Lotus Geek :: Quick Tech Tip: Google Maps doesn't work in my Firefox 3 installation

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I have been running Firefox 3 for awhile, and I really like it. I noticed recently, however, that Google Maps suddenly stopped working. The Google Maps page loaded, but the maps image never fully loaded - it simply showed "Loading..." in the upper left-hand corner of the grey box where the map should be. The problem doesn't show up on the Firefox error console, and troubleshooting it can be a bit of a pain. So, what caused this problem, and what is the solution?

Well, to make a long story short the culprit is the updated Skype plug-in (ver. 2.2.0.87 in my case) for Firefox 3. The problem appears to be (really a guess on my part) that for some reason when it is enabled it causes the AJAX calls used to update the map images to quit working.

If you simply disable the Skype plug-in, your Google Maps will begin to work immediately afterwards. Simple enough, huh?

UPDATE: This bug is fixed in latest Skype hotfix which you can download from here.

Hope this helps!

Rock

Comments

1 - I'm getting the same thing and I don't have the skype plugin installed.

Posted by Carlos Rivera At 09:51:12 AM On 08/07/2008 | - Website - |

2 - That extension scares me... why is it modifying the global Ajax object (if that's what's going on)? And why is it packaged as an EXE? Emoticon

Posted by mdmadph At 02:18:17 PM On 08/06/2008 | - Website - |

3 - Excellent catch, Rock! I was experiencing the same thing, but hadn't yet taken the time to figure out why the maps weren't loading. I just removed the Skype plug-in, and all is good again.

Posted by Duffbert At 11:24:26 AM On 08/06/2008 | - Website - |

4 - @Carlos - check to see if you have Skype installed at all; if so, you probably got the Skype plugin without knowing it.

Check your Extensions window to see if Skype is listed.

Rock

Posted by Rock At 04:31:24 PM On 08/08/2008 | - Website - |

5 - Just a quick thanks, Rock. Did a fair amount of searching to try and discover *why* Google Maps had stopped working, and sure enough, the Skype extension was the culprit. Thanks a lot for that.

Posted by Bobby Corr At 10:44:16 AM On 08/31/2008 | - Website - |