pfSense: Dual WAN Load Balancing / Fail Over DNS (and possibly more) Issues

By The Dark Knight
in Smart Home, Network & Security

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The Dark Knight

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Hello! So I have been using pfSense for a few years now and have been very happy with it. I recently signed up for a second internet connection at home to have as a backup. After configuring everything, pfSense does indeed switch over to the second connection when the first one fails (simulated by disconnecting the cable), but DNS resolution (or possibly some other issue) doesn't seem to work, and as a result I am not able to browse the internet. I have provided some more information about my setup below. Provided some screenshots as well.

 

WAN1 is a PPPoE connection with a public routable static IPv4 address.

WAN2 is a CGNAT address and a completely locked down modem, so no Bridge Mode. pfSense just gets a private IP on the WAN2 interface.

 

pfSense running in a VM on Proxmox with 2 Ethernet cards available for it. One used for WAN1, other for LAN.

Managed Switch has a VLAN on one of the ports for the WAN2. VLAN configured in pfSense.

DNS handled by 2 Pi-hole instances, 1 is a VM on the same Proxmox host, 2nd is on a Raspberry Pi. Both Pi-holes are on their own VLAN in pfSense and DNS Redirect has been configured for the primary LAN network.

Both Pi-hole addresses specified under System/General Setup/DNS Settings. AdGuard DNS IP's provided for WAN2.

 

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

dns.png

 

gateways.png

lan rules.png

Edited by The Dark Knight
Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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  • MVC
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On 17/10/2022 at 07:31, The Dark Knight said:

Both Pi-hole addresses specified under System/General Setup/DNS Settings. AdGuard DNS IP's provided for WAN2.

So you setup the resolver to forward?  Out of the box unbound resolves, putting stuff in dns settings under general doesn't do anything but provide dns that pfsense itself could use.  Unless you told unbound to forward.  Also trying to redirect dot is pretty pointless.. Since the client should validate the cert of the dns its trying to talk to, trying to send that to your pihole - that shouldn't work, even if pihole was listening for dot.  Unless it presented a cert for whatever fqdn the dot client was trying to talk to.

 

So your clients get handed what for their dns, pfsense IP, and then you redirect that to pihole - that goes where then for dns?

 

Your clients should get handed pihole IPs for their dns, now your pihole should forward to where you want, or it should resolve - and it would use whatever failover you have setup for your routing, etc. In that last rule.

 

If you redirecting it?  You could have a loop in how your dns is suppose to work from that setup.

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The Dark Knight

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Not using DNS Forwarder, but DNS Resolver. Although I just looked at it properly, the option to forward to the DNS servers under General Setup is unticked.....yet everything works (with just one WAN). It's possible I've done something wrong here. I did this a long time back following a guide on using pfSense with Pi-hole. Maybe the guide I followed was wrong as well. But everything was working, so I didn't go deep into it. I do have both Pi-holes specified under the LAN DHCP Server settings as well.

 

On both Pi-holes I have the Cloudflare DoH service running, so my Upstream is 127.0.0.1#5053.

 

Oh ok, didn't know that redirecting DoT is not useful. But then why is the state table for it so large?

 

 

dns2.jpg

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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  • MVC
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Those IPs in general dns have nothing to do with clients asking unbound, as you show unbound is resolving - not forwarding.. It will walk down from roots, then the gltds then the authoritative ns.. Those settings are only for pfsense to forward to if you it isn't asking itself (127.0.0.1) or that is down or something.

 

They would never be used by unbound (unless you set forwarding in unbound), nor would they get handed to a client to use. 

 

Your 2nd wan might be having a problem resolving? Or dns in general.. I would disable your main wan.. And then try doing some directed dns queries via pfsense.. Or a client to different dns, ask pfsense directly on its IP to look up somethiing new that is not in the cache, etc. Does it work, ask 8.8.8.8, ask cloudflare, ask quad9, etc. query the roots directly..

 

example.

  

[22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root: dig

; <<>> DiG 9.16.26 <<>>
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 4687
;; flags: qr rd ra ad; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;.                              IN      NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
.                       26647   IN      NS      d.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      e.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      f.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      g.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      h.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      i.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      j.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      k.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      l.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      m.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      a.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      b.root-servers.net.
.                       26647   IN      NS      c.root-servers.net.

