlagMacBootstrapperCanRunRecovery":"True","DFIntCrashUploadToBacktracePercentage":"10","DeprecatedOSXLinkURL":"http://blog.roblox.com/2016/09/roblox-discontinuing-support-for-mac-os-x-10-6/","DeprecatedOSXMinorVersion":"6","ExeVersion":"0.368.0.271345","FFlagJoinTimeCounters":"True","FFlagMacClientToFixBootstrapperInStudio":"True","FFlagMacClientUseItselfAsCrashHandler":"True","FStringWindowsClientBoostrapperClientEarlyFlags":"","GoogleAnalyticsAccountPropertyID":"UA-43420590-16","InfluxHundredthsPercentage":"0","InfluxInstallHundredthsPercentage":"10000","ShowInstallSuccessPrompt":"True"}}
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] applicationDidFinishLaunching!
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - /Applications/Roblox.app/Contents/MacOS/Roblox.app/Contents/MacOS/Roblox
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - -check
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - true
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - -ppid
2020-07-22 13:26:29.650 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - 85401
2020-07-22 13:26:29.652 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - -updateUI
2020-07-22 13:26:29.652 Roblox[85404:7027278] ADFL ARG - false
2020-07-22 13:26:29.652 Roblox[85404:7027278] install success - 0
2020-07-22 13:26:29.653 Roblox[85404:7027278] originalBaseServer = https://www.roblox.com/ httpsBaseServer = https://www.roblox.com/
2020-07-22 13:26:29.653 Roblox[85404:7027278] Requesting cdn info from https://www.roblox.com/install/GetInstallerCdns.ashx
2020-07-22 13:26:29.938 Roblox[85404:7027278] urlString = https://clientsettingscdn.roblox.com/v1/client-version/MacPlayer
2020-07-22 13:26:30.068 Roblox[85404:7027278] Response status code:200
2020-07-22 13:26:30.068 Roblox[85404:7027278] stringContent = {"version":"0.441.0.408614","clientVersionUpload":"version-1a41898807954df2","bootstrapperVersion":"408614"}
2020-07-22 13:26:30.068 Roblox[85404:7027278] counter client url = https://ephemeralcounters.api.roblox.com/v1.0/MultiIncrement/?apiKey=76E5A40C-3AE1-4028-9F10-7C62520BD94F
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] Response status code:200
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] EphemeralCounter request response:
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] Sent counter for PlayerMacBootstrapperVersionFetchNewSuccess
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] version = 0.441.0.408614, clientVersionUpload = version-1a41898807954df2, bootstrapperVersion = 408614
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] server client version GUID of MacPlayer = version-1a41898807954df2
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] server client application version MacPlayer = 0.441.0.408614
2020-07-22 13:26:30.655 Roblox[85404:7027278] urlString = https://clientsettingscdn.roblox.com/v1/client-version/MacStudio
2020-07-22 13:26:30.782 Roblox[85404:7027278] Response status code:200
2020-07-22 13:26:30.782 Roblox[85404:7027278] stringContent = {"version":"0.441.0.408614","clientVersionUpload":"version-c2e108d3bf3a44d2","bootstrapperVersion":"408614"}
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Response status code:200
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] EphemeralCounter request response:
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Sent counter for PlayerMacBootstrapperVersionFetchNewSuccess
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] version = 0.441.0.408614, clientVersionUpload = version-c2e108d3bf3a44d2, bootstrapperVersion = 408614
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] server studio version GUID of MacStudio = version-c2e108d3bf3a44d2
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Process pin and unpin of bootstrapper version
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Bootstrapper will NOT keep the existing installation
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Player target version GUID is set to version-1a41898807954df2
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Local client application version 0.441.0.408614
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] Client app changed - 0
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] bundlePath = /Applications/Roblox.app/Contents/MacOS/Roblox.app
2020-07-22 13:26:31.041 Roblox[85404:7027278] launchedFromReadOnlyFS = No
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] Check defective version: 0
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] Command Line: Handling command line options
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] ppid: 85401, showUpdateUI: false
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] Server version = 408614, Local Version = 408614
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] Bootstraper update not required
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] Command Line: No version change detected.
2020-07-22 13:26:31.042 Roblox[85404:7027278] getClientApplication returns /Applications/Roblox.app
2020-07-22 13:26:31.043 Roblox[85404:7027278] fixStudioBootstrapper: Studio Bootstrapper /Applications/RobloxStudio.app is not founnd

Edit 4: Really curious development: Studio works initially when it first installs, but not after the first launch after install. Roblox game client doesn’t work period. Is this potentially an issue with the launcher itself not really liking Firefox?

#7

Hello, this bug is still happening after 4 months and makes Firefox users on Mac unable to open any games. As others above me mentioned, we are unable to open the game, because another tab of roblox.com opens. This issue should be fixed.

It normally worked on Chrome, but I’ve switched recently and I am unable to use Roblox with Firefox.

#8

I am experiencing the same issue with Firefox creating a new tab leading to roblox.com instead of launching the game itself.

2 Likes
#9

Pressing Play on a game page on Firefox just opens Discover - Roblox. Not really a good way to be welcomed back to Roblox after a few months of not using it.

Firefox 83.0
image

#10

The post below works on fixing this issue:

This work around works as of today, and was suggested in August of last year.

If anyone needs help, I am willing to make a video on how to fix this issue if people need a video tutorial, and link it here in this post.

#11

Please do so. I don’t understand why Roblox hasn’t fixed the issue themselves yet.

#12

I’m having this very issue so if you could release a video about it that would be lovely.

#13

I completely forgot about this thread until somewhat recently, my bad!

This video works on Intel-based Macs (issue initially reported on a Macbook Pro 16" i7 2019), and Apple Silicon-based macs (filmed on a M1 Macbook Air, 2020)

I switched to using Chrome on my Mac because of this issue (before finding the fix above). Given how Roblox obviously doesn’t believe this is an issue, I decided to make a video to show players how to pick up where Roblox left off - I wrote this while I was rather upset, and I don’t agree with the wording anymore. I do believe Roblox views this as an issue, it was just forgotten about because they are busy.

Note: I forgot to include, but I already had the Roblox Player installed and tried to launch it using Firefox before recording that video, so if you don’t see it in the Firefox settings, you can try to launch the game and then follow this guide.

The same exact steps also apply to Studio, too.

Fix Roblox Player & Studio (Devforum Clip)

Feel free to share this around, so more people can use Firefox instead of using Firefox and Chrome or having to only pick one to play Roblox.

#14

This happenes to me ALOT on firefox, and im not even using mac os, im using windows 10.
Every time roblox updates the client both on player and studio, firefox will have its settings reset.

Its honestly annoying to do that everytime, im honestly sad that “Roblox Launcher Plugin” doesnt exists anymore.

#15

This still happens, is there any chance this can be fixed? This seems like a significant problem. I don’t expect users using Firefox + Mac to have this much of an issue trying to launch an experience, and definitely ended up discouraging/preventing some users from thinking they could even play the experience.

Thanks.

#16

This STILL happens, and is a growing pain for me. When I press “play” it opens the desktop app. But if I press “play” again, Roblox refuses to open. So if I want to join a private server, I have to open Chrome and paste the private server link so that Roblox actually opens instead of saying “nah I’m not feeling it” when you do the same on Firefox. And if I want to join a game that doesn’t show up on search, again, I have to do it on Chrome. It’s a very annoying issue.