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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Is anyone else completely fed up with Safari?

Is anyone else completely fed up with Safari?
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chipchen
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May 18, 2012, 03:05 PM
 
I guess I've been a purist for a long time... I've used Safari as my main browser ever since it came out. And even though I have FireFox and Chrome installed, I've generally stuck with Safari as I thought it was a very decent browser.

BUT, as of late... especially since Safari 5, I've REALLY noticed a performance slow down... accompanied by SEVERAL annoying "features" and instability issues. Here's just some of my complaints:

- Safari has gotten REALLY slow, overall

- It often freezes and for some reason, EVERY tab will need to reload when clicked on

- If Safari can't reach a server "in time"... it automatically takes you to a Safari splash screen that it can't find the server. But the timeout is too fast!


Am I crazy? Am I the only one?

I realize there will be a lot of people saying things like "that's why I switched to FireFox/Chrome years ago"... but I just feel like Safari 5 took a huge leap backwards.
     
andi*pandi
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May 18, 2012, 03:19 PM
 
I rarely use it, but have heard that whispered updating to latest Lion returns the Snappeh.
     
MacNNUK
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May 18, 2012, 03:34 PM
 
My personal favourite is Camino, why not give it a go.

iMac Intel Core i5, 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB 21.5" Monitor 10.8.3.
iMac 17" 2.0ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w 3gb memory (White one) 10.6.8.
Internal 500gb / 8x external HDD's 250GB - 3TB (4x Time Machine)
     
-Q-
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May 18, 2012, 03:45 PM
 
No, you're not the only one. I see the SPoD far too often with Safari these days.
     
chipchen  (op)
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May 18, 2012, 04:59 PM
 
I'm currently getting myself to transition to Chrome. Have tried a few times in the past... but each time I'm more motivated.
     
Spheric Harlot
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May 18, 2012, 05:01 PM
 
What extensions do you have installed?

When I had SafariRestore installed, it completely ****ed up browsing.
     
chipchen  (op)
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May 18, 2012, 05:12 PM
 
nothing installed at all.
     
Spheric Harlot
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May 18, 2012, 06:25 PM
 
That's odd. It's been running like a charm for me.

(Well, just earlier, when I had about fifteen windows open, it would beach ball on starting new mp4 videos in new windows for a bit, but I felt that was pretty okay.)
     
chipchen  (op)
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May 18, 2012, 06:31 PM
 
BTW, I'm running on a MBP 15" 2.4GHz i5 w/ 8GB RAM and SSD HD, and it still acts up when running only Safari.

ALSO occurred when I ran my desktop at work which was a Mac Pro 2010 2.4GHz 8-core w/ 32GB RAM!!!
     
Spheric Harlot
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May 18, 2012, 06:34 PM
 
13" i7 with 8GB RAM and regular hard drive here.

I do have Click2Flash installed, though.

Have you taken a look at Activity Viewer when Safari acts up?
     
Demonhood
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May 18, 2012, 07:34 PM
 
5.1.7 definitely re-invigorated Safari for me. It was bogging down on a regular basis. And this is with click2flash and adblock installed. And tons of RAM available too.

Then again, it's probably a result of my tendency to have 20-30 tabs open at a time.
     
gradient
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May 18, 2012, 07:37 PM
 
Safari is still my go-to. Love it and have had no performance complaints at all for a long time.
     
lpkmckenna
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May 18, 2012, 07:59 PM
 
Yes I find Safari 5 to be easily bogged down. I'm astounded by how often the spinning wait cursor shows up, but you can still click links with it.
     
mduell
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May 19, 2012, 12:16 PM
 
It was meh in SL, but it's complete garbage in Lion. Everyone I know who wants WebKit with limited add-ons has moved to Chrome.
     
Spheric Harlot
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May 19, 2012, 09:01 PM
 
Odd. Not my experience.
     
Dex13
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May 20, 2012, 04:23 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
13" i7 with 8GB RAM and regular hard drive here.
Same here with invisible status bar, adblock, and a floppy mouse css all used without a hitch.
     
cgc
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May 20, 2012, 06:14 AM
 
Safari runs fine here...
     
