safari tabs not closing

4 Ways to Fix Safari Closing Tabs on Its Own

Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

Paurush dabbles around iOS and Mac while his close encounters are with Android and Windows. Before becoming a writer, he produced videos for brands like Mr. Phone and Digit. On weekends, he is a full-time cinephile trying to reduce his never-ending watchlist, often making it longer.

• Disable the auto-close tabs feature in Safari by opening Safari > Safari in the top-left corner > Settings > Tabs > Automatically close tabs > select Manually.
• Disable iCloud Syncing and clear website cache in Safari on your Mac.
• Disable Private Relay for your Mac by going to Settings > Profile icon > iCloud > Private Relay > disable the feature.

Basic Fixes

• Force quit and relaunch Safari : This helps in giving the app a fresh start if it has been running in the background for quite some time.
• Remove extensions : Faulty extensions that don’t receive updates can also cause such issues.
• Update Safari : Installing the latest version of the browser can surely help in fixing the issue.

Fix 1: Disable Auto-Close Tabs

There’s a feature in Safari that automatically closes tabs after a certain period of time. You need to disable that feature and allow only manually closing of tabs.

Step 1: Launch Safari on Mac. Click Safari at the top-left corner and then select Settings .

Step 2: Move to the Tabs menu. Expand the Automatically close tabs menu and then select Manually .

Restart Safari, and it shouldn’t auto-close tabs.

Fix 2: Disable iCloud Syncing in Safari

Sometimes when you open the same tab in Safari on a different Apple device, it possible that the tab can get closed on your Mac.

Step 1: Click the Apple logo in the Mac menu bar and then open System Settings .

Step 2: Select your account and then open iCloud .

Step 3: Select Show all under Apps Using iCloud .

Step 4: Disable the toggle beside Safari.

Fix 3: Disable Private Relay on Mac

Apple’s iCloud Private Relay is a privacy add-on to hide your IP address and browsing activity from advertisers and trackers. This can also lead to closing of tabs in Safari.

Step 1: Go to System Settings on Mac, select your profile and then open iCloud .

Step 2: Open Private Relay and then disable the option from the following menu.

Fix 4: Clear Website Data

Just as a troubleshooting process, you can clear the website cache in Safari and relaunch the web page again.

Step 1: Go to Safari settings on your Mac.

Step 2: Move to the Privacy tab and then click Manage Website Data .

Step 3: Remove all website cache and try again.

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Last updated on 28 May, 2024

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Safari Tabs Disappeared on iPhone? How to Get Them Back!

What to know.

• You can re-open recently closed tabs in Safari by tapping and holding the plus icon.
• Lastly, check if your missing tab is hidden in another tab group or within a separate Safari profile.
• If your Safari tabs disappeared on iPad, you can try merging windows or revealing the iPad shelf.

Why do your tabs keep closing on iPhone or iPad? Maybe you wanted to retrieve a few interesting recipes you saw online, but now the tabs for those recipes are nowhere to be seen in Safari. But don't panic! We'll show you how to retrieve those lost tabs on your iPhone or iPad.

• iPad-Specific Fixes
• Re-Opening Closed Tabs
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do My Tabs Disappear in Safari on iPad?

Safari closing tabs on its own seems to happen somewhat frequently to iPad users. We'll start with some iPad-specific fixes for how to get tabs back. Has your Safari app completely disappeared from your Home Screen? Find out how to get Safari back on your iPhone or iPad . For more iPhone and iPad troubleshooting pointers, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

How to Get Tabs Back on iPad

If you're browsing the web on an iPad and you have multiple Safari windows open, then you may not be able to see all your tabs. These steps will allow all your open tabs to appear in the current window. This potentially includes some tabs that weren’t visible in the Tab Overview screen. For a more in-depth tutorial, check out our article on re-opening closed tabs in Safari .

Reveal the Shelf on iPad

This method will show any open windows directly above the Dock. As a result, you will be able to switch between windows and potentially reveal any Safari tabs that disappeared on your iPad.

How to Open a Closed Tab on iPhone & iPad

The purpose of this method is to find and reopen tabs you may have accidentally closed. This works on both iPhone and iPad (although the placement of the buttons in the below screenshots will look different depending on your device).

