Firefox Sync

I'm thinking out loud here, hoping that some "mozilla people" check in here every now and then. I have checked Mozilla Support and gone Google on the subject but found no explanation.

I have a DeskTop, a LapTop and since a year, a Smart(?)Phone - Android.

I never bothered to setup sync between the DeskTop and the LapTop. I regard the DeskTop as "master" and the LapTop as "slave". When I wish to "sync", I copy two files from the DeskTop to the LapTop: favicons.sqlite and places.sqlite. Mission completed.

When I installed Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone, I was prompted to create a Firefox account and setup Sync. Alright, I thought and went along. I set it to sync Bookmarks only.

What I found out while Googling was:

A change on one system is sent to all other systems on the sync.

I don't use Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone very often and I quess that it does not sync when not being used. (I make sure that Firefox is closed and not running in the background.)

I use Firefox daily on the DeskTop and made changes to the Bookmarks. I removed a whole bunch of them, sorted the remaining ones and copied over the mentioned files from the DeskTop to the LapTop. Mission completed and I didn't even think about the Smart(?)Phone.

A week or two ago, I used Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone. I noticed nothing at the time but some time later, I noticed that the removed Bookmarks were back on the DeskTop. Firefox Sync had copied them from the Smart(?)Phone to the DeskTop.

The changes were made on the DeskTop and according to the quote above, should be "synced" to the Smart(?)Phone.

How does Sync keep track of on which device the changes were made and to which device should it be synced?

I NEVER make any changes on the Smart(?)Phone and Sync should NEVER work in the direction from the Smart(?)Phone to the DeskTop.

The solution I tried was to disable Sync on the DeskTop, only to be certain that nothing would happen without my knowledge. Next, I copied the mentioned files back from the LapTop to the DeskTop. Finally, I enabled Sync on the DeskTop and opened Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone. It synced as I suppose it to do, from the DeskTop to the Smart(?)Phone!

But I repeat my question: How does Sync keep track of on which device the changes were made and to which device should it be synced?

It seems like it doesn't manage to keep track? At least not if usage of Firefox on one of the devices is infrequent.

I also wonder how Sync would manage changes made simultaneously on both devices? Which changes were made on which device and should be synced to which device? I mean - syncing in both directions?

Feel free to regard this long post as rhetorical but beware if you sync settings and other more vital stuff!

 

Sync shares all selected data between all devices/profiles in the sync. There is no 'Master.' Any change on one is shared with all.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1209391

1. Sync "synchronizes" all selected data so that it is the same on all devices.

2. The "master file" is on the Sync server, in so far as the data from each device is sent to the Sync server where the data is merged. Once each device is connected to the Sync server the data should be the same on each device, and the same as on the Sync server
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1145624

From what I gather there is no "master" device for sync, thus ONLY make changes to your "master" computer and the other 2 devices will reflect the changes made there. There are also fome FF plugins that give you more control over sync.

 

Yes but how? In my example, it seems like it took all the bookmarks on both systems and merged them into a "synced" Bookmarks.

In my example, I removed bookmarks on the DeskTop, changes which were sent to the Sync Server. When I some time later opened Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone, it connected to the Sync Server and noticed a number of missing bookmarks. It promptly sent them to the Sync Server, instead of removing them on itself.

Exactly what I did but nope, my example proves otherwise. Sync copied the removed bookmarks back from the Smart(?)Phone to the DeskTop instead of removing them on the Smart(?)Phone!

I'll check that out!

 

Do you have a link?

 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?platform=windows&q=sync

 

Thanks ... ... !

 

Thinking out loud again but maybe I've found something out.

There's a possibility that this, seemingly random behaviour, has something to do with my backups of two files; favicons.sqlite and places.sqlite which I copy to a different folder. The intention is to be able to restore these files when I have made changes that I regret having made or simply having messed things up.

The restore happens on the Desktop and I copy these files to the LapTop as well, no problems.

The Smart(?)Phone is synced via the DeskTop and it seems like restoring these copies (always as a pair) initiate confusion on the part of Firefox Sync. Bookmarks are sent forth and back to and from the DeskTop and Smart(?)Phone respectively. Is it possible that the restore results in an earlier timestamp on the bookmarks on the DeskTop, compared to the server and the Smart(?)Phone, which wreaks havoc on the server?

I still don't understand why bookmarks that have been removed on the DeskTop are sent back from the Smart(?)Phone or server? A removed bookmark should leave no timestamp, right?

On the DeskTop, there's a folder "bookmarkbackups" containing ".jsonlz4"-files. I have no idea how they are used but it may have a bearing on this.

Maybe a more frequent useage of the "Synchronize Now" button is the solution, especially after having restored the mentioned two files?

For now, I have not disconnected the DeskTop from the server but I have unchecked all "items" to sync. When I want to or need to, I'll check the box for "bookmarks" and immediately hit the "Synchronize Now" button. Next, uncheck the box for "bookmarks" again before opening Firefox on the Smart(?)Phone.