Waragainstsleep
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May 20, 2012, 06:38 AM
 
I've definitely had enough of the automatic page reloading "feature". Especially in the middle of streaming a video or writing a forum post.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
chassey2
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Jun 5, 2012, 01:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
I guess I've been a purist for a long time... I've used Safari as my main browser ever since it came out. And even though I have FireFox and Chrome installed, I've generally stuck with Safari as I thought it was a very decent browser.

BUT, as of late... especially since Safari 5, I've REALLY noticed a performance slow down... accompanied by SEVERAL annoying "features" and instability issues. Here's just some of my complaints:

- Safari has gotten REALLY slow, overall

- It often freezes and for some reason, EVERY tab will need to reload when clicked on

- If Safari can't reach a server "in time"... it automatically takes you to a Safari splash screen that it can't find the server. But the timeout is too fast!


Am I crazy? Am I the only one?

I realize there will be a lot of people saying things like "that's why I switched to FireFox/Chrome years ago"... but I just feel like Safari 5 took a huge leap backwards.
after much frustration with safari slowing down I've tried clearing the case and resetting safari. both seem to help but I'm required to reset both manually. is there a way to have them reset automatically each time I turn on Safari? appreciate your help. cheers
( Last edited by reader50; Jun 5, 2012 at 02:41 PM. Reason: fixed quote tags)
     
angelmb
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Jun 5, 2012, 03:28 PM
 
osx - How can I set Safari to clear cache and cookies on startup? - Super User

The first answer provides the AppleScript code needed to reset Safari on startup. I've added it below so the usual geeks around here can discuss the subject.

tell application "Safari" to activate
tell application "System Events"
tell application process "Safari"
tell menu bar 1 to tell menu bar item "Safari" to tell menu 1 to tell menu item "Reset Safari…" to click
tell window "Reset Safari" to tell button "Reset" to click
end tell
end tell
     
Curiosity
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Jun 6, 2012, 01:12 AM
 
Firefox is a much better browser than Safari. I use it only where Firefox cannot seem to go (such as some purchase pages), or to test things. Safari has so few options, the cookie handling is primitive, and one cannot theme it or even change the text size in the toolbars or tabs. As for that business of making everything in the address hard to read except the domain name and suffix, that is totally ridiculous, and one can turn that off in Firefox.
     
besson3c
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Jun 6, 2012, 06:04 AM
 
Originally Posted by angelmb View Post
osx - How can I set Safari to clear cache and cookies on startup? - Super User

The first answer provides the AppleScript code needed to reset Safari on startup. I've added it below so the usual geeks around here can discuss the subject.

tell application "Safari" to activate
tell application "System Events"
tell application process "Safari"
tell menu bar 1 to tell menu bar item "Safari" to tell menu 1 to tell menu item "Reset Safari…" to click
tell window "Reset Safari" to tell button "Reset" to click
end tell
end tell


I'm sure the poster you were responding to appreciates having this Applescript code, and it's cool that it exists and there are ways to do this and all, but why would anybody want to browse with cookies that aren't retained across the lifetime of the application process?

If this voodoo really helps make the browser behave better (and I don't understand why it would), maybe it's time to look at another browser?
     
Eug
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Jun 6, 2012, 10:51 AM
 
Seems to work fine here. Core i7 iMac with 12 GB RAM.

Note, it does have this weird habit of having the content zooming down to the right bottom corner when loading a new page. It's almost like a transition, but it only happens about 1/100 page clicks. And IIRC, when go backwards, sometimes I get the content zooming up to the top left corner.

I do know other people have experienced this since other people here have mentioned it as well, but so far I'm at a loss as to why it happens and how to turn it off.
     
QSilver
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Jun 7, 2012, 03:50 PM
 
Safari works just fine on my 2008 & 2010 MBPs but on my work PC laptop, it crashes frequently (and has been for about a year).
     
mooblie
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Jun 7, 2012, 04:14 PM
 
That's why I switched to FireFox/Chrome years ago.