Disable Auto-Close Tabs

Another cause of Safari tabs disappearing is a setting that automatically closes open Safari tabs after a set amount of time. This can prevent the problem of too many open tabs but can also lead to tabs you still want open getting closed. Here's how to solve this issue on your iPhone or iPad.

Bookmark Open Tabs

Once a tab is bookmarked, you will always be able to find it, even if it's closed or your browser history is closed

Check Tab Groups & Safari Profiles

In Safari, you can create tab groups to separate all of your different tabs into specific groups. For example, if you have several recipe tabs open, you could place these tabs into a group called "Dinners." Additionally, iOS 17 and newer include a feature called Safari Profiles, allowing you to separate your browsing sessions into different profiles.

If you are still having trouble opening closed tabs or locating a missing tab, it may, unfortunately, be lost forever. Next, find out the best ways to manage your Safari tabs .

Why do my tabs keep closing on iPhone? You might have your Safari tabs set to automatically close. You can change this by going into Settings, tapping Safari, and then selecting Close Tabs. Check out the above section on how to set your Safari tabs to manually close  for more information.

How to close all tabs in Safari? You can close all your open tabs at once. If you've become too overwhelmed by all your open tabs, simply tap and hold the tabs button, then select Close All Tabs. Check out this tip on how to close all tabs at once  for a more detailed view.

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How to Restore Accidentally Closed Safari Tabs on iPhone

• If you’ve accidentally closed Safari tabs on an iPhone, you can easily recover them by using the Recently Closed Tabs list.
• Another alternative method is to restore deleted Safari tabs by accessing the History tab.
• And, finally the Shake to Undo feature also allows you to recover recently closed Safari tabs on iPhone.

Did you accidentally close all tabs open in Safari on your iPhone? If you did, you’re not alone. Several people, including myself, have encountered this issue at least once. However, it is nothing to worry about as you can easily recover any deleted Safari tab. Read along to learn how to Restore accidentally closed Safari tabs on iPhone. 

How To Recover Deleted Safari Tabs on iPhone

Since Safari is the primary web browser for most of us, we have multiple tabs open within the browser. Some of us leave these tabs open as we need to revisit them later. Now, if you accidentally delete or close all of these tabs in Safari, do not panic. Recovering accidentally closed Safari tabs isn’t all that difficult. 

Many people accidentally close tabs and you can find several posts regarding this issue on Apple’s Discussion Community page . Therefore, to solve this issue, we’ve put together some of the best troubleshooting methods to help you recover deleted Safari tabs on your iPhone.

1. Restore Accidentally Closed Tabs from Recently Closed Tabs List in Safari 

The Safari browser on iPhone has a Recently Closed Tabs list hidden in plain sight within the browser. Not many people are aware of this feature and hence panic when they accidentally close multiple Safari tabs on their iPhones. However, we will help you navigate to the Recently Closed Tabs list and reopen all the tabs you accidentally closed on Safari. 

Time needed:  1 minute

Steps to reopen websites from the Recently Closed Tabs list in Safari on iPhone. 

Once the tab opens, you can continue browsing. If you want to reopen several tabs that you accidentally closed, you will have to repeat this step multiple times. 

2. Restore Deleted Safari Tabs From Safari History

Another simple method to recover accidentally closed tabs is to restore them from History. Like most browsers, Safari also stores your browsing history in the History tab. However, note that if you accidentally closed tabs in the Private Browsing Mode, then they cannot be restored.

This is because Apple does not store browsing history for any activity in the Private Browsing Mode on iPhone. If they did, the Private Browsing Mode wouldn’t be that private. But if you’re on Mac, there’s a workaround that allows you to view Private Mode browsing history .

With that said, here’s how to recover deleted Safari tabs from Safari History on your iPhone. 

• Open the Safari browser on your iPhone. 
• Tap the Bookmarks icon located below the address bar. 
• Here, tap the History tab (clock icon). 
• Next, tap the page you want to reopen.
• Alternatively, you can also tap and hold and then select the Open in New Tab or Open in New Tab Group option if you do not want to load the link on the current tab. 

