[Tip] Restore Full Classic Scrollbars in Mozilla Firefox on Windows 11

Newer versions of Mozilla Firefox web browser come with native support for Windows 11‘s new overlay scrollbars. This article will help you in restoring classic full scrollbars in Firefox on Windows 11 operating system. You’ll also be able to customize scrollbars appearance in Firefox using the tips given at the end of this article.

If you are using Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 11 in your computer and you upgraded to new version of Firefox browser, you might have noticed that the scrollbars style has changed on webpages and in browser UI. Firefox on Windows 11 now supports native overlay scrollbars which is a new type of scrollbars present in Windows 11. By default, the new scrollbar displays in minimal form without up/down arrows and once you move the mouse cursor over the scrollbar, it appears in full form.

If you don’t like the new minimal overlay scrollbars and want to restore classic Windows 10 style scrollbars which display in full size by default, this article will assist you.

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We can bring back classic full scrollbars in Firefox by modifying a hidden preference/flag. This preference allows Firefox users to customize scrollbar appearance and we can force Firefox to always use full size scrollbars in Windows 11 or any other operating system.

Following image shows how the new overlay scrollbars appear in Firefox and old classic scrollbars restored in Firefox on Windows 11:

Restore_Classic_Full_Scrollbars_Mozilla_Firefox.png

If you also want to disable new overlay scrollbars and enable classic full scrollbars in Firefox, following steps will help you:

NOTE: First enable the full scrollbars feature in Windows 11 Settings as mentioned in following article:

[Tip] How to Always Show Scrollbars in Windows 10 and 11

Then follow the instructions given below.

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1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type scrollbar.style in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:

widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.style

This preference tells Firefox which type of scrollbars should it use in the current device.

3. By default, the preference value is set to 0 which means Firefox should detect the OS installed in the device and display appropriate scrollbars everywhere.

To disable new Windows 11 style overlay scrollbars and restore full scrollbars in Firefox, double-click on the above mentioned preference and change its value to 4.

Customize_Scrollbars_Appearance_Mozilla_Firefox_Windows_GTK_Android_MacOS.png

It’ll immediately restore classic full scrollbars in your Firefox web browser.

PS: In future, if you decide to enable default system scrollbars again, set the above mentioned preference value to 0.

BONUS TIP: Customize Scrollbars Appearance in Firefox

The above mentioned preference “widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.style” can be used to set following types of scrollbars in Firefox:

0 – Default OS

1 – MacOS style

2 – GTK style

3 – Google Android style

4 – Windows 10 style

5 – Windows 11 style

So you can change value of widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.style preference to any of the above mentioned numbers and you can enjoy different types of scrollbars.

Following image shows how all types of scrollbars appear in Firefox:

Different_Styles_Scrollbars_Appearance_Mozilla_Firefox.png

So test and enjoy all the available scrollbars in your Firefox browser.

Also Check:

[Tip] Enable / Disable Windows 11 Style Overlay Scrollbars in Mozilla Firefox

Published in: Mozilla Firefox, Windows 11

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Mozilla uses alternative method to stylize scrollbars, because use sandbox and in sandbox hard/risky is run native API.

    More about that can be found on bugzilla for Firefox.

  2. Thank you so much for posting this. Very helpful, clear, and right to the point. Perfect!!!

  3. Thanks very much for this! The new skinny scrollbars were very annoying… What was MS thinking?

  4. I was extremely vexed by the same problem until I discovered this solution: Windows settings: Accessibility: Visual effects: Always show scrollbars: On. This will make them more visible.

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