Firefox steals keyboard focus for one window

[Sridhar Dhanapalan]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Firefox. I have a session that is restored on start-up, which contains multiple windows and tab groups.
2. Use it for a few minutes (the exact amount varies).
3. Switch to another Firefox window that is already open. Don't open a new window. You can use Alt+` if you want.
4. Start typing - text, keyboard commands, etc.

What I expect to see: My keystrokes should to to the window I just made active.

What actually happens: My keystrokes go to the window I previously was in.

If I want the keyboard focus to be on the window I just switched to, I need to:

1. Open a new window (Ctrl+N).
2. Immediately close that window.

This gives the keyboard focus to the window that is now in front. I have to repeat these steps every time I want to change to another window - very annoying!

There is no problem with other apps. This is a Firefox-specific problem.

I have tried to selectively disable my extensions to see if one of them is the culprit. I have also turned off focus prevention in Compiz. No luck.

I have this problem on two computers running Unity on Ubuntu 13.04 amd64. It seems to be a little similar to #589116 and #584513, but I do not think it is the same.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: firefox 23.0+build2-0ubuntu0.13.04.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-29.42-generic 3.8.13.5
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-29-generic x86_64
AddonCompatCheckDisabled: False
ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu8.3
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: sridhar 2249 F.... pulseaudio
BuildID: 20130803192641
Channel: Unavailable
Date: Thu Aug 29 13:20:48 2013
ExecutablePath: /usr/lib/firefox/firefox
ForcedLayersAccel: False
IfupdownConfig:
 # interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
 auto lo
 iface lo inet loopback
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-07-02 (57 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Release amd64 (20130424)
IpRoute:
 default via 10.1.1.1 dev wlan0 proto static
 10.1.1.0/24 dev wlan0 proto kernel scope link src 10.1.1.3 metric 9
 169.254.0.0/16 dev wlan0 scope link metric 1000
MarkForUpload: True
PrefSources:
 prefs.js
 [Profile]/extensions/{E0B8C461-F8FB-49b4-8373-FE32E9252800}/defaults/preferences/defaults.js
 [Profile]/<email address hidden>/defaults/preferences/prefs.js
 [Profile]/<email address hidden>/defaults/preferences/prefs.js
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_AU:en
 PATH=(custom, user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
Profiles: Profile0 (Default) - LastVersion=23.0/20130803192641 (In use)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 google-talkplugin 4.4.2.0-1
 totem-mozilla 3.6.3-0ubuntu6
 rhythmbox-mozilla 2.98-0ubuntu5
RunningIncompatibleAddons: False
SourcePackage: firefox
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 11/20/2012
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: G6ET66WW (2.10 )
dmi.board.asset.tag: Not Available
dmi.board.name: 3443CTO
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: Win8 STD DPK TPG
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Information
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.chassis.version: Not Available
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvrG6ET66WW(2.10):bd11/20/2012:svnLENOVO:pn3443CTO:pvrThinkPadX1Carbon:rvnLENOVO:rn3443CTO:rvrWin8STDDPKTPG:cvnLENOVO:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
dmi.product.name: 3443CTO
dmi.product.version: ThinkPad X1 Carbon
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Paul White (paulw2u)]

We are sorry that we do not always have the capacity to review all reported bugs in a timely manner. You reported this bug some time ago and there have been many changes in Ubuntu and Firefox since that time.

Do you still see a problem related to the one that you reported using currently supported versions of Firefox and Ubuntu? Please let us know if you do otherwise this report can be left to expire in approximately 60 days time.

Thank you for helping make Ubuntu better.

Paul White
[Ubuntu Bug Squad]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for firefox (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]