3. Shake Your iPhone To Undo Changes and Recover Accidentally Closed Tabs in Safari 

Have you ever tried the Shake to Undo feature on your iPhone? Chances are, you have used this feature to correct typing errors. However, the Shake to Undo feature offers a lot more and can help you undo several accidental changes, including the ability to restore recently closed tabs in Safari on iPhone. 

Apart from reopening accidentally closed tabs, the Shake to Undo feature also works in other apps and services. Here are a few examples of using your iPhone’s Shake to Undo feature.

• Creating, editing, renaming, or deleting files or folders in the Files app. 
• Creating, editing, or deleting events in the Calendar app.
• Editing or deleting images or videos in the Photos app.
• Rearranging apps and widgets on the Home Screen.

We understand that this feature might be helpful you right now. Because a few minutes must’ve passed since you accidentally closed these tabs. Regardless, it might come in handy in the near future. Therefore, here’s how to use the Shake to Undo feature to restore accidentally closed tabs in Safari on iPhone. 

• The moment you accidentally close Safari tabs, quickly shake your iPhone . We suggest using the hammering motion as that is what seems to work for us. 
• The iPhone will display an Undo Close Tab pop-up. Tap the Undo button. 
• The closed tab will be restored and you can continue browsing. 

If the Shake to Undo feature is not working on your iPhone, you might have accidentally disabled it. Here’s how to enable the Shake to Undo feature on iPhone. 

• Open the Settings app and tap the Accessibility option. 
• Select the Touch option located under the Physical and Motor menu. 
• On the next screen, enable the Shake to Undo toggle. 

Prevent Accidentally Closing Safari Tabs 

Why do you have multiple tabs open in Safari? Mostly, it might be because you visit those sites often and do not want to search for them every single time. However, navigating through hundreds of tabs to revisit a website isn’t very easy. While doing so, you might accidentally close all of the open tabs too. 

Therefore, in order to prevent accidentally closing Safari tabs on iPhone, we suggest bookmarking tabs you visit frequently. This will streamline the entire process of navigating websites you visit often and in turn save time. Here’s how to bookmark tabs in Safari on your iPhone. 

• Head to the website you want to bookmark.
• Now, tap and hold on the Bookmark icon below the address bar. 

• On the next screen, you can edit the Name and the Link of the website . 
• If you want to change the location of the Bookmark, tap the option below Location and select the Bookmark Folder of your choice. 

Conclusion 

We hope you were able to restore all the accidentally closed Safari tabs on your iPhone. I can completely relate to your pain of losing all the open tabs. It has happened to me in the past too. If you have any other doubts or are aware of other methods that can help restore accidentally deleted tabs in Safari, please let us know in the comments below. 

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Here are some quick fixes:

• You can disable auto-close Safari tabs on iPhone by going to Settings > Safari > Close tabs > Manually .
• Ensure that all tabs are visible by using either  Show All Windows  or  Merge all Windows option in Safari on iPad.
• To access the closed tabs, tap and hold the  Plus button  and select the tab you want to open.

I think we can all agree that the disappearing Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad are frustrating. Especially if you were doing something and paused it to resume later, only to discover Safari has automatically deleted all those tabs.

If you tend to keep multiple web pages open on your browser to access them later, losing them would be the last thing you want to happen. So why does Safari tabs keep disappearing on iPhone and iPad? There are multiple reasons for it, and I have gone through them to find the right fixes for you. Read along!

How do you fix disappearing Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad

1. disable auto-close safari tabs.

Auto-close is a feature in iOS and iPadOS, where you can make Safari close all the tabs after a particular period, such as a day, week, or month. If it’s turned on, the time to worry thinking why your safari tabs keep disappearing has come to an end, as you are going to find the fix here:

• Open Settings → tap Safari .
• Scroll to the Tabs section and tap Close Tabs .

That’s it! Now Safari won’t be closing tabs automatically, and you can have peace of mind.

2. Show all Safari windows on iPad

Despite turning off the auto-close tabs on your iPad, if you still cannot access all the Safari tabs, it might be because you are using multiple Safari windows on your iPad. So, let’s see how to switch between multiple Safari windows and find the disappeared tabs:

• Press and hold the Safari icon on the dock.

