safari aspx problems

How-To Geek

How to fix "this webpage was reloaded because a problem occurred" on a mac.

Safari is responsive and energy efficient, but it also comes with its own set of error messages which can be hard to diagnose.

Quick Links

What causes this error, possible fixes for "this webpage was reloaded...", always keep another browser handy.

Safari is a solid browser choice for Mac users because it's optimized to run well on Apple hardware and sip as little power as possible. That doesn't mean it's perfect, however, and web pages will crash from time to time.

So, what can you do about a problem web page?

This error can be caused by a number of issues, and it's hard to diagnose the exact cause. The most common causes are web pages that use significant resources, pages that consume a lot of physical memory, or incompatibilities with the current version of Safari you are running.

Often these errors occur sporadically, never to return again. The problem is worse when a particular website constantly causes the error to appear, which can result in Safari refusing to render it at all and showing an "a problem repeatedly occurred" error.

If the website in question is particularly demanding, users of older machines with limited resources may be more likely to encounter it. Due to the way Safari monitors how websites use your resources, it's not unusual to see the error even on new machines either.

You can always check your memory or CPU usage using Activity Monitor (search Spotlight or find it under Applications > Utilities) on the CPU and Memory tabs. Safari splits websites into separate processes, so if resources are to blame you should be able to tell here.

Related: How to See Which Program Is Using All Your CPU on Mac

The first thing you should check is that Safari is updated to the latest version under System Preferences > Software Update. Simply having the latest update for your version of macOS may not be enough, and you might need to upgrade your Mac to the latest version of macOS  to get the latest version of Safari.

Once you've determined your browser is up to date, consider what elements on the page may be causing the error. For example, if the website has a lot of rotating advertisements, JavaScript could be to blame. You might also have a cached version of the website causing problems.

These sorts of problems can be diagnosed using settings only available in Safari's Develop menu. To enable the menu, click on "Safari" in the top-left corner of the screen then choose Preferences followed by the Advanced tab. Enable "Show Develop menu in menu bar" and return to the webpage in question.

You can now use the Develop > Empty Caches menu bar option to delete any saved data causing an issue and try again. If JavaScript is to blame, you can disable it under Develop > Disable JavaScript.

Be aware that changing settings in the Develop menu may cause websites not to work properly. We recommend changing any settings back to default values when you're done using the problem website.

You can also try disabling any Safari plugins you have running or removing Safari extensions, too. As a last resort, enable "Block All Cookies" under Safari > Preferences > Privacy (but make sure you enable this setting again when finished so that other webpages function correctly).

It's not unusual to find out nothing you do will help, and that a certain website or web app is not compatible with Safari. The easiest fix in this instance is to simply use another browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox .

It's always a good idea to have another browser (or two) installed so that you have something to fall back on if you encounter problems with Safari. Broadly speaking though, Mac users should stick to Safari for its unbeatable speed and power efficiency.

Related: Why You Should Use Multiple Web Browsers

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ASPX Problem starting a Website (www.expedia.de) in Safari (Citrix related!

MacBook Pro 17", Mac OS X (10.6.1), 3 Gb RAM, 500Gb HD

Posted on Oct 27, 2009 3:45 AM

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Dec 1, 2009 2:18 PM in response to Gerard Dirks

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How to Fix It When Safari Is Not Working on an iPad

Restarts, updates, and checking your network are common fixes

• Swansea University, Staffordshire University

• Wichita Technical Institute

Fixing Safari issues on iPad can take seconds to fix due to an unknown minor issue, or it can take a lot longer. Here's how to fix it when Safari won't work on an iPad.

Causes of Safari Not Working On iPad 

There are many reasons why Safari may not be working on iPad. Try these troubleshooting tips to figure out what's happened.

• Your iPad is out of date. If your iPad is not up to date, you may find yourself running into trouble loading standard apps including Safari.
• You're offline. If your iPad doesn't have a data connection, Safari won't be able to load any websites, making it look as if Safari is the issue.
• Your iPad has a major problem. If your iPad won't load any apps including Safari, the problem may be deeper than just the one app.

How to Fix Safari Not Working On iPad 

If your iPad won't open Safari or it won't load correctly, it severely limits your ability to browse the internet. Here's how to fix Safari not working on iPad. 

Restart your iPad . Many common issues are solved by restarting or rebooting the device in question. Restart your iPad to hopefully fix Safari.