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
;; WHEN: Tue Oct 18 11:03:32 CDT 2022
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 239

[22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root: dig @d.root-servers.net com. NS

; <<>> DiG 9.16.26 <<>> @d.root-servers.net com. NS
; (2 servers found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 39862
;; flags: qr rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 13, ADDITIONAL: 27
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1450
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;com.                           IN      NS

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
com.                    172800  IN      NS      a.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      b.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      c.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      d.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      e.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      f.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      g.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      h.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      i.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      j.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      k.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      l.gtld-servers.net.
com.                    172800  IN      NS      m.gtld-servers.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
a.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.5.6.30
b.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.33.14.30
c.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.26.92.30
d.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.31.80.30
e.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.12.94.30
f.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.35.51.30
g.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.42.93.30
h.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.54.112.30
i.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.43.172.30
j.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.48.79.30
k.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.52.178.30
l.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.41.162.30
m.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      A       192.55.83.30
a.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:a83e::2:30
b.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:231d::2:30
c.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:83eb::30
d.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:500:856e::30
e.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:502:1ca1::30
f.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:d414::30
g.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:eea3::30
h.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:502:8cc::30
i.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:39c1::30
j.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:502:7094::30
k.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:503:d2d::30
l.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:500:d937::30
m.gtld-servers.net.     172800  IN      AAAA    2001:501:b1f9::30

;; Query time: 223 msec
;; SERVER: 199.7.91.13#53(199.7.91.13)
;; WHEN: Tue Oct 18 11:03:56 CDT 2022
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 828

[22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root:

 

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The Dark Knight

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Ok, so I disabled WAN1 and did a Dig test like you asked.....it fails! So DNS is the issue.....

 

 

dnstest.jpg

dnstest2.jpg

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The Dark Knight

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Also, another thing I can't figure out why.....if I have the Fail Over group specified in the Gateway for the LAN outbound rule, even though I am able to browse the web, I can't access my Pi-hole URL's and also can't access my WAN2 modem web page! I have another VLAN with a .20 network, I can access the web servers and services on that perfectly.

 

If I change the Gateway in the outbound rule back to default, everything is accessible again.

 

Edit: I just checked, I actually can't access everything. Some work, some don't. 😵‍😵‍

 

Edit 2: If I try to access directly with the IP on the .20 network, it doesn't work. Only accessible with the domain that I have reverse proxied for those web servers. This is all when the Fail Over is specified on the LAN Outbound.

Edited by The Dark Knight
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+BudMan MVC

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did you do that from pfsense?  That is just asking loopback, itself you didn't direct that to 8.8.8.8 you asked 127 for 8.8.8.8 you need to use the @ to tell dig where to ask.

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The Dark Knight

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On 18/10/2022 at 22:18, BudMan said:

did you do that from pfsense?  That is just asking loopback, itself you didn't direct that to 8.8.8.8 you asked 127 for 8.8.8.8 you need to use the @ to tell dig where to ask.

Yes, logged in via SSH to pfSense and ran the Dig command.

 

Edit: Logged in again after disabling WAN1 and ran dig @8.8.8.8. No response.

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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well then if you can not talk to 8.8.8.8 from pfsense, or the roots can you talk to the dns of of that connection.  It is possible for ISP to only allow dns to their dns servers.  You might see that on say a sat connection, or even cell - did you mention this was a cell sort of backup link?

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The Dark Knight

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I actually suspected this ISP must be forcing their DNS....but I tried just now, doesn't work either. No, this is an optical fibre connection. But locked down like hell! I had another thought.....this ISP prioritises IPv6. Could it be possible I'm facing problems because I'm trying only IPv4 in pfSense?

 

 

dnstest3.jpg

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The Dark Knight

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Sorry, late over here, need to go to sleep. 😄

 

Thanks for all your help so far BudMan! 😎👍

 

Want to really get this working....otherwise worst case scenario, I dump this ISP and get another connection from a not so restricted provider. I signed up with these guys because they bundle in streaming subscriptions with the internet plan, and is a damn good deal.....provided you use everything they way they want you to. Their supplied Android TV box for my TV....freaking HELL....insanely locked down!

 

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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  • MVC
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that you get a timeout is odd, I actually get a refused which is more like what should happen when you try and talk to a ISP dns, but not from ISP network.

  

22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root: dig @49.45.0.3

; <<>> DiG 9.16.26 <<>> @49.45.0.3
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: REFUSED, id: 51706
;; flags: qr rd ad; QUERY: 0, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

;; Query time: 266 msec
;; SERVER: 49.45.0.3#53(49.45.0.3)
;; WHEN: Tue Oct 18 13:04:22 CDT 2022
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 12

[22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root: dig @49.45.0.3 www.google.com

; <<>> DiG 9.16.26 <<>> @49.45.0.3 www.google.com
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: REFUSED, id: 26050
;; flags: qr rd ad; QUERY: 0, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

;; Query time: 265 msec
;; SERVER: 49.45.0.3#53(49.45.0.3)
;; WHEN: Tue Oct 18 13:05:18 CDT 2022
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 12

[22.05-RELEASE][[email protected]]/root:

 

But yeah if you can not do dns over this connection - what is the point of it??  It useless connection.

