Troubleshoot and Fix Safari Not Working on Mac [4 Tips]

January 27, 2021Nicole Jones

Safari is the default browser for Apple products and it comes built-in with your MacBook. If Safari is slow, stops responding, crashes unexpectedly or can not loading pages on your Mac, it will be a real headache.

Many users complained about the Safari not working on Mac issue. Are you one of them?

In fact, many factors will cause these issues, such as network connection, caches, cookies, internet plug-in, Safari extension, add-on and more.

This post shows 4 effective solutions to help you fix the Safari not working on Mac, whether it is running slow, freezing up, not working properly, or crashing.

Troubleshoot and Fix Safari Not Working on Mac

Part 1. Reboot to Fix Safari Not Working on MacBook

When Safari can't open pages on your MacBook, you should first check the internet connection. You need to ensure the URL is right and then refresh the page to check if the problem is still there.

If the Safari still can't work properly on Mac, you can choose to reboot your MacBook. You can keep pressing the Power button until a dialog appears. Then click the "Restart" button to reboot your Mac. Or you can choose the "Restart" comment from the Apple menu. After rebooting, you can back to Safari and try opening a site again.

Reboot

Part 2. Clear Caches to Fix Safari Not Working on Mac

Under most circumstances, Safari can not work properly on Mac is due to the caches, cookies, and website data. Temporary data or Safari browser caches can help you quickly load a site. But same time, they can cause Safari crash or open slow. So you need to frequently remove some site histories, caches and cookies.

Remove all Safari data

Step 1.
Open Safari on your Mac and then click "Safari" on the menu bar. Choose "Preferences" from the drop-down list.
Step 2.
Click "Privacy" tab and then choose "Manage Website Data".
Privacy
Step 3.
Click "Remove All" button. A pop-up window will ask you if you want to remove all stored data. Click "Remove Now" to confirm the operation. Then click "Down" to clear all data on your Safari.
Remove All

Clear history in Safari

Step 1.
Launch Safari on your Mac and then click the "Safari" menu in the toolbar.
Step 2.
Click the "Clear History" option from the drop-down menu. Here you can choose the desired data deletion time interval and then click "Clear History" again to easily clear history in Safari.
Clear History

Delete Safari web caches

Step 1.
Open Safari on your Mac and then click the "Safari" menu and choose "Preferences".
Step 2.
Click the "Advanced" section and tick the "Show Development menu in menu bar" option.
Step 3.
When "Develop" panel appears on the top menu, click on it and choose "Empty Cache" option.
Empty Cache

Best way to clear Safari caches, cookies, and more

With the methods above, you can remove Safari caches and other useless data. Here we introduce you with the great Mac Cleaner to help you better manage these Safari files.

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Step 1.
Free download, install and run Mac Cleaner on your Mac. You can check the system status of your Mac when you enter the main interface.
Launch
Step 2.
Click "Cleaner" > "Junk Files" > "Scan" to scan all useless cache files and logs on your Mac.
Scan
Step 3.
After scanning, all junk files like Safari caches, app caches, photo junks, system logs, system caches, and more will be listed clearly in the interface. Select the specific items and then click the "Clean" button to remove Mac caches with ease.
Remove Mac Caches
Clean Mac play-button

Part 3. Update Safari to Fix Apple Mac Safari Not Working

Updating is a simple and effective solution to deal with various problems. Sometimes, Safari problems are caused by bugs. In that case, you can try updating Safari to its latest version to solve the problems.

Click "Apple" icon on the menu bar and select the "Software Update" item. This operation will start the App Store and takes you to the "Updates" section. Actually, Mac OS X will regularly and automatically check for updates to Safari. It will prompt you automatically in the top-right hand corner of the screen when there is an available update.

Update Safari

Part 4. Disable Search Suggestions to Fix Safari Not Working on Mac

Safari search suggestions can be a great help to speed up the process of finding what you want. You can choose to disable the search suggestions when your Safari crash or can't work properly on Mac.

Step 1.
Open "Safari" and then click on "Safari" on the menu bar. Select "Preferences" from the drop-down list.
Step 2.
Click the "Search" tab when you enter the browser preference settings window.
Click on the 'Search' tab in the 'Preferences' dialog box. The Search preference settings page will appear.
Step 3.
Stop "Safari Suggestions" in the Search preference settings window. Here you can un-check the "Include Safari Suggestions" to do that.
Safari Suggestions

If Safari stops working on your iPhone, you can read the post to solve Safari not working on iPhone issue.

After reading this page, you can easily fix the xSafari not working on Mac issue. We show 4 simple ways to help you solve the problems when your Safari crash, can't load pages, or slow. Don't hesitate to contact us if you still have any questions.

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