Hello,
I’m trying to use biometric authentication (with a windows hello password) but every time I try to open the extension on my Firefox browser, it displays the windows popup for the password, closes the extension popup and doesn’t log me in.
If you have any solutions to suggest…
Thanks
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I assume that you’ve already logged in, and is trying to unlock the vault through Windows hello (using PIN). The differences between the two states, logged out and locked, are described here: Unlock with PIN | Bitwarden Help Center
My experience with Firefox and BW extension is, clicking on the icon on the browser’s extension bar is unreliable when unlocking. Sometimes, you’ll have to do it multiple times to unlock. Since I am using fingerprint, this is often OK.
The more reliable workaround is to use the sidebar, activated by ctrl-alt-y, and unlock from there. I don’t remember its ever asking to authenticate repeatedly (unlike the browser’s bar icon). The only failure that sometimes pops up is the extension can’t communicate with the desktop app, which can be fixed by bringing the app to the foreground (even without unlocking), and closing the sidebar and then reopening again.
Good luck.
This behavior started with 2023.08.02
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+1 same here, but only on iOS/iPadOS, macOS is fine. Only tested with Safari browser.
PS: selfhosted on NAS, but that probably makes no difference with other OS
I have the same problem with firefox and Desktop App v.2023.08.02
Unlocking the Firefox extension does not work with Windows Hello at the moment.
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I’m not sure if this is a problem specifically with the Desktop App v2023.08.02, or if it’s a compatibility problem between the desktop app and the older version of the browser app. The 2023.08.02 release appears to have included browser extensions, but, the Firefox extension hasn’t been updated yet in the Mozilla extensions site, while at least the Chrome extension has.
My ‘workaround’ is the automated fill in authorized by Touch-ID (even I don’t like it for security reasons).
I’m going with @dkt. I’ve de- and re-installed Bitwarden and the iOS share button works only once after activating the browser extension. With the second homepage ‘crashing’ goes on…
I think I’m having the same problem, although I’ll note that my problems with biometric unlocking with the Firefox extension on Windows 10 started on the 2023.7.1 release and became much worse with teh 2023.8.2 release.
Before 2023.7.1, biometric unlocking worked perfectly in Windows 10 with Firefox every time. Tap the locked extension icon brings up the Windows Hello screen, supply fingerprint, Hello screen disappears, Bitwarden extension is unlocked.
After the 2023.7.1 release, Hello Screen appears, supply fingerprint, then Hello screen persists. Click off the Hello screen and it disappears and the extension is unlocked. Clunky but usable.
Now, after the 2023.8.2 release, I supply my fingerprint on the “Hello” screen and sometimes I get a “Welcome, My Name” response from “Hello” and sometimes the Hello screen disappears. But, regardless, the extension remains locked.
Biometrics is completely unusable for me now. I had to reconfigure the options in the desktop app to not use Windows Hello and not allow browser integration, then configure the FF extension to not use biometrics. Now the only way to use the extension is to supply my Master Password. I have BW configured to lock on closing FF, so if I keep it open all day, I have to unlock BW only once.
I don’t know what the sidebar option is; could someone explain that for me? Meanwhile, no biometrics with BW for me
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Thank you for all the responses, I now use the sidebar who works well (thanks @Neuron5569 ).
@Ed_LaCrosse instead of using the extention button you can use the sidebar button 
or ctrl-alt-y to open bitwarden in the sidebar.
Check out this response
Thank you for the response. I added the sidebar to Firefox and tried using it to unlock Bitwarden with biometrics. It doesn’t work. When I supply my fingerprint, I see a message to the effect, “Waiting for confirmation from the desktop” that doesn’t go away. If I click off the Hello screen, it goes away but the extension remains locked.
Incidentally, ctrl-alt-y does absolutely nothing for me. I must be doing something wrong. Edited to add: it’s alt-shift-y that brings up the Bitwarden sidebar.
I’m convinced that the problem is a version mismatch between the desktop and the extension, but I really don’t know what the problem is.
Same to me. Sidebar also does not work with biometrics.
The version of my extension is 2023.7.1 and the version of the desktop app is 2023.8.2.
Sometimes I have to close and reopen the sidebar for it to work.
I’m running the same versions of both as you are. I just tried using biometrics to unlock my extension using the sidebar. I opened and closed the sidebar 5 times and no joy.
I cannot use biometrics at all with the FF extension.
Hello,
I tried the unlock option with windows hello.
When I open the desktop application and log in with windows hello, I can’t use biometrics in the extension (and sidebar). I’ve done a few tests and I think you need to use the password to unlock the desktop application in order to use biometrics in the extension.
Maybe that’s your problem!
Hello again,
I’ve used biometrics to unlock the extension many times before the July release. I never needed to unlock the desktop application specifically to do so. I’ve set it up to start on Windows startup, and I’ve configured it to unlock with biometrics, but as long as the app was running in the background, the extension would solicit my fingerprint via Hello, I’d supply it, and it unlocked. There was no need to unlock the desktop via Hello or via the Master Password.
Things began to go squirrely for me when the July desktop release (and its companion FF extension release) came out (see above). But I was still able to get the extension to unlock via biometrics, even though the behavior was not what I was used to.
I just tried unlocking the desktop then trying to unlock the extension via biometrics and no joy.
I understand now that Bitwarden support has acknowledged that the FF extension and desktop version don’t match and biometrics will not work until the FF extension that matches the desktop app is released. Until then, I will have to use the Master Password to unlock the extension.
Note, though, that the 2023.8.2 Windows release will unlock via biometrics. It’s just not communicating properly with the 2023.7.1 FF extension release.
I didn’t see the link to the other topic in your previous reply. I downgraded my desktop app and it works !
Thank you for the help !
You’re welcome. I’m going to wait for the 2023.8.2 FF release since I was having problems with the 2023.7.1 release.
In my Firefox install the sidebar is opened with Shift + Alt + Y not Ctrl + Alt +Y
Is there a method to use biometrics without the desktop app? Just only with the browser plugin?
encountering this same issue, Firefox 117, Windows 11, desktop 23.8.3.
Just discovered there is a 2023.8.3 release for Firefox available on GitHub, this may resolve the issue but not sure how to package it for installing into the browser. Is there a reason why the Firefox extension hasn’t been updated on addons.mozilla.org?