Several users have reported an issue in which the Safari app on the iPad crashes frequently. Users have also reported especially web sites that use JavaScript heavily cause Safari to unexpectedly quit. If you’re having frequent browser crashes on your iPad, there are a few steps you can take to try to fix your problem.
1. Update your device to the latest version of iOS software. This is a really simple process. You can update your iPad wirelessly, If your device is running iOS 5 or later. Simply tap Settings > General > Software Update to check for available updates. If an iOS update is available, you can tap Download to install.
2. Clear Safari history and cookies. To clear your history, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History. To clear all cookies, tap Settings > Safari > Clear Cookies and Data.
3. Clear Safari stored data. To clear other stored information, tap Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data. This option is only available if your device is running iOS 5 or later.
4. Restart the iPad. Simply restarting your device may fix various Safari issues.Press and hold the On/Off (or Sleep/Wake) button until you see the red “slide to power off”, and then slide the slider.To turn back on, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Apple logo.
5. Clear and disable Autofill (not all iOS versions have this feature, if your device is running iOS 5, then you have this). If you have it, clear and turn this off. Tap Settings > Safari > Autofill > Clear All. Also turn everything (Use Contact Info & Names and Passwords) off.
6. Turn iCloud Bookmark Syncing off. Tap Settings > General > iCloud >toggle Bookmark syncing off.
7. Go to Settings > Safari and turn on Private Browsing, then when prompted “Close all Tabs”. Then turn Private Browsing back off.
If the problem still persists after performing steps above, please try:
8. Turn off JavaScript. Tap Settings > Safari > Javascript > off. Note that if you turn Javascript off, you may not be able to properly browse script enabled sites.
Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.
Safari has to be the worst web browser in history, shameful for a company who claims to deliver quality, crashes all the time, oh and thanks for stealing a lot of space with this garbage system data that captures activity so they can harvest data form all the connected devices. Just plain creepy.
This article must be a joke. It praises Safari to the skies then gives two long lists of Safari issues. Then it gives advice to turn features off which exacerbates Safari’s dysfunction!
For anybody that happens upon this during quarantine:
Following essentially these suggestions, enabled me to again use my iPad 1 (first day of issue) again for limited web browsing with Safari.
Most likely turning off javascript was the trick. And most likely that will crash some sites. But an improvement over ALL sites crashing and completely unusable.
One additional pointer:
Turn off “Spotlight search” which can be a little memory intensive to keep indexing all the time.
Now if Apple would just put the legacy apps back online…..
Close Safari, restart your device, and then try again.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an iPad with no home button from the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it
So the only thing that works for mine is to turn off JavaScript which then means it’s pretty much useless. Chrome crashes for me as well even after resetting iPad.
I’ve noticed that many do not restart their mobile device enough. This should be done at least once a week. Call it a technology cleansing for your device. Works wonders to sort of reset any quirks that have crept into the device. I started doing on my iPhone and iPad and it does make it more reliable with less app crashes or other issues.
Could you explain more what’s going on? If your iPad is shutting down while you’re in the middle of something, please update to the latest iOS by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a known bug in the earlier version of iOS which causes some devices to randomly reset, even when in use. Just make sure you backup your device before updating.
If something else is going on, please give us some additional details.
My wife had a problem accessing her banking account today with our I Pad air because Safari kept crashing. I was unable to access the internet using safari also and had resort to using my desktop to carry out the transaction for her. Since then I have spent sometime trying to rectify the I Pad problem eventually asking for a solution on the net which was quite simple. I also decided to look up your site to see if the problem was a one off or what and find that it is a common fault. If it is a common fault why on earth have you not found a permanent solution to it.
I’m a bit of an ipad dummy. Naively followed step 2 not realising my favourites/bookmarks would be wiped off! SK could you put a warning in your instructions that it will have what was for me quite a frustrating negative effect? Thanks
At last! Thanks to the suggestions in this post I was able to track down my Safari issue. Been wresting with this for MONTHS on all my iOS devices. Safari started acting strange and crashing and then stopped working entirely. The instructions here led me to look in a spot I hadn’t previously when I was turning things off, deleting data, etc. Turns out it was the Favorites function. Settings > Safari > Favorites. There, hiding in my folders was a second Favorites folder at the bottom and this was the one selected. I clicked on another Folder in the list and voila! FIXED!