Now, you can see all the Safari windows that you have opened. Check if you can see the tab you are looking for in these windows. If you want to merge all these windows, I have mentioned the steps for that in the next part.

3. Merge all windows on iPad

Since managing all the Safari windows is a difficult task, the best way is to merge them all. All you have to do is:

• Open Safari .

As you can see, all the tabs present in multiple Safari windows will be combined and will be shown under a single window. Now, you can jump between tabs without fear of losing any tab unexpectedly until you close them.

4. Access the recently closed Safari tabs

If you closed a Safari tab mistakenly, it’s very easy to revive them. All you have to do is:

• Tap and hold the  + icon  in Safari for iPad at the top right. On iPhone, tap the tabs button → long-press the  + icon .

Other than that, you can also open the closed tabs on Safari from the browser history section. I have mentioned that in the next method.

5. Check the browser history

• Open Safari on your iPad or iPhone
• Tap the book icon at the top left.

6. Bookmark the tabs on Safari  

If Safari keeps closing the tabs on your iPhone or iPad, it could be some bugs in iOS. It would be better to stick with a workaround until a fix is released. The best one is to bookmark all the tabs that you are using. But wait! Before you think about the tedious process, I can assure you it’s very simple. Just follow these steps.

• Open Safari → tap the tabs icon.
• Tap and hold one tab .
• Now, tap Add Bookmarks for X Tabs .
• Give a name to the folder.

• Name the folder and select a location .
• Next, tap Save .

You can access these bookmarks from the location you have saved. If Safari removes your tabs, you can load them by selecting  tap and hold that folder  →  Open in New Tabs or Tab Group .

7. Check internet connection

All the methods you have performed will be useless if you haven’t connected to the internet. Connect your  iPhone or iPad to the internet  and see if you face any issues. Safari is an internet browser; hence, it needs a proper internet connection to use its features.

8. Enable background App refresh 

Maybe it’s because Safari is not allowed to run in the background, causing the app not to behave properly and thus, miss some tabs. You can enable  Background App Refresh to let Safari run in the background. All you have to do is:

• Open Settings and tap General .

• Now, tap Background App Refresh again.

9. Update software to the latest version

Safari cannot be updated individually since it’s a system app, and the only way to update is by updating your iOS or iPadOS version. You can check for the latest software updates on iPhone or iPad by going to  Settings → General → Software Update .

10. Restore tabs through other Apple devices

Since you cannot access Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad, let’s look at a way to restore Safari tabs . But for this method, you should have already enabled the  Sync  option on your Apple ID and should be logged in with it on another iPhone or iPad. After that:

• Open Safari and select the Tabs icon on the other iPhone or iPad.
• Scroll down, and you’ll see tabs opened on other devices.

11. Hard reset your iPhone

If you cannot fix the issue of tab disappearing on Safari, the last resort is to reset your iPhone or iPad , as it may fix the software bugs causing the issue. But before that, perform a quick  restart  or a  force reset  as some issues will be easily fixed.

No, updating your iPhone won’t delete tabs of the Safari browser. You can ensure by turning off the auto-close tabs option from  Settings → Safari → Close tabs → Manually .

The Safari bookmarks might get deleted if you have turned off the sync between devices, and thus, you won’t be able to access bookmarks saved on other devices.

That’s it!

I can understand how frustrated you will feel when tabs disappear on Safari. With this guide, I hope you were able to fix the issue once and for all. Also, do you prefer Safari over  other alternatives ? Let me know in the comments below.

Want more Safari tips, tricks, and fixes? Here are some handpicked ones:

• 24 Best Safari extensions for iPhone and iPad
• How to change Safari background on Mac
• How to translate web pages in Safari on iPhone and iPad
• Safari tips and tricks for iPhone

Anoop loves to find solutions for all your doubts on Tech. When he's not on his quest, you can find him on Twitter talking about what's in his mind.

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How to Keep Safari Open Even After Closing the Last Tab

Safari automatically exits when you close the last tab and there's no setting to disable this feature, but there's a workaround you can use.