Check your data connection . If your iPad is a Wi-Fi model, check you're connected to a Wi-Fi network with internet access. If your iPad has a cellular connection, check it has a signal and is working correctly. Tap Settings > Cellular and check the toggle next to Safari is On.

Check Airplane mode . Check if Airplane mode is enabled on your iPad. If it is, you won't be able to browse online.

Check content restrictions . If you have parental controls set up on your iPad, these may stop you from browsing using Safari. Check the settings to confirm this isn't the issue.

Clear your browsing history . If Safari opens but is unresponsive, clear your browsing history to see if that makes it work more effectively. 

Disable Safari suggestions. Safari suggestions can sometimes cause Safari to crash. Try disabling them by tapping Settings > Safari > then toggle off the Safari Suggestions switch.

Update your iPad . If you haven't updated your iPad in a while, you may need the latest version of iPadOS to correct any issues. It's simple to do but set aside a while for the update process to complete.

Reset your iPad . Resetting your iPad to factory settings removes all your personal information but can sometimes solve an underlying issue previous steps haven't solved.

Contact Apple . If none of the above fixes work, you may have a hardware issue with your iPad. If you have remaining warranty or AppleCare+ , the appointment and fix may be free.

The first thing you should check is that you're entering the correct URL. If you're typing it manually, try finding a link. If you're following a link, try typing it by hand. The website may also be down, and you should try again later.

The best way is to delete your Safari data. Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data .

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Sunday, March 26, 2017

Asp.net webform - mac safari problems after upgraded to windows server 2016.

In the past few weeks my team had been struggling to resolve a very specific issue involve an old ASP.NET 3.5 Web Form Application and Safari after upgrading to Windows Server 2016.

Preface: Migration to Windows Server 2016

Earlier this year, one of our client got the budget approval to upgrade their web server from a legacy Windows 2003 Server to the latest Windows Server 2016. The migration ran relatively smooth, and the site was up and running.

The smooth migration went downhill from there. An hour later, our client called us. Apparently some users were having problem with the web site after the migration. Notably majority of those users were using a Mac computer and Safari browser. The symptom was that the user could login to the application, but then most of the navigation links did not work. The browser kept loading and loading and nothing was happening.

We quickly turned to our QA Mac machine and fired up Safari. And no problem. The site loaded up quickly, and everything worked fine.

Let the Investigation Begin

The next day, our client reported that they have more complain from users who had similar problems. All of them using Mac Safari. A good news was that our client managed to replicate the issue on one of their Mac machine. Hence, at least we had something we could reproduce the problem. A start.

Tracking our ASP.NET Web Application Exception Log, there were nothing other than some login failure attempts. No fatal crash on the web app. At least nothing within the ASP.NET application. Good, no blame for our developers, but the problem remained. Furthermore, we had not made any code change before or after the migration, so if our code worked before they should work after.

A web session with our client and screen cast suggested that their Mac was running the latest Mac OS Sierra (10.12), whereas our test Mac machine running earlier version (Yosemite). This kind of explained why our mac machine work while others did not. So is it something wrong with the latest Mac/Safari? More investigation needed.

We changed our User-Agent String on our Mac to match that of the troubled Mac. Everything still work fine. Indeed, we went through every setting to line up our Mac with the client's troubled Mac, and still nothing.

A few Google search later, it seemed like there were quite a few issues across many web sites with the latest Mac Safari with Sierra. Many of them seemed to be involving SSL certificate not being trusted. We quickly used some of the online SSL certificate checker tools to verify the SSL certificate on the server. Everything seemed to be fine. Nothing particularly wrong with it. Furthermore, the troubled SSL trusted chain being reported was associated with a different CA vendor than ours. So it seemed to be unrelated to our problem.

Also we had tested with other browsers on the troubled Mac. It seemed like other browsers work fine. All navigation links worked.

Some old forum discussion suggested that older Safari had some problems with long viewstate on postback. However, according to those discussions most of those issues were resolved by Apple or Microsoft. Furthermore, if it had anything to do with the ViewState, then wouldn't the old server had the same behavior? Yet the problem only appeared on the new 2016 Server with IIS 10 instead of the old 2003 Server with IIS 6.5.

Another web session with our client, and it seemed like the troubled Mac Safari could access the site on our QA server (also a Windows Server 2016) without any problem. It was the new production server that caused problem. Furthermore, it seemed like none of those users had experienced any problems before the migration. Our client, who still had access to the old server, was able to connect to the old server with the Mac and everything seemed to work fine there.