I’ve been all over the internet trying to resolve this, even talked to a local Apple product store to see if they’d hear of this and/or fixed it. The guy knew nothing about it. The other day I even tried a full iPhone restore. Nothing.
But now, thanks to Serhat’s article, I’m back online with Safari and can also update my APN settings in iOS 9. Happy Tuesday!
Thanks Dawn
I’ve been having problems with Safari ever since I downloaded I08
I have changed my favourites to a new folder and it does know appear to be working well, so I see our long it lasts.
Thanks Dawn
Yvo really helped me with my Safari problem on my iPad I’m running IOS 9.2
After I have changed my favorites to another folder Safari works without all the reading twice or even more for eventually to crash.
THANKS
Just wanted to let everyone know the only fix I found to be helpful was to completely wipe my iPad1 out and start over fresh then add it as a new iPad with my original Apple ID and manually add my apps . I know it’s a little bit to do it over that way but my programs are no longer crashing as well as my frustrating safari app that every time I use to go online on a website eBay,aol etc it would kick me back to home page but it’s good now so good luck to you all on my advise
This has gone on long enough and gets worse with each iOS update! Come on Apple, fix it. Turning off auto fill, clearing cookies and info is NOT the solution.
This has only started on my iPad since I updated to OS8. I am not sure what fixes to try, completely agree about turning off features that are supposed to be useful!
This is absolutely stupid drivel about a serious problem with the ipad. I am fed up with Apple and with anyone who offers stupid and predictable advice like this!
This reminds me of the old Microsofr days…poor quality control leading to poor product applications and frustrated users. Rather than providing a list of undesirable fixes, my suggestion to Apple is please fix it yourself.
Oh brother. Don’t some of these fixes render the app less than optimally useful? Why in the world should we have to turn off useful features in order to use the app?????
I agree completely. Is the problem with Safari? Fix the code. Don’t deprive users of wanted/needed apps and features. Does anyone remember “customer friendly”?
Safari has to be the worst web browser in history, shameful for a company who claims to deliver quality, crashes all the time, oh and thanks for stealing a lot of space with this garbage system data that captures activity so they can harvest data form all the connected devices. Just plain creepy.
This article must be a joke. It praises Safari to the skies then gives two long lists of Safari issues. Then it gives advice to turn features off which exacerbates Safari’s dysfunction!
For anybody that happens upon this during quarantine:
Following essentially these suggestions, enabled me to again use my iPad 1 (first day of issue) again for limited web browsing with Safari.
Most likely turning off javascript was the trick. And most likely that will crash some sites. But an improvement over ALL sites crashing and completely unusable.
One additional pointer:
Turn off “Spotlight search” which can be a little memory intensive to keep indexing all the time.
Now if Apple would just put the legacy apps back online…..
I’m having a problem with Safari not connecting to servers of any of the websites I’ve attempted to tap in to.
Hi Karen,
Close Safari, restart your device, and then try again.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an iPad with no home button from the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it
Hi,
I have the issue with the web browser of iPad.
When I zoom in and out the webpage then the page is crashing.
Could you please help me.
Thanks
So the only thing that works for mine is to turn off JavaScript which then means it’s pretty much useless. Chrome crashes for me as well even after resetting iPad.
Number 8 is the only doable solution but they know that as soon as they put clear history and cookies
I’ve noticed that many do not restart their mobile device enough. This should be done at least once a week. Call it a technology cleansing for your device. Works wonders to sort of reset any quirks that have crept into the device. I started doing on my iPhone and iPad and it does make it more reliable with less app crashes or other issues.
Safari aap is not working properly, set it properly
Need help with iPad cutting off
Hi Willie,
Could you explain more what’s going on? If your iPad is shutting down while you’re in the middle of something, please update to the latest iOS by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a known bug in the earlier version of iOS which causes some devices to randomly reset, even when in use. Just make sure you backup your device before updating.