When you’re down to the last tab on Safari and you hit Command+W  to close that tab, Safari closes the window itself. This is one of Safari’s most annoying quirks. Thankfully, it does have a workaround that involves creating a simple keyboard shortcut .

When you have multiple tabs open in Safari, if you go to the File menu, you’ll see that the Command+W  shortcut is assigned to the Close Tab function. So far so good.

Now close all unpinned tabs except one and visit the File menu again. What do you see? The Command+W  shortcut appears assigned to the Close Window function. No wonder Safari closes the window when you use that shortcut.

To fix this behavior, first go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts . Click on the + icon below the section on the right to create a new Safari shortcut.

In the dialog that pops up, choose Safari from the Application: dropdown, type Close Tab in the Menu Title: field, and hit Command+W  when the cursor is in the Keyboard Shortcut: field. Save the shortcut by clicking on the Add button.

This tweak forces Command+W  to trigger the Close Tab function every time you use it. The drawback here is that if you do want to close the last tab, you’ll have to close the window, either by clicking on the window's  Close button or by hitting Command+Shift+W .

You might also want to try the AppleScript  shared in this Reddit thread to make Safari open a blank new tab when you close the last tab in that window. It did not work for me though.

If there’s a different fix that worked for you, tell us about it!

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How to Reopen Closed Safari Tabs and Windows and Access Past History

Quickly get back to where you were

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

What to Know

• Undo a closed tab: Go to Edit > Undo Close Tab , press Command + Z , or click and hold the plus sign to the right of the Tabs bar.
• Or, select History > Reopen Last Closed Tab , go to History and mouse over Recently Closed , or press Shift + Command + T .
• Restore a closed window: Go to History > Reopen Last Closed Window . Or, History > Reopen All Windows From Last Session .

This article explains how to reopen tabs or windows you may have closed by accident in the Safari web browser. You can also use the History list to reopen sites.

How to Undo a Closed Tab in Safari

You can open your lost tab using four methods. The first is to either select Undo Close Tab from the Edit menu, or press Command + Z on your keyboard.

You can restore multiple tabs you've closed by using the command repeatedly.

Another way to reopen a page you've closed is to click and hold the plus sign at the far right of the Tabs bar. Usually, you click this once to open a new tab, but holding opens a menu with a list of ones you've recently closed. Select the one you want to reopen.

The third way is to select Reopen Last Closed Tab under the History menu or press Shift + Command + T on your keyboard.

Finally, you can find a list of tabs you've recently closed under the History menu. Mouse over Recently Closed to see a list of pages you can reopen, and then click the one you want to restore.

Restoring Closed Windows

If you close a Safari window , you can reopen it just as you can reopen a closed tab, but the command is under a different menu. Select Reopen Last Closed Window under the History menu, or press Shift + Command + T on your keyboard.

The Reopen Last Closed Window and Reopen Last Closed Tab commands share the same spot in the History menu and keyboard shortcut. Which you see depends on which you closed most recently.

Reopen Safari Windows From Last Session

Besides being able to reopen closed Safari windows and tabs, you can also open all Safari windows that were open the last time you quit Safari.

Safari, like all the Apple apps, can make use of OS X’s Resume feature , which was introduced with OS X Lion. Resume saves the state of all the open windows of an app, in this case, any Safari window you have open. The idea is that the next time you launch Safari, you can resume right where you left off.

From the History menu, select Reopen All Windows From Last Session .

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Safari tabs not closing....

• Thread starter Hephaestus
• Start date Apr 8, 2010
• Sort by reaction score

macrumors 6502

• Apr 8, 2010

Does anyone else experience this issue? It seems to happen to me a lot. When I'm on Safari and I have multiple tabs, sometimes when I click the mouse on the small X button the tab does not close, it just doesn't detect the click. When I move the cursor away for a second and bring it back it then works. Only happens in Safari so Im guessing its just a bug. Anyone else?  

macrumors 604

No. (Safari 4.0.5 with OS 10.5.8) And yours?  

