How to fix Safari not working on Mac

Apple Safari is the default pre-installed browser on Mac computers. It is also a preferred choice among most Mac users due to its simplicity and privacy integration. However, the browser may have problems during software updates, causing it to stop working. Find out how to fix Safari not working on Mac

However, some general troubleshooting techniques often help most users to resolve Safari not working issue on macOS computers.

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

Plus, if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, its convenient integration with other linked devices will efficiently streamline your workflow.

How to fix Safari not working on Mac

However, not everyone can make use of these features. A lot of complaints are lined up on various forums where users are unable to open any website in Safari browser.

For others, the browser keeps changing and in some cases it won’t even start on your Mac. If you are also facing any of these issues, then in this guide, we will tell you about several methods that will help you troubleshoot and fix the Safari problem that does not work on macOS.

Note that there is no universal solution as such. You will have to try each of the alternative solutions mentioned below and then see which one spells success for you.

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Restart Mac computer

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

Here are the steps to reset and restart Mac computer :

• Click on the apple from the menu bar.
• Select Restart in the submenu that appears.

• Confirm to reboot the Mac device with Restart Command button.

Once it starts, check if Safari is not working, the problem is not fixed. It will mostly resolve the underlying issue with failed updates and get Safari back to normal.

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Force Quit Safari

If the background processes of any browser do not work as expected, the browser will directly face its adverse consequences. Therefore, you should consider stopping all these processes by force closing the browser and then letting it work in a new environment from scratch.

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

• Click on the apple in the menu bar.
• Select force exit in the dropdown menu.

• The Force Quit Applications window will open.
• Select the app Safari of the list.

• Click on the force quit button.

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

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Install software updates

Apple regularly releases software updates for its operating system, which are bundled with browser updates. These updates may or may not add new features, but they do optimize the browser’s performance, improve its security, and remove all underlying bugs.

Therefore, it is recommended that you download and install these updates immediately when they become available.

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

• Click on the apple and select the submenu preferences of system… .
  It will open the System Preferences window.
• Select the program Software update of the list.

• click the link More information …

• Select the checkbox of the browser Safari to install updates.

• Hit the Install Now Command button.

The download will start and the installation of the Safari update will finish automatically.

Once done, restart your PC and launch Safari to check whether it is working on your macOS or not. If your answer is still on a negative note, here are some other settings you should try.

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Clear Safari cache

If a lot of temporary data accumulates 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 clear Safari Mac browser cache :

• start Apple’s Safari browser.
• Click on the menu Safari and select the submenu preferences .
• Switch to tab Advanced .
• Check the checkbox from the Show Develop menu in the menu bar

• It will enable a new Develop menu in the Safari menu bar.
• Click on the menu Develop in the menu bar.
• Select empty caches in the dropdown menu.

• It will clean and empty all cache files stored in Safari browser.

By deleting cache files, it may take a couple of seconds longer for the browser to load websites. However, this would be a one-time delay and worth the wait if the underlying issue is corrected.

Clear browser data

If your browser app data has been corrupted, clearing the cache may not be the best option. Instead, you will also have to delete all your data files. The browser will then refill this data from your Apple ID, which might resolve the issue we are currently facing.

• start Apple’s Safari browser.
• Click on the menu Safari and select the submenu preferences .
• Switch to tab Privacy and click on theManage website data…

• It will open the cache and stored data of the website.
• Hit the delete all option.

• Click on the remove now button and hit Done button.

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

Deleting website data would log you out of all connected sites and delete saved information. So make sure to log in to the browser through your Apple account to restore all those data.

Disable Safari extensions

In some cases, third party plugins could end up breaking the functionality of the browser. The best way to check if that’s the case is to disable all extensions and then try using the browser.

If the problem no longer appears, then one of those extensions was the culprit, and you should consider disabling or uninstalling the one that caused the problem immediately.

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

• start Safari browser on your PC/Laptop.
• Click on the option preferences from the menu bar.
  It will open the Preferences window.
• Switch to tab extensions .
  It will list all the extensions installed in the Safari browser.
• Clear the check box located right next to the extension to deactivate it.

There is no denying that these extensions tend to add more features to your browser. But if you’re after the root cause of a problem, it’s best to say goodbye to these plugins.

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

Remove Safari Preferences

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

So you should consider deleting this file and then letting the browser create a new instance.

Here are the steps to remove preferences file from Safari Mac :

• Start the window Finder on Mac
• Hold down the Option key and select the menu To go .
• Select option Library from the dropdown menu.

• It will launch the Library folder within the Finder window.
• Browse and open the folder preferences .

• Find and delete the com.apple.Safari.plist file from the preferences folder.

Once the file has been moved to the trash, restart the browser. Safari will create a new preferences file and start using it. And by doing so, you would also have solved the problem.

Conclusion: Safari does not work

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

In this regard, Apple’s browser is also no different, although the frequency of such problems is less. Also, the inability of your browser to work as expected seems to be the most common issue bothering users in recent times.

But now that you know about different methods to fix this problem, you should not have any problem to fix it in the future if the problem reappears.

On that note, we completed this tutorial on How to Fix Safari Not Working on Mac. Feel free to drop by if any other solutions have worked for you apart from the ones mentioned above.

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