(Actually, I also print quite a bit of stuff from browsers, and Safari has been rubbish for years at this. For me, anyway.)
Martin in the Scottish Highlands
     
Athens
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Jun 7, 2012, 05:11 PM
 
On Windows yes, on OS X no. On iOS im half way there.
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Athens
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Jun 7, 2012, 05:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by chipchen View Post
- Safari has gotten REALLY slow, overall

- It often freezes and for some reason, EVERY tab will need to reload when clicked on

- If Safari can't reach a server "in time"... it automatically takes you to a Safari splash screen that it can't find the server. But the timeout is too fast!


Am I crazy? Am I the only one?

I realize there will be a lot of people saying things like "that's why I switched to FireFox/Chrome years ago"... but I just feel like Safari 5 took a huge leap backwards.
Could be corruption, make a new user account and see how Safari performs for testing purposes. If its fast and snappy its something wrong with something on your account.
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Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Eug
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Jun 7, 2012, 05:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens View Post
On Windows yes, on OS X no. On iOS im half way there.
On Windows I tried Safari, but somehow it just seemed wrong, and I hated it. So I use Firefox on Windows.

On iOS, a while back I tried a bunch of different browsers but hated them all except Safari. I haven't tried in 2012 though. It's far too slow in my single-core iPhone 4 though, so I'm looking forward to the larger-screened and dual or multi-core iPhone 5.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jun 7, 2012, 05:25 PM
 
I tested on Safari on Mountain Lion briefly earlier and it was nice and fast. I was very impressed. Of course that might just be because it was a clean install.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
angelmb
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Jun 7, 2012, 06:36 PM
 
On iOS, a while back I tried a bunch of different browsers but hated them all except Safari.
Does that include iCab Mobile.?
     
Mayy Sawyer
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Jul 10, 2012, 02:41 PM
 
No you're definitely not the only one. I am having the exact same problems. My internet will be working find on my phone but then when I go into safari it tells me it can not find my internet server. Then rainbow wheel will stop every page from working so I must quit and restart. No matter how many performance reports I send to Mac it doesn't seem to make the problem any better. I am hoping there is a solution I can not continue like this, especially since Safari is my favorite browser.
     
exca1ibur
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Jul 10, 2012, 11:22 PM
 
Safari on OSX, Chrome on Windows.
     
D1STORT1ON
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Jul 11, 2012, 02:22 AM
 
I have a lot of the same problems. Lately it has been doing the "can't find server" thing a lot. Pretty annoying. What always gets me to come back to Safari though is just the iCloud sync with the bookmarks. Works better and easier than any other way.
     
Gankdawg
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Jul 19, 2012, 07:45 PM
 
For me, Safari sucks while watching YT videos. I'm using Chrome now and love it. But Chrome doesn't work well with Netflix so I'm back to Safari for that. What a wicked, catch-22 circle. Sigh.
     
Athens
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Jul 19, 2012, 08:56 PM
 
Has any one that has had that can't find server issue made a new user account to test if the same thing happens on a clean account? I can't really go beyond that until I get a definitive yes it has the same problem or no it works fine.
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sek929
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Jul 19, 2012, 09:34 PM
 
I just use chrome for both Windows and Mac now, haven't looked back. Safari is a hog on my machine.
     
Radioflyer
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Jul 28, 2012, 09:07 AM
 
Safari ran under Lion without any problems but with the new upgrade and Mountain Lion it appears to sometime stall when opening pages and in a few instances failed to load the page completely. All the pages are sites I regularly visit and two are forums I visit several times a day.

What's more confusing the stalling problem appears to be transient and random. From the lack of discussion, this does not appear to be a common issue so I assume its my iMac. Any suggestions for a fix?
Cheers
RadioFlyer
     
Chongo
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Jul 29, 2012, 04:08 AM
 
I leap frogged from SL to ML. Safari is having issues with some games on FB. When playing the 10 free spins on Slotomania, Safari gets stuck in a loop. It does not count down and repeats the same spin. I tried FF and Chrome and did not have that problem.