That's Great. Did it mean the problem was between new Safari and Windows Server 2016? Or worst, was it only between new Safari and this particular server?

Another web session with our client, this time we tried to enable SSL on our QA server (which is the only things that different than the production server).

And Bingo, the troubled Safari experienced the same problem as before on our QA server.

Unfortunately, our client needed to have SSL enabled for the whole application. We cannot disable SSL.

Well, at least we could confirm that there was something between the new Safari and Windows Server 2016 w/ SSL, instead of on a specific web server. Moreover, we could test different configuration changes on the QA server without affecting end users.

Investigation Continued, but the cloud getting darker

We enabled IIS Log on both the production server and our QA server in an attempt to collect more information regarding the problem. After looking through the IIS logs for hours, and almost burned away our retina, we managed to find some more information, but not particularly useful nor pin-pointing the problem.

Based on the IIS Logs, it seemed like most of those problems occurred on HTTP GET action, and from Safari browser only. They all got 500 Internal Server Error, which suggested that something was wrong on the server. Furthermore, the logs suggested that the some of the errors had a User-Agent from Safari on iPad.

One interesting thing was that the problem seemed to be occurred more on HTTP GET request than POST request. In ASP.NET WebForm application, basically only the first call to an aspx page would be a GET request. Afterward, all back-and-forth request for the page usually using APS.NET postback, which exclusively used HTTP POST method.

This also meant that this problem was unrelated to those old forum discussion on Safari problem with long viewstate.

At this point, let's gather all the information we know:

• Problem with latest Safari running on Mac Sierra or iPad.
• Problem with HTTP GET request over SSL/secure-HTTP connection only.
• No exception caught in ASP.NET Exception handling events.
• IIS Log returned 500 Internal Server Error.

Also, both our client and the users were getting impatient with this problem. All we could say was that to use a different browser until we could identify and fix the problem. And I could tell you that they were not liking that answer!

More Google Search, but nothing in particular related to our problem-on-hand. It seemed like unless we could uncover the cause, we were either switching back the site to the old server or to rewrite the whole web app. (well, it was an old application that migrated from .Net 1.1 to 2.0 to 3.5, with a lot of carry-over legacy code. It would be very time consuming if we were to completely rewrite it in .net 4.5 or .net core 1.0)

Light at the end of the tunnel via Failed Request Tracing

One of the Google Search result suggested to install the Failed Request Tracing Module for IIS , which was an IIS feature used to trace errors that might fall outside of the web application domain. We installed the module on our QA Server. We tested it with Firefox and Internet Explorer, and no failed request log was generated. Then we got the troubled safari to make a few request on our QA server. A few clicks on the troubled Safari browser generated over 100 failed error log files on the Failed Request Logs!

The failed request log file was an XML file, and with the provided XSLT we wrote a quick app to convert the XML to a more readable html report. After reviewed a few of those reports, they all pointed to the exact same error:

Good News. We were able to log the failed requests that our users were experiencing.

Overall, the error suggested that the connection between client and server had been dropped before the server sent the response back to the client.

A few Google Search later, it suggested that this specific error had something to do with that ASP.NET took more time than the execution timeout specified in IIS, so IIS had already returned a Server Busy response before ASP.NET returned and send to the next IIS pipeline module.

We checked the httpRuntime executionTimeout, which is set to 300 seconds (5 minutes). This was not exactly a short time for web server timeout setting, which was default to 110 sec (1 minute 50 seconds). The failed log also had a execution time of approximately 1500 milliseconds (1.5 seconds). The 300 seconds should be sufficient. Nevertheless, we increased the timeout to 3000 seconds (50 minutes), and cleared the logs folder to restart the test.

5 minutes later, another 100+ of failed logs. It's not the executionTimeout.

We tried a few of tweaking suggested from Google Search Result. After all there were like 75 results in total for this specific error. Most of those results were directly related to other applications/platforms/systems. None of those tweak made any difference.

We were ready to admit defeat and would like to suggested to switch back to the old 2003 server. We scheduled a call with our client on the next morning. Hence we had about a few hours for our final attempt to solve the problem.

We looked at the server, and decided to disable the dynamic content compression option on the IIS. This is basically the module that reported the error in all those failed request log. We did not think that disabling this module would make any difference. It just that by disabling any non-essential modules might lead us to the real culprit that caused the problem.

