Safari not working on mac after update

The default browser on Mac, Safari, comes with quite a few nifty features. The unification of tabs and the URL bar, the ability to group similar tabs using Tab Group, the Website Tinting, and a built-in translator are noteworthy features.

Moreover, if you are into the Apple ecosystem, its handy integration with other linked devices will efficiently streamline your workflow.

However, not everyone can make use of these features. A slew of complaints is lined up across various forums where the users cannot open any website on the Safari browser.

For others, the browser is continuously changing, and in some cases, it isnt even launching on their Mac. If you are also facing any of these issues, then in this guide, we will make you aware of various methods that shall help you troubleshoot and fix the issue of Safari not working on the macOS.

Do note that theres no universal fix as such. You will have to try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success for you.

• Restart Mac Computer
• Force Quit Safari
• Install software updates
• Delete Safari Cache
• Delete Browser Data
• Disable Safari Extensions
• Delete Safari Preferences
• Bottom Line: Safari is not working

Restart Mac Computer

Before moving ahead with any advanced fixes, you should first start with the basic ones. In this regard, your first course of action should be to restart the PC.

Here are the steps to restart and reboot the Mac computer:

1. Click on the Apple
   
   from the menubar.
2. Select Restart from the sub-menu that appears.
   
   
3. Confirm rebooting the Mac device with Restart command button.
   
   

Once it boots up, check whether the Safari is not working issue has not been fixed. It will mostly resolve the underlying issue with unsuccessful updates and make Safari normal again.

Force Quit Safari

If any browsers background processes arent working along the expected lines, the browser will directly face its adverse consequences. Therefore you should consider stopping all these processes by force quitting the browser and then letting it work in a new environment from scratch.

Here are the steps to force quit Safari browser from the Mac computer:

1. Click the Apple
   
   in the menubar.
2. Select Force Quit from the drop-down menu.
   
   
   It will open the Force Quit Applications window.
3. Select the Safari app from the list.
   
   
4. Click the Force Quit button.

It will immediately terminate the Safari processes in the foreground and background. Just relaunch the browser normally to check if the issue with Safari is resolved.

Install software updates

Apple regularly releases software upgrades for its OS, which comes bundled in with updates for the browser. These updates may or may not add new features, but they optimize the browsers performance, enhance its security, and irons out all the underlying bugs.

Therefore, it is recommended to download and install these updates immediately when available.

Here are the steps to install and update the Safari browser on Mac:

1. Click on the Apple
   
   and select the System Preferences… sub-menu.
   It will launch the System Preferences window.
2. Select the Software Update program from the list.
   
3. Click on the More info… link.
   
   
4. Select the checkbox against the Safari browser to install updates.
   
   
5. Hit on the Install Now command button.

The download will begin, and Safari update installation finishes automatically.

Once done, restart your PC and launch Safari to verify if its working on your macOS or not. If your answer is still in a negative tone, then here are a few other tweaks that you should try out.

Delete Safari Cache

If a lot of temporary data gets accumulated over time, it will slow down the browser and conflict with its functionality. Therefore, you should consider deleting these cache files.

Here are the steps to empty the Safari Mac browser cache:

1. Launch the Apple Safari browser.
2. Click on the Safari menu and select the Preferences sub-menu.
3. Switch to the Advanced tab.
4. Enable the check box for the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
   
   
   It will enable a new Develop menu in the Safari menu bar.
5. Click on the Develop menu on the menu bar.
6. Select Empty Caches from the drop-down menu.
   
   
   It will clear and empty all the cache files stored within the Safari browser.

Upon deleting the cache files, the browser might take a couple of extra seconds to load the websites. However, this would be a one-time delay and could prove worth the wait if it rectifies the underlying issue.

Delete Browser Data

If the browsers app data has got corrupted, then deleting the cache might not prove to be the best bet. Instead, you will have to delete all its data files as well. The browser will then re-populate these data from your Apple ID, which could resolve the issue that we are currently facing.

1. Launch the Apple Safari browser.
2. Click on the Safari menu and select the Preferences sub-menu.
3. Switch to the Privacy tab, and click on the Manage Website Data… button.
   
   
   It will open the stored website data and cache.
4. Hit on the Remove All option.
   
   
5. Click on the Remove Now button and hit on Done button.

Now restart the browser and check if it can fix the Safari not working issue on macOS.

Deleting the website data would sign you out of all the logged-in sites and remove the saved information. So make sure you sign in to the browser via your Apple account to restore all those data.

Disable Safari Extensions

In some instances, third-party add-ons could end up breaking the browsers functionality. The best way to verify if that is the case is to disable all the extensions and then try using the browser.

If the issue no longer appears, then the culprit was one of those extensions, and you should consider disabling or uninstalling the issue-causing one right away.

Here are the steps to disable the Safari browser extensions on Mac:

1. Launch the Safari browser on your PC/Laptop.
2. Click on the Preferences option from the menu bar.
   It will open the Preferences window.
3. Switch to the Extensions tab.
   It will list out all the extensions installed on the Safari browser.
4. Deselect the checkbox located right next to the extension to turn it off.
   
   

Theres no denying that these extensions tend to add more features to your browser. But if it is behind the root cause of an issue, its better to bid farewell to these add-ons.

If disabling any extension has resolved the problem, you may try to find an alternative and uninstall the existing one.

Delete Safari Preferences

The browsers preferences file mainly contains the homepage, new tabs, default search engine, and the likes. However, if any of this data gets corrupted, then it could spell out trouble for the browser as a whole.

Therefore, you should consider deleting this file and then let the browser create a new instance.

Here are the steps to delete the Safari Mac preferences file:

1. Launch the Finder window in Mac.
2. Press and hold the Option key and select the Go menu.
3. Select the Library option from the drop-down menu.
   
   
   It will launch the Library folder within the Finder window.
4. Navigate and open the Preferences folder.
   
   
5. Find and delete com.apple.Safari.plist file from the preferences folder.

Once the file has been moved to trash, restart the browser. Safari will create a new Preferences file and start using it. And upon doing so, it would have resolved the issue as well.

Bottom Line: Safari is not working

It was a troubleshooting guide on how you could fix the Safari not working issue on your macOS. No matter how efficient and well-designed an app or software is, theres no denying the fact that they are still prone to issues and bugs.

In this regard, Apples browser is no different either, though the frequency of such issues is on the lower side. Besides, its browsers inability to work along the expected lines seems to be the most common issue bugging the users as of late.

But now that you know of different methods to rectify this problem, you shouldnt have any trouble dealing with it in the future if the issue reappears.

On that note, we round off this tutorial on fixing when Safari is not working on Mac. Please feel free to drop in if any other solutions have worked for you apart from those mentioned.

Lastly, here are the recommended web browsers for your computer and mobile phone that you should give a try.

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