Unknown Master Password is Set at Initial Startup (Firefox)

Note for Linux users: "Tools -> Options" is "Edit -> Preferences" on Linux.

Upon initial installation, Firefox sometimes believes it has a Master Password in effect and the user is unable to change it using "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Saved Passwords -> Change Master Password" because the set Master Password is unknown to the user [1] [2]. This situation sometimes occurs when one an existing Mozilla Suite profile's passwords is imported into Firefox at install time.

Solution

• Close Firefox.
• Go to "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Saved Passwords" and click on Clear.

If this does not solve the problem, try:

• Rename the "key3.db" file in your profile folder into anything else (for example, "key3.db.hide").
• Then, if you want to actually set a Master Password you can use, open Firefox and use either "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Saved Passwords -> Change Master Password" or "chrome://pippki/content/pref-masterpass.xul" (see Chrome URLs) to enter your desired password.