Disable the dynamic content compression module, clear the failed logs folder. Restart the test.

2 minutes later, you could hear our team roaring out loud. YESSS!!!

The troubled Safari worked normally on our QA server, after we disable the dynamic content compression in IIS. The failed request logs folder remained empty. No errors.

We did the same thing on the production server to disable the dynamic content compression. The client did a quick test again, and finally the problem was gone.

Based on what we have tested, we have this hypothesis for the problem: The combination of ASP.NET 3.5 ViewState + Dynamic Content Compression + SSL causes the latest Safari to drop the connection prematurely, and has the browser stuck in the loading screen. It may be that the combination created some specific character sequence that cause unexpected behavior on Safari (and only affect the latest Safari).

Well, that may be another investigation for another day. Now everyone in our team can sleep well at night once again!

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. -- Arthur Conan Doyle

Hi, I just wanted to say that it may be another solution for you. One tip from my experience, now I have no problem now with my browser, because I downloaded it from a not official source. Try to use this safari download for windows https://yepdownload.com/safari here, it may help you to avoid problems with unwanted updates and other bugs. It will be easier to install from this source than from the official website.

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Safari 17 issues on macOS 12.7 Monterey

• Thread starter msephton
• Start date Sep 28, 2023
• Sort by reaction score
• macOS Monterey (12)

macrumors 6502

• Sep 28, 2023
• try to use the site
• very slow to load
• even slower to respond to interactions
• will eventually reload itself because of problems
• some page elements are laid out incorrectly
• clicking links does not work

macrumors regular

Same issue here, Firefox works fine. IT is happening with my Macbook Pro as well with old version of Safari so its not the update its something odd going on. You SHOULD NOT post your serial number online.  

Somebody asked me if it could be an extension I'm using, eg. 1Blocker, etc. I'm using lots and didn't have time to disable each one so it was quicker for me to reinstall macOS overnight and it be ready to use in the morning. Do you use any extensions?  

msephton said: Somebody asked me if it could be an extension I'm using, eg. 1Blocker, etc. I'm using lots and didn't have time to disable each one so it was quicker for me to reinstall macOS overnight and it be ready to use in the morning. Do you use any extensions? Click to expand...

• Oct 2, 2023

I may try upgrading again soon.  

macrumors 603

Similar issue https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/sonoma-safari-breaks-website-layout.2405521/ Try changing the user agent, maybe it works for Dropbox.  

macrumors member

I made the mistake of upgrading to Safari 17 and macOS 12.7 at the same time, so I can't tell which is at fault, but: -google (and many other sites) input fields show white text on a white background (unusable) -CPU usage spikes across 4-8 cores scrolling on many forum websites such as XenForo (MBP M1 Pro) even when the website is cached I'm not impressed. I really wanted to wait for 14.2 or 14.3 Sonoma before upgrading but I may have to bite the bullet.  

dhazeghi said: -google (and many other sites) input fields show white text on a white background (unusable) -CPU usage spikes across 4-8 cores scrolling on many forum websites such as XenForo (MBP M1 Pro) even when the website is cached Click to expand...

• Oct 4, 2023

I'm sticking with Safari 16 until at least 17.2 or so is proven good. And won't upgrade to Sonoma until macOS 14.2 or so. It's just not worth it for me to destabilise my setup. My work is more important. No feedback at all on the bug report I sent to Apple. Sadly all too typical.  

• Oct 5, 2023

msephton said: I'm sticking with Safari 16 until at least 17.2 or so is proven good. And won't upgrade to Sonoma until macOS 14.2 or so. It's just not worth it for me to destabilise my setup. My work is more important. No feedback at all on the bug report I sent to Apple. Sadly all too typical. Click to expand...

• Oct 6, 2023

Safari 17 is a big "issue" in itself. Apple was years behind in implementing multi-profile support in Safari - while Webkit-based Orion has it already. For now Safari 17 profile handling is half-baked and incomplete "below-beta-level" feature at best while multi-profile support in Orion is comparable to one in Chromium-based browsers. Time will tell how long it takes for this feature to be usable - pace of Safari development and release cycle does not give too much reason to be overly optimistic...  

msephton said: I've found that some websites are not working correctly* in Safari 17 on macOS 12.7. Click to expand...