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The Dark Knight

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On 18/10/2022 at 23:36, BudMan said:

that you get a timeout is odd, I actually get a refused which is more like what should happen when you try and talk to a ISP dns, but not from ISP network.

 

But yeah if you can not do dns over this connection - what is the point of it??  It useless connection.

Ok. Yes, true, it is useless in pfSense. I can still use the connection with just their device directly via Ethernet or WiFi. Not ideal of course.

 

But what I don't understand is.....however locked down it is, since pfSense is just seen as a DHCP client by their device, shouldn't it just work?

My computers do, if I connect them to ther device. 🫤

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

Dns should work - kind of hard to use the internet if dns doesn't work..  When you plug your device into their device - what does it give you for dns, the IP of their device? You can set pfsense to use that for dns.

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The Dark Knight

Posted
  • Author
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On 20/10/2022 at 04:52, BudMan said:

Dns should work - kind of hard to use the internet if dns doesn't work..  When you plug your device into their device - what does it give you for dns, the IP of their device? You can set pfsense to use that for dns.

Ok, so here's something important. There is definitely something in my configuration that is blocking pfSense from getting DNS resolution on WAN2. I created a brand new VM and setup a fresh install of pfSense. I then configured only the second connection as my primary WAN. pfSense is pulling a private IP from their device, and everything is working!

 

So it definitely works, just not in my current setup. I'm sure it has something to do with the way I am using Pi-hole for DNS resolution and also probably because of my redirect rule so that clients are forced to use my Pi-holes.

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The Dark Knight

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Ok. But then that still leaves the question....why isn't it working?

It's not an absolute deal breaker if it doesn't, but would be nice to be able to take advantage of automatic dual WAN functionality.

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

Posted
  • MVC
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so when your connected directly to this isp device, what does your client use for dns?

 

Your saying when you redid your pfsense its now all working.. So your saying the directed queries you did before are now working?

Veteran

The Dark Knight

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  • Author
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DNS IP is showing their router IP - 192.168.29.1

 

Yes, I tested dig @8.8.8.8 and dig @d.root-servers.net com. NS like in your screenshots, works perfectly.

 

 

dnstest4.jpg

dnstest5.jpg

Veteran

The Dark Knight

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
On 21/10/2022 at 07:49, BudMan said:

Well add your other line now..  But if dns isn't working, then yeah hard to get anywhere even if you have connectivity.

Yes, will try adding it soon. Not at home currently, so will do it tonight and test. I think I also enabled the option to let DNS be overriden by what the WAN interface gives. Not sure, can only check later today.

 

But if I do have to keep that enabled for WAN2 to work, pfSense will do that for my primary connection as well. Can I still have my Pi-hole handle DNS instead of the WAN1 DNS (they use Google DNS)?

 

 

On 21/10/2022 at 08:07, binaryzero said:

What's the gateway set to on your pi-hole, does it have internet connectivity when you failover to your secondary connection? If you've set your DNS forwarders to use pi-hole, and it can't get out..well...rip.

When I simulate WAN1 being down, WAN2 has no DNS resolution and my Pi-holes are not accessible.

 

My Pi-holes are on a seperate VLAN, and no Gateway was specified under the Interface settings on pfSense. On both Pi-holes, Upstream is Cloudflare DoH using the Cloudflared service.

Grand Master

binaryzero

Posted
Posted

What? The Pi-Holes will need a gateway to communicate to the internet...

 

If you disconnect WAN1 and DNS stops, its probably because the pi-holes have lost internet connection?

 

You can specify whatever you want as DNS servers on your LAN, use DHCP to hand out the pi-hole IPs for DNS.