Safari is 4.0.5 and OS is 10.6.3  

• Apr 9, 2010

Not a bug. Could be your mouse. Try another one to test that theory.  

Unique Visuals

Macrumors regular.

Mines been doing that also. Its not only this ver of Safari, or OS as it did it before I upgraded. You can click and see the graphic change and know its been clicked but it doesn't always close like the OP says and sometimes on mine its like time delayed. I've tried different mice and keyboards and so far no clue. Some days it doesn't happen at all and some, several times a day. Not the mice and its not the sites, cause its totally random. I'm on Safari Version 4.0.5 (6531.22.7) and Snow leopard 10.6.3  

macrumors member

• Jun 8, 2010

This absolutely happens to me, and is continuing in Safari 5. It only occurs when I attempt to close the active tab, and can be fixed by activating another tab and then closing it. I have safari stand installed  

macrumors newbie

• Jun 21, 2010
• Jun 24, 2010

Appear to be getting this too. Also happens when I try closing a Safari windows (red x). Thought it might well be the mouse (magic mouse), but other aspects of the screen / finder seem to work fine.  

• Jul 3, 2010

me too... I am having this problem too, with both a magic mouse on my MP and the glass pad on my MBP…completely frustrating...  

macrumors 6502a

• Jan 2, 2011

I have the same problem, I have never had an issue when using cmd+w to close the window; but yeah, it's not just you thats annoyed by this. It's getting on my nerves.  

• Feb 1, 2011

yep, im having the same problem. its getting very annoying now.  

macrumors Westmere

You can use Command+W to close any tab, or Command+E to close all tabs but the current one. Just click File in Safari and you'll see the keyboard shortcuts. In this case, it's faster than using the mouse or trackpad.  

How-To Geek

How to automatically close safari tabs on iphone and ipad.

Do you often find yourself with dozens of forgotten open Safari tabs on your iPhone or iPad? It's easy to configure Safari to close them automatically over time. Here's how.

If you frequently find yourself with dozens of forgotten open Safari tabs on your iPhone or iPad, then it can be annoying to sort through them or manually close them later . Luckily, Safari can automatically close tabs after a certain period of time. Here's how to set it up.

First, open Settings. Scroll down until you see "Safari" and tap it.

In Safari settings, swipe down until you see the "Tabs" section, then tap "Close Tabs."

One the "Close Tabs" screen, you have the option to set the lifespan of an open Safari browser tab. When set, Safari will close tabs that have not been viewed within the period of time you set, and the options are "Manually," "After One Day," "After One Week," or "After One Month." This setting applies to Private tabs as well.

Pick the option that suits you best and tap on it.

After that, leave Settings. It's handy to know that even after Safari automatically closes your older tabs, you can still find them in the hidden "Open Recently Closed Tabs" menu  in Safari for iPhone and iPad. You can access it by holding down the "+" (plus) button on the tab management screen in Safari.

As a potential downside, Safari (as of iOS and iPadOS 13) will also group recently closed Private Browsing tabs in the same "Recently Closed Tabs" area if they are closed automatically. If you want to fully conceal recent browsing activity, it may be best to manually close Private tabs yourself.

Related: How to Reopen Closed Tabs on an iPhone or iPad

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After updating to Safari Version 17.5 (17618.2.12.111.5, 17618) it sometimes crashes

My previous Safari version (before updating my Mac to macOS Monterey 12.7.5) worked fine. Now I have Safari version 17.5 (17618.2.12.111.5, 17618) and it crashes about 3 to 4 times per day, e.g. when clicking on a link or closing a Safari window. The situation can't be reproduced.

I haven't changed anything else on my Mac, just installed both updates.

Is this a known bug?

iMac 27″, macOS 12.7

Posted on May 24, 2024 10:27 AM

Posted on May 28, 2024 4:27 AM

exactly the same issue. safari crashes when i close a tab either by alt+w or x icon mouse.

safari 17.5 (17618.2.12.111.5)

very unstable. sometimes it works even after closing 20+ tabs. sometimes crashes repeatedly.

it started after 12.7.5 update monterey.