• Oct 7, 2023

Since I downgraded to Safari 16, it is not remembering Preferences > Websites > Location, Downloads, etc  

• Oct 12, 2023

For me it went from no issues at all in macOS 13.6 and having certain web sites, not all, like duckduckgo graphically freeze after load so you cannot visibly click links, not scroll nor edit the search terms. Reloading does not help, but if you keep clicking without visual feedback and go to a site, then go back again to duckduckgo, you can do everything. Similar issues on other sites, though not that many. I have tried without add-ons and it makes no difference.  

I upgraded again to Safari 17 today (on 12.7) and all seems well. Meanwhile I had removed some old userscripts from Tampermonkey, maybe they were causing the problem?  

tylerlovesapple

Macrumors newbie.

• Oct 18, 2023

Again and again I will say and tell people if your system works the way you like it, stop upgrading. I miss the features they took away more than I want the new ones.  

• Oct 19, 2023

tylerlovesapple said: Again and again I will say and tell people if your system works the way you like it, stop upgrading. I miss the features they took away more than I want the new ones. Click to expand...

Safari 17 works excellent on Monterey 12.7 via an OWC G3 500GB external drive on a MacBook Air M1 8gb. I dont YouTube (sorry OP) or use anything google, misscosoft or news sites at all. actually I find the speeds faster than Sonoma and more responsive. I will install OCLP Monterey on a MBP_'12_'13 intel i7 today and see how safari and Monterey work on that. /not to undermine anyone grievances, just because I am perform this upgrade.  

• Oct 24, 2023

Yeah it's all going well for me now. The only site that is slow on my setup is when typing comments on GitHub but I'm pretty sure it's a rogue UserScript or something on my side.  

• Oct 26, 2023

I can confirm issues with Safari 17.1 on Monterey 12.7.1. DuckDuckGo intermittently freezes and stops responding to scrolling.  

I tracked my issue(s) down to an overzealous userscript that I have now deleted. Dropbox and GitHub seems to be fine now.  

• Dec 18, 2023

Almost once a day, Safari 17.2 completely crashes. I reopen the app, and then, after a few minutes, Safari freezes. It's really annoying.  

• Dec 22, 2023

@Engender you can use activity monitor to take a sample of what is doing whilst frozen. Odds are it's a rogue extension.  

• Dec 23, 2023
• Scrolling stops working on certain pages
• Address field search suggestions often doesn't work
• Web page color effect in address bar doesn't change when switching tab groups

Direct link for Safari 17.2.1 for Monterey https://swcdn.apple.com/content/dow...cmw1qdkxjhpm6bch/Safari17.2.1MontereyAuto.pkg  

If Safari won’t open a page or work as expected on your Mac

If Safari won’t load a web page, stops responding, closes unexpectedly or otherwise isn’t working as expected, these solutions may help.

These solutions are for issues that can affect Safari on Mac, including issues such as these:

A web page is blank, won’t load all of its content or otherwise isn’t working as expected.

You can’t sign in to a web page, despite using the correct sign-in information.

A web page asks you to remove or reset cookies.

Safari slows down, stops responding or closes unexpectedly.

Reload the page

From the menu bar in Safari, choose View > Reload Page. Or press Command-R.

If Safari won’t reload the page, close Safari, then try again. If Safari won’t close, you can press Option-Command-Esc to force Safari to close .

If Safari reopens unwanted pages automatically, close Safari, then press and hold the Shift key while opening Safari. Find out how to control which windows Safari reopens automatically .

Install software updates and restart

Update macOS , which can include updates for Safari. If your Mac didn’t restart automatically, choose Apple menu  > Restart. Some important background updates will only take effect after restarting.

Check Safari extensions

If you’ve installed any Safari extensions, turn the extensions off. From the menu bar in Safari, choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences). Click Extensions, then untick each extension to turn it off. Find out more about Safari extensions .

If you find that an extension is causing the issue, make sure the extension is up to date.

Test with a private window

A website can store cookies, caches and other data on your Mac, and issues with that data can affect your use of the website. To prevent the website from using that data, view it in a private window: from the menu bar in Safari, choose File > New Private Window, or press Shift-Command-N.

If that works, use the following steps to remove the website's data, including its caches and cookies. The website can then create new data as needed. If it's a website that you sign in to, make sure you know your sign-in information before continuing.

Choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences), then click Privacy.

Click Manage Website Data.

Select the affected website from the list that's displayed.

Click Remove.

Click Done.

Open the website again in a non-private browser window.