If something else is going on, please give us some additional details.
Cheers,
SK
How about Apple writes a iOS internet browser (Safari) that doesn’t constantly crash wth normal and regular use? Ever think about that, Apple?
Wow…. Some fix! Disable this, turn off that, reboot your iPad, blah blah. The only fix not listed is to wrap your iPad in aluminum foil.
Thank you very much for this post and for your very clear instructions.
It worked like a charm!!☺
Turning off Javascript when I visit certain websites that heavily use it is my only solution that works, especially if I want to email the webpage.
My wife had a problem accessing her banking account today with our I Pad air because Safari kept crashing. I was unable to access the internet using safari also and had resort to using my desktop to carry out the transaction for her. Since then I have spent sometime trying to rectify the I Pad problem eventually asking for a solution on the net which was quite simple. I also decided to look up your site to see if the problem was a one off or what and find that it is a common fault. If it is a common fault why on earth have you not found a permanent solution to it.
I’m a bit of an ipad dummy. Naively followed step 2 not realising my favourites/bookmarks would be wiped off! SK could you put a warning in your instructions that it will have what was for me quite a frustrating negative effect? Thanks
New problem, which my only be in effect for today… Turn off Safari Suggestion to avoid Safari shutting down…
I’ve been searching for over a month for a solution. Number 6 fixed my problem. Thank you very much.
At last! Thanks to the suggestions in this post I was able to track down my Safari issue. Been wresting with this for MONTHS on all my iOS devices. Safari started acting strange and crashing and then stopped working entirely. The instructions here led me to look in a spot I hadn’t previously when I was turning things off, deleting data, etc. Turns out it was the Favorites function. Settings > Safari > Favorites. There, hiding in my folders was a second Favorites folder at the bottom and this was the one selected. I clicked on another Folder in the list and voila! FIXED!
I’ve been all over the internet trying to resolve this, even talked to a local Apple product store to see if they’d hear of this and/or fixed it. The guy knew nothing about it. The other day I even tried a full iPhone restore. Nothing.
But now, thanks to Serhat’s article, I’m back online with Safari and can also update my APN settings in iOS 9. Happy Tuesday!
Thanks Dawn
I’ve been having problems with Safari ever since I downloaded I08
I have changed my favourites to a new folder and it does know appear to be working well, so I see our long it lasts.
Thanks Dawn
Yvo really helped me with my Safari problem on my iPad I’m running IOS 9.2
After I have changed my favorites to another folder Safari works without all the reading twice or even more for eventually to crash.
THANKS
Just wanted to let everyone know the only fix I found to be helpful was to completely wipe my iPad1 out and start over fresh then add it as a new iPad with my original Apple ID and manually add my apps . I know it’s a little bit to do it over that way but my programs are no longer crashing as well as my frustrating safari app that every time I use to go online on a website eBay,aol etc it would kick me back to home page but it’s good now so good luck to you all on my advise
Useless drivel.
Nice try, though.
This has gone on long enough and gets worse with each iOS update! Come on Apple, fix it. Turning off auto fill, clearing cookies and info is NOT the solution.
Worked like a charm #2,3,4. Thanks!!! Was just before buying a new iPad!!
This has only started on my iPad since I updated to OS8. I am not sure what fixes to try, completely agree about turning off features that are supposed to be useful!
This is absolutely stupid drivel about a serious problem with the ipad. I am fed up with Apple and with anyone who offers stupid and predictable advice like this!
painfull perhaps windows bugd it
This reminds me of the old Microsofr days…poor quality control leading to poor product applications and frustrated users. Rather than providing a list of undesirable fixes, my suggestion to Apple is please fix it yourself.
This means not even Apple knows why this happens!
Oh brother. Don’t some of these fixes render the app less than optimally useful? Why in the world should we have to turn off useful features in order to use the app?????
I agree completely. Is the problem with Safari? Fix the code. Don’t deprive users of wanted/needed apps and features. Does anyone remember “customer friendly”?
Fix number 3 and 4- and 5 helped me a lot. thanks