I discovered the new swipe gestures for the magic mouse. Swiping between pages is now a single finger like iOS devices. I compared Safari, FF and Chrome. Page swipes on FF and Chrome looks like clicking the back arrow, with Safari the page slides.
45/47
     
Chongo
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Jul 30, 2012, 06:16 AM
 
OK Safari is acting all screwy now, especially on FB. I'm running ML on a 1,7 mid 2007 2.4 Ghz 20" iMac with 4GB of RAM.
45/47
     
Athens
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Jul 30, 2012, 11:55 AM
 
Try re-installing Flash.
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Sabon
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Jul 31, 2012, 12:32 PM
 
I'm sticking with Safari. Chrome and Firefox bug me more than Safari does. Everything just looks better in Safari and it is very fast for me. No problems with speed.
     
lpkmckenna
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Jul 31, 2012, 03:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by Radioflyer View Post
Safari ran under Lion without any problems but with the new upgrade and Mountain Lion it appears to sometime stall when opening pages and in a few instances failed to load the page completely. All the pages are sites I regularly visit and two are forums I visit several times a day.
What's more confusing the stalling problem appears to be transient and random. From the lack of discussion, this does not appear to be a common issue so I assume its my iMac. Any suggestions for a fix?
I've encountered this stalling problem on the new Safari running on Lion also. Very irritating.
     
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Aug 1, 2012, 09:00 AM
 
Greetings. I am unable to delete my posts, and apparently you moderators are on some kind of a strike.

Therefore, I have removed the content of the original post by hand.

I am asking for this post to be deleted, since I don't seem to have the option to do that myself.
     
besson3c
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Aug 1, 2012, 09:10 AM
 
The Activity window has seemed completely redundant for a while, perhaps particularly so with the revamped Webkit Inspector. If you want to see what resources are loading use the Webkit Inspector.
     
besson3c
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Aug 1, 2012, 09:21 AM
 
I think I may switch back to Chrome. The performance is definitely great normally and an improvement since I last used Safari, but I've also been experiencing those stalls and half page loads periodically which are annoying. Performance is definitely inconsistent.

I'm also not a fan of the changes to the Webkit Inspector so far, and I've tried to give them a fair trial. I don't like that:

- getting to the console log (perhaps the most useful part of it) requires an extra click
- the top level icons are smaller, seemingly needlessly
- I'm not sure I'm a fan of moving to 3 panes

I appreciate some of the new features it has gained (breakpoints, although I think those are in some Chrome builds too), Appearance tab, IE-style click-on-node-to-display thingy, so I really wanted to like this. Maybe I'll give it another chance.
     
Chongo
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Aug 1, 2012, 10:26 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
OK Safari is acting all screwy now, especially on FB. I'm running ML on a 1,7 mid 2007 2.4 Ghz 20" iMac with 4GB of RAM.

Originally Posted by Athens View Post
Try re-installing Flash.

I reinstalled Flash as suggested, didn't help.
45/47
     
P
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Aug 1, 2012, 12:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
The Activity window has seemed completely redundant for a while, perhaps particularly so with the revamped Webkit Inspector. If you want to see what resources are loading use the Webkit Inspector.
It's redundant the same way a graphical user interface is redundant - all that info is available in the terminal anyway, right?
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
besson3c
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Aug 1, 2012, 01:15 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
It's redundant the same way a graphical user interface is redundant - all that info is available in the terminal anyway, right?
I'm not sure that comparison is apt.

What did you guys use Activity Viewer for, exactly?
     
Spheric Harlot
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Aug 1, 2012, 02:05 PM
 
Mostly for option-clicking video content to download it.

Safari 6 in ML has been really, really nice for me.

Only issue I've been having is that more than once, the rendering process has crashed on me and forced all open tabs to reload. I have reliably traced this back to Flash content, though, so I consider this par for the course and not Apple's problem.
     
besson3c
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Aug 1, 2012, 02:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Mostly for option-clicking video content to download it.
Safari 6 in ML has been really, really nice for me.
Only issue I've been having is that more than once, the rendering process has crashed on me and forced all open tabs to reload. I have reliably traced this back to Flash content, though, so I consider this par for the course and not Apple's problem.
I've had this problem too, but don't you have ClickToFlash installed?
     
 
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