Check Safari settings

The web page may not be compatible with one or more browser settings, which you can turn on or off as needed. From the menu bar in Safari, choose Safari > Settings (or Preferences). Then click Websites, Privacy or Security to access these settings:

Privacy settings . These settings apply to all websites. For example, a website may require that you allow cross-site tracking, show your IP address or allow cookies.

Security settings . These settings apply to all websites. For example, a website may require that you enable JavaScript.

Websites settings . These settings can be configured for specific websites. For example, a website may require that you allow pop-up windows, allow downloads, allow access to your camera or microphone, or turn off content blockers.

Check iCloud Private Relay

If you subscribe to iCloud+ and are using its Private Relay feature, try reloading the page without Private Relay: from the menu bar in Safari, choose View > Reload and Show IP Address. This menu item will only appear when Private Relay is turned on for your network. Find out more about iCloud Private Relay .

Check VPN or other security software

If you've installed VPN or other software that monitors or interacts with your network connections, that software could be affecting your use of the website or the internet. Find out about network issues related to VPN and other software .

Check network settings

Certain network settings, such as custom proxy settings or custom DNS settings , can affect access to content on the internet. Even if you haven’t changed these or other network settings yourself, you may have installed software that changed them for you.

To find out whether the issue is with the network settings on your Mac, try viewing the page from a different web browser or different device on the same network. Or reset your network settings by setting up a new network location on your Mac.

If the issue affects other devices and web browsers on the same network, the issue is probably with the website, and you should contact the website developer for help.

If the issue continues to only affect a particular web page, contact the website developer for help.

Find out how to block pop-up ads and windows in Safari .

Find out what to do if your iCloud or Safari bookmarks aren’t syncing .

Related topics

Safari Downloads Not Working? 10 Troubleshooting Tips and Fixes to Try

Having issues with downloads in Safari on your Mac? We’ll cover how to troubleshoot lost, stuck, and missing Safari downloads problems.

It's not always easy to download files in Safari on a Mac. Sometimes, files seem to disappear after you download them, while other times, they don't download at all. Confusingly, this can happen for a variety of reasons. However, the fixes are all easy enough.

In some cases, the solution to Safari's downloading issues involves checking your Downloads folder. In other cases, it involves disabling any plugins that might cause you problems. These are all simple actions, so it shouldn't take you long to get downloading again. We'll walk you through everything you can try to fix when Safari won't download anything.

1. Check Your Default Downloads Folder

Safari sends every file you download to a folder on your Mac. Unsurprisingly, it uses Downloads as the default location. However, you can change this, perhaps without even realizing it.

You should thus check where Safari sends your downloads and change it accordingly if desired. To do this:

• Click Safari in the menu bar and choose Settings .
• Select the General tab.
• Expand the File download location dropdown box.
• Select Other , then when your Mac displays your local folders, select Downloads from the left sidebar (or whatever folder you'd like to use) and click the Select button.

You can set the default download location to a folder other than Downloads , of course. But make sure you remember what this alternative folder is. Otherwise, you could lose time searching for files that aren't in an obvious folder. If you'd like Safari to ask where your download should be stored every time, select Ask for each download .

2. Check the "Open Safe Files" Box

Sometimes, it might seem like Safari downloads aren't working normally because of the Open "safe" files after downloading option, which you'll find in Safari's General Preferences pane.

This option is turned on by default. It instructs Safari to automatically open all "safe" files once they've finished downloading. By turning it off, you might mistakenly think that Safari has stopped downloading properly since it stops automatically opening your files.

However, you can easily turn it back on. You simply have to do the following:

• Go to Safari > Settings from the menu bar.
• Make sure you're on the General tab.
• Check the small box next to Open "safe" files after downloading .

Safari will now open all "safe" files for you after it downloads them. And in case you were wondering, Apple defines certain file types, such as pictures and PDFs, as "safe."

3. Check Your Wi-Fi Network

It's worth bearing in mind that if you can't download in Safari, it might not be Safari that's the problem. In fact, it could be that your Wi-Fi connection is too slow or isn't working normally. In that case, there are some steps you can take.

First, make sure you're actually connected to a Wi-Fi network and that your Mac is close to the router. You'll typically suffer from slow downloads when you're farther away from the router, so moving closer can solve some problems.

Also, you can often speed up your Wi-Fi connection by changing your router's channel. You can do this by typing your router's IP address into Safari's address bar and hitting Return . You'll then come to your router's settings page, which is where you can change the channel it uses.

