PC experts and software developers always recommend users to install a 64-bit type of a program on 64-bit Windows operating system. Although you might not see a dramatic performance improvement by upgrading 32-bit program to 64-bit, an x64 program will perform better than an x86 program on an x64 based computer.
Upgrade Firefox 32-bit to Firefox 64-bit
A large number of Mozilla Firefox users are not aware of the availability of Firefox 64-bit. The web installer of Firefox automatically downloads and installs the 32-bit Firefox even on a 64-bit Windows PC. Because of this, users have been running 32-bit Firefox on Windows 64-bit although the Firefox 64-bit has been out there for more than a year now.
A lot of users who want to upgrade 32-bit Firefox install to 64-bit don’t want to uninstall the 32-bit Firefox first and then install the 64-bit Firefox as doing so will remove saved passwords, bookmarks, and browsing history.
NOTE: Refer to our 3 ways to check if you are running 32 or 64-bit Firefox guide to make sure that you are running 32-bit Firefox before attempting to upgrade!
There are two ways to upgrade Firefox 32-bit to Firefox 64-bit on a Windows PC. The first method is to uninstall Firefox 32-bit and then install Firefox 64-bit by manually downloading Firefox 64-bit offline installer. The second method is for users who would like to upgrade to 64-bit without uninstalling the current Firefox 32-bit. Since the first method is easy and everyone knows about it, we are talking only about the second method in this article.
Upgrade Firefox 32-bit to 64-bit without reinstalling
Here is how to upgrade Firefox 32-bit install to Firefox 64-bit on a Windows PC.
Important: Firefox 64-bit cannot be installed on 32-bit Windows. Please make sure that you are running 64-bit Windows 10/8/7 (see how to check if you are running 32 or 64-bit Windows 10) before attempting to upgrade Firefox 32-bit to 64-bit.
Step 1: Head over to this page of Mozilla. Locate your language and click 64 Download link to begin downloading the full offline installer of Firefox 64-bit. Please note that 64-bit Firefox is also available for Linux. So, be sure to click 64 Download link for Windows.
Step 2: Close Firefox browser, if it’s running.
Step 3: Run the downloaded 64-bit Firefox offline installer and follow on-screen directions to get it installed. This will install Firefox 64-bit on your Windows 10 PC without uninstalling the old 32-bit install.
Step 4: Launch Firefox now using Start/taskbar search to launch Firefox 64-bit. Follow our directions in how to check if you are running 32 or 64-bit Firefox guide to make sure that you have successfully upgraded Firefox 32-bit to 64-bit. All the best!
NOTE: When you install Firefox x64 bit, it doesn’t remove Firefox 32-bit from your PC but replaces the Firefox entry in the Start menu list. So, when you launch Firefox using Start menu or taskbar search, Windows 10 launches Firefox 64-bit instead of 32-bit. If for some reason, you want to use Firefox 32-bit, you can find under C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox directory.
To downgrade to Firefox 32-bit, please download Firefox 32-bit offline installer (using the above mentioned link/page), run the installer, and follow simple on-screen instructions. Simple as that!