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May 28, 2024 4:27 AM in response to coxorange

May 30, 2024 9:34 AM in response to jvspringrose

jvspringrose wrote:

Having similar problems on my iMac running same 12.7.5 OS Monterey. Since update to Safari 17.5 (17618.2.12.111.5), I've not had problems with crashes, but many times loading of frequently-visited websites is extremely prolonged, up to 1 minute or more. (Other times it seems Safari remembers the website has been visited and loads in a flash!??). I've done speed testing for our ISP (Cox) and up/down speeds ~940MBPS each, so input is good. My wife has identical problems on her iMac, iPhones and iPad. She's headed to the Apple Store today to have them check it out. (Her iMac is running OS Sonoma 14.5, Safari 17.5 (19618.2.12.11.6)).

Try the following:

1 - turn off the modem, router and Mac.

2 - turn them back on in this order: modem, router and then the Mac.

3 - check to see if the problem persists.

Jun 2, 2024 10:04 PM in response to Old Toad

This is complete garbage. I own Apple products for ease of use, and every time Apple updates the operating system, it results in downstream problems for me. The "ease of use" factor is no longer a plus, since it is nonexistent. I can't go through all these steps just to be able to use Safari (which is an Apple product) on my iPhone. I appreciate the step-by-step directions, but I am not very computer-savvy.

Jun 4, 2024 11:16 AM in response to coxorange

Same issue here. Started the moment I ran the last Safari security update (also running Monterey 12.7.5). Anytime I close a new browser window, Safari crashes.

Additionally, I have websites where some images are not displaying. This is happening to my Shopify store and only started happening after the last update. Browsing the same pages on Chrome/Firefox, the images are loading/displaying correctly. This same behaviour started happening on all of our work Macs with the same Safari security update so it's not a website/image issue.

Absolute garbage from Apple on this one. Everyday I look to see if there's a new Safari update that's going to fix these issues as it's driving me nuts.

May 25, 2024 3:09 AM in response to 6x6

No unfortunately. Wish I hadn't updated to this new "feature"...

May 28, 2024 5:00 AM in response to sfir

I'm glad you confirmed that!

We need a quick update I would say.

Until then I will leave no longer needed Safari windows open (minimized) as long as possible.

Jun 1, 2024 9:13 PM in response to coxorange

Safari 17.5 crashes after dismissing peeked links. macOS Monterey 12.7.5​

link peeking feature of safari makes safari crash everytime on my safari 12.7.5

its a 3 finger tap on a link in a webpage.

May 25, 2024 3:59 PM in response to coxorange

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2 : if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

May 25, 2024 9:03 AM in response to coxorange

Start with this...

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes or more.

Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.

To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

Does it work in the new account?

May 30, 2024 8:17 AM in response to sfir

May 30, 2024 10:38 AM in response to jvspringrose

Thank you! I didn't think it was going to work, but it seems to have cleared up the problem! Things load like lightning now - hope it lasts!

You're welcome. Keep us posted as to how it goes.

Jun 3, 2024 9:45 AM in response to J-Stu

Sometimes temp cache files get damaged or corrupted and cause strange performance issues. That's why the Safe Mode boot often fixes these problems. As Forrest Gump said: "It happens". Nothing is perfect although we'd like to think so.

Jun 4, 2024 2:38 PM in response to Old Toad

Booting in safe mode, clearing caches, deleting cookies. Tried absolutely everything - nothing works. It's an issue with the latest security patch itself and Apple needs to address it with a fix/update.

Jun 5, 2024 8:36 AM in response to coxorange

Same experience on *two* Macs (MB Pro, 2016; iMac 2015): After system update to Monterey 12.7.5 + Safari 17.5, safari crashes. Sometimes after a few minutes use. Sometimes almost immediately after restart (of Safari or of the entire system).

Fingers crossed that Apple gets wind of this and releases anew QUICKLY !

[ A lot of my professional work ( and logins, etc.) are heavily Safari-dependent. It’s been a great ride for _decades_ . In the last few hours: not so much. ]

Jun 5, 2024 9:58 AM in response to Love Calm Quiet

Did you try the suggested fixes given to the Author of this thread?

Also you might try the Safari Technology Preview app from the Apple Developer's website?