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Is Firefox Showing Glitches After Update version 139? Here’s How to Fix Artifacting on NVIDIA GPUs

By: Author Alex Lim

Posted on  - Last updated:

Categories Troubleshooting

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Will Updating to Firefox 139.0.1 Solve Your Annoying UI Glitch Issues Instantly?

Firefox version 139 introduced a graphical artifacting issue, particularly impacting Windows users with NVIDIA GPUs running multi-monitor setups at mixed refresh rates. This bug causes visual glitches and screen corruption, especially on media-heavy sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit. The root cause is tied to changes in Firefox’s handling of DirectComposition and WebRender, which interact with NVIDIA drivers in complex multi-monitor environments.

Is Firefox Showing Glitches After Update version 139? Here’s How to Fix Artifacting on NVIDIA GPUs

Official Fix: Update to Firefox 139.0.1

Mozilla has released Firefox 139.0.1 as an emergency patch that specifically addresses this artifacting problem.

Recommended Action:

  1. Go to the Firefox menu (three horizontal lines) > Help > About Firefox.
  2. Firefox will check for updates and prompt you to install 139.0.1 if you’re not already on it.
  3. Restart the browser after updating.

Temporary Workarounds (If You Can’t Update Immediately)

Solution 1: Disable DirectComposition in about:config

  1. Type about:config in the address bar and accept the warning.
  2. Search for gfx.webrender.dcomp-win.enabled.
  3. Set this preference to false by clicking the toggle.
  4. Restart Firefox.

Solution 2: Disable Hardware Acceleration

  1. Go to Settings > General > Performance.
  2. Uncheck “Use recommended performance settings.”
  3. Uncheck “Use hardware acceleration when available.”
  4. Restart Firefox.

Solution 3: Experiment with Other about:config Flags (Advanced/Optional)

Set gfx.webrender.max-partial-present-rects to 0 (test if this helps; revert to 1 if not).

Additional Notes

  • This issue primarily affects NVIDIA GPUs with multi-monitor setups at different refresh rates (e.g., 144Hz + 60Hz).
  • Single-monitor setups and AMD/Intel GPUs are generally unaffected.
  • The artifacting is not caused by DirectComposition itself, but by Firefox’s unique implementation and recent changes to blocklist handling.