#Textbox missing cursor and placeholder in ChatGPT on Firefox 140.0.4 Win10 24H2

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waxen pythonBOT
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Reported by @small coyote

Bug Report: Textbox missing cursor and placeholder in ChatGPT on Firefox 140.0.4 Win10 24H2
`Steps to Reproduce`
  1. Open ChatGPT in Firefox 140.0.4 on Windows 10 24H2 (Build 26100)
  2. Watch the input box, the placeholder “Ask me anything…” appears briefly then vanishes
  3. Click the input and start typing, text cursor is invisible on first line only
  4. Cursor reappears if you press the left arrow key to move backward or type enough text to wrap to the second line
  5. Same input box works normally in Chrome on same machine and account, so bug is isolated to Firefox 140+
`Expected Result`

The input box should always display the “Ask me anything…” placeholder text until the user types something. The text cursor (caret) should always be visible and blinking when the input is focused, whether typing on the first line or after line wrap. There should be no difference in typing behavior or visibility between browsers. The input should behave consistently across Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or any modern browser that supports standard CSS and frontend code.

`Actual Result`

When loading ChatGPT in Firefox 140.0.4, the placeholder text appears for a split second then disappears even though the input is empty. When clicking into the input and typing, the text cursor is invisible on the first line, which makes it confusing to edit text. The cursor only shows up if the user presses the left arrow key to move backward into text or keeps typing until the text wraps to the next line. Chrome has no issue, only Firefox 140+ does this.

`Environment`

Browser: Firefox 140.0.4 on Windows 10 24H2 build 26100. Issue is isolated to Firefox, does not appear in Chrome. Tried all normal browser troubleshooting (clear cache, extensions, safe mode). Suspected cause: input styling not rendering correctly in Firefox 140+. Will add full details, screenshots, and test notes in thread replies.

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Additional Information

Please provide relevant details to help resolve the issue, such as:

  • ChatGPT Shared Link (if applicable).
  • Screenshots or videos demonstrating the problem.

-# ➜ Need to contact support? Visit the OpenAI Help Center.

small coyote
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Here is a more detailed summary of my problem that I originally wrote as a forum post.

Hi everyone, I’d like to report a UI rendering bug that affects the ChatGPT input box when using Firefox version 140.0.4 on Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.4652). After working through this issue in depth with ChatGPT and trying every reasonable fix, the issue persists and appears to be a frontend compatibility problem between ChatGPT and Firefox 140 and above.

Issue Summary:
The placeholder text ("Ask me anything...") appears briefly on initial page load and then disappears, even if the input remains unfocused, unlike expected behavior.
The blinking text cursor is completely invisible when typing on the first line, even with the input field focused. It only reappears under specific conditions (see below).
The cursor only reappears if:

  • I press the left arrow key to move backward into text, or
  • The input wraps to the second line.
    There are no typing or visual issues at all in Chrome. This is isolated to Firefox.

System Info:
Browser: Firefox 140.0.4 (Build ID: 20250707120347)
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:140.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/140.0
OS: Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.4652)

What I’ve Already Tried (with ChatGPT’s help):
Browser-level fixes:

  • Refreshed the page, cleared cache and cookies
  • Incognito or private window test
  • Disabled all extensions
  • Reset zoom (Ctrl+0) and tested at multiple zoom levels
  • Disabled hardware acceleration
  • Cleared startup cache (about:support)
  • Tried in Firefox Troubleshoot Mode (safe mode)
    Advanced troubleshooting:
  • Created a brand new Firefox profile and tested, same issue
  • Inspected the input element in Dev Tools: placeholder text is technically present; no opacity 0, visibility hidden, or text indent hiding it
  • Verified this bug does not occur in Chrome on the same machine and account

Attempt to Report via Official Help Page:
I also reached out through the official help page chat support system. The AI support agent acknowledged that:
“You’ve already covered everything a user could do from their end… this likely points to a compatibility bug introduced between a recent ChatGPT frontend update and Firefox 140.”
However, they said they could not escalate the issue to the engineering team, only log it for internal monitoring. I was advised to use the in-app feedback system (which I did), but there is currently no way to file a traditional support ticket or speak to a human.

Suspected Cause:
This issue appears to be the result of a frontend regression or styling incompatibility between ChatGPT’s recent UI code (likely involving placeholder text styling, caret color, or container layout) and Firefox 140’s rendering engine. It started happening around mid-July 2025 and did not exist before.
Firefox 140 has introduced some layout quirks, and it is possible this bug only affects specific OS and browser combinations, for example Windows 11 Pro 24H2 with Firefox 140.

Why I’m Posting Here:
Because there is no traditional support ticketing system and the AI help agent cannot escalate directly to engineering, I’m sharing this in the discord so that:

  • Others affected can confirm or chime in
  • Moderators or staff can escalate the issue to the ChatGPT frontend team
  • Visibility increases for an eventual fix, either by OpenAI or Firefox

Temporary Workaround:
For now, I’m using ChatGPT in Chrome where everything works fine. I also tried Firefox Developer Edition and older Firefox versions, and the bug seems specific to recent Firefox stable builds (140 and above).

Please let me know if anyone else can reproduce this, or if staff can forward this to engineering for further review. I’m happy to provide screenshots or video captures if needed. Thanks for reading!

timber tartan
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I got the same problem, been digging around in the css and html to find a fix. I found a sort of workaround even tho not perfect by removing the display:none; on the fallbackTextarea.
Seems like a simple problem to fix on the ui. Some css, scripts that are specific to different browsers. Wondering if any kind of test automation is performed on the ui -testing all browsers before going in prod or maybe it's a problem with the latest firefox updates.

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