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processing functions, such as UTF-8 cleaning, line splitting, and token parsing Complete update of port-mapping UPNP/NAT-PMP engine, added PCP support, mapping over VPN support, and more Several refinements to default gateway detection on Windows / Android, which is used for port-mapping Support for IPv6 interface-scoped addresses, which is sometimes needed for IPv6 gateway detection and port mapping Full support for PCP port remapping, added backup zero-port query in case requested port is rejected New UPNP/NAT-PMP Monitor in Help > Diagnostics New reflected local port/location tracker that analyzes DHT replies to detect true port/location and NAT mapping type New TCP/UDP Ports monitor in Help > Diagnostics, with several statistic and information tabs, and a detailed event log Calculated/reflected local port is now used for port parameter in tracker queries and peer handshake Fixed several problems with Linux Wayland compatibility Completely replaced tray icon functions in Linux, new SNI implementation is now the default with GSI backup Implemented full DBus-Menu server to be used by new SNI tray icon implementation Replaced Linux tray balloon notification DBus client Rewrote auto-shutdown DBus interface for Linux Rewrote sleep inhibit DBus interface for Linux Dropped deprecated Linux dbus-glib dependencies Completely new Windows asynchronous file handling, now using IOCP model with several block-alignment optimizations Better handling of system network resets and interface down/up cycles Added option to fully clear configuration in Settings > Import/Export Remember last option checkboxes when using Import/Export Fixed minor I2P incoming connection routing problems Much faster I2P vanity host name finder Much faster channel user vanity key finder Raised length limit for torrent tracker remote failure messages to 120 from 64 Fixed problems setting download location on a torrent before the meta info is resolved Added location/MOC paths to category pane tooltips Several minor Web Interface fixes Refinements to static and scrolling ellipsizing layout routines Several fixes and improvements to single and multi-line text edit controls Many other minor fixes throughout the user interface A major overhaul of the Android framework has also been done: API target raised to 35, page alignment set to 16K Rewrote all inset processing routines Full rewrite of foreground service, application, and main activity objects New permission request routines Added multi-cast lock request before UPNP/LPDP discovery operations Fixed file permission and locking problems when loading .torrent from web browsers Fixed problems with Z-ordering of modal / non-modal and popup windows Fixed handling of back gesture on newer OS Added status bar icon adjustment based on status bar background color Added option in Settings > UI > Behavior to continue running in tray when task removed from recents App can be closed by swiping away notification Rewrote IME interface, fixed several problems with auto-correct, on-screen keyboard visibility, and cursor positioning Added full support for Android hardware mouse and keyboard function Added full tooltip implementation for Android hovering via mouse or other cursor device Full rewrite of popup menu widgets to better support hardware pointers and keyboard Added mouse cursor updating framework for Android hovering Added Settings > Import/Export to Android builds Added language file support to Android builds Download: Tixati 64-bit | Tixati 32-bit ~20.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Portable Tixati 3.43 | 114.0 MB Download: Tixati 3.43 for Linux | Android View: Tixati Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Firefox 152.0.1

      By Copernic · Posted

      Firefox 152.0.1 by Razvan Serea Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser. It offers great security, privacy, and protection against viruses, spyware, malware, and it can also easily block pop-up windows. The key features that have made Firefox so popular are the simple and effective UI, browser speed and strong security capabilities. Firefox has complete features for browsing the Internet. It is very reliable and flexible due to its implemented security features, along with customization options. Firefox includes pop-up blocking, tab-browsing, integrated Google search, simplified privacy controls, a streamlined browser window that shows you more of the page than any other browser and a number of additional features that work with you to help you get the most out of your time online. Firefox key features Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) – Blocks trackers, cookies, cryptominers, and fingerprinters by default. Private Browsing Mode – Deletes history, cookies, and temporary files when closed. Lightweight & Fast Performance – Optimized memory usage with efficient page loading. Cross-Platform Sync – Sync bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs across devices. Customizable Interface – Toolbars, themes, and extensions can be tailored to user needs. Strong Privacy Controls – Options to manage cookies, permissions, and site data easily. Reader Mode – Strips away clutter for distraction-free reading. Pocket Integration – Save and read articles offline with Pocket built into Firefox. Picture-in-Picture (PiP) – Watch videos in a floating window while multitasking. Extensions & Add-ons – Vast library for productivity, security, and personalization. Built-in PDF Viewer – No need for external software to view PDFs. Firefox Monitor – Alerts users if their email is part of a known data breach. Multi-Account Containers – Isolate browsing sessions (e.g., work, personal, shopping). Performance & Resource Efficiency – Uses fewer system resources than some competitors. Open Source & Community-Driven – Transparent development with global contributions. Firefox 152.0.1 fixes: Fixed frequent crashes affecting users with Intel Raptor Lake processors. (Bug 2039575) Fixed an issue on macOS where choosing a PDF option, such as "Save as PDF", from the system print dialog would send the job to your printer instead of saving a file. (Bug 2047850) Download: Firefox 64-bit | Firefox 32-bit | ARM64 | ~70.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Firefox for MacOS | 146.0 MB View: Firefox Home Page | Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

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