One other trick you can try is checking whether another device is eating up your Wi-Fi's bandwidth. This can slow down the speed of downloads, particularly if lots of devices are doing intensive work at the same time. Try pausing video streaming, online gaming, and similar activities if you can.

Similarly, if you're downloading a large file, you might simply have to wait for it to finish downloading.

4. Change DNS Servers

Using a popular DNS (Domain Name System) server can improve Safari's odds of locating a file's download servers. Let's try ditching your ISP's DNS servers in favor of Google DNS. Here's how:

• Click the Wi-Fi status icon on the macOS menu bar and select Wi-Fi Settings .
• Make sure that Wi-Fi is selected in the sidebar. Then, click Details , located on the right-hand side of the name of your currently connected network.
• Click OK to save your changes. Your Mac may prompt you to verify your identity first in order to save.

Save your changes and try downloading the file again. For the best results, flush your Mac's DNS cache before you do that.

5. Check for Paused Downloads

Starting a download and closing your Mac while it's still in progress can pause it. This could be an obvious reason why you can't find the download in your Downloads folder: it hasn't actually finished downloading.

In such cases, you have to restart the download. You can do this by clicking the Show Downloads button at the top of Safari's window, which looks like an arrow pointing down. Then, hit the Resume button, which resembles the circular refresh arrow in most web browsers.

6. Try Downloading Again

Sometimes, files get corrupted or damaged when you download them. This can stop the download from finishing, or it can stop you from opening a file once it's downloaded.

Either way, you can try simply downloading the file again. This is a basic step, but it can work wonders.

7. Clear the Safari Cache

An outdated browser cache can wreak havoc and cause all sorts of issues and might result in Safari not downloading files on your Mac. Here's how you can clear your browser's cache:

• Head to the Advanced tab.
• Check the box next to Show Develop menu in menu bar .
• Select Develop on the menu bar.
• Click Empty Caches .

Now, re-attempt the download to see if deleting the cache made a difference

8. Check Your Mac's Security & Privacy Settings

Sometimes, Safari download problems occur because your Mac doesn't let you open apps from unidentified developers. You'll find this setting in the Privacy & Security section of System Settings, which restricts you from opening apps downloaded from the App Store by default.

Fortunately, you can open apps from unidentified developers, assuming you trust them. This is what you should do:

• Launch Finder .
• Type the name of the app you want to open into Finder's search bar.
• Click This Mac to search your entire system.
• Control-click the app in question and click Open .

You can also change your settings to let you always open apps downloaded from outside the App Store. This involves doing the following:

• Launch System Settings and head to Privacy & Security from the sidebar.
• Scroll down the page to the Security section.
• Under Allow apps downloaded from , click App Store and identified developers .
• Enter your administrator password or use Touch ID to authorize changes.

Note that this option only permits apps from known developers, so if you download an app from an unidentified developer, you'll have to go through the process above. When your Mac blocks an unidentified app, you'll also see a prompt to open it in the Privacy & Security pane here.

9. Disable Safari Extensions and Plugins

Extensions and plugins can sometimes interfere with how web browsers operate. This includes downloading, so if you're having download problems on Safari, you should try disabling any recently installed add-ons or plugins in your browser.

This is what you should do:

• Click Safari > Settings in the menu bar.
• Select the Extensions tab.
• Uncheck the extensions or plugins you want to disable.

Once you've disabled any suspect extensions or plugins, you should try completing your download again. If it works, you know that the disabled add-on was most likely the cause of the problem. You should keep it disabled whenever downloading.

But if you need it for other tasks, remember to enable it when you do them.

10. Ensure You Have Adequate Storage Space

It might sound obvious, but you can't download a file that's larger than your Mac's available storage space. If you're trying to download a larger file, you will see a warning that Safari cannot download the file because the drive doesn't have enough free space. You can check how much free storage space is on your Mac by following these steps:

• Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen.
• Choose About This Mac , then click More Info from the pop-up. This will take you to the About page in the System Settings app.
• Finally, scroll down to the Storage section. You will see your total disk space and the amount of free space remaining.
• Optionally, click Storage Settings to see how your space is being utilized.

If you have less space, there are various ways to free up space on your Mac .

Enjoy an Easier Time Downloading Files in Safari

Apple offers Safari as a simple, built-in web browser that consumes less of your Mac's battery power compared to popular options such as Chrome and Firefox. As the above tips and fixes show, sometimes it can run into issues, but thankfully, there are many ways to solve your Safari download problems.