How to fix Safari not working after macOS Sonoma Update

Are you facing issues using Safari on your Mac following the recent update to macOS Sonoma? While Safari is generally a robust and reliable web browser, certain users have encountered challenges in getting webpages to load after installing macOS Sonoma. Users have reported that sometimes a web page will stop responding. Or, when they type in a search or a web address in the search field, it will seem as though that tab is dead — nothing happens when they hit Go/Enter. In this article, I will explain what you can do if Safari is not working after macOS Sonoma update.

The information in this article apply to MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Studio.

How to fix Safari not working, not loading webpages after macOS Sonoma update

There are various reasons why Safari may not be working after upgrading to macOS Sonoma. Problems could come from the Safari app, the web pages you are trying to load or your Wi-Fi, to name a few.

Close Safari and then reopen it

To close Safari:

1. Save whatever you’re working on in Safari. Save your tabs if you like; you can throw them in your Reading List or bookmark them.
2. Click the red Close button on all your open Safari windows.
3. Go to the Dock, and if Safari has a dot underneath, right-click (Control-click) on the icon and select Quit.
4. Press Command—Option—Esc, and if you see **Safari **listed, click on it to highlight it and then click Force Quit.

Update your Mac

Sometimes, bugs in macOS Sonoma may cause Safari issues. Apple usually is quick to fix this. Since Safari is part of macOS, updating your computer will ensure that you have the latest version of the Safari app, too.

Go to System Settings > General > Software Update to check for updates, and if there is one, update your Mac by following the onscreen instructions.

Clear out Safari cache

There are a few different ways to clear out cookies, website data and cache.

Clear cookies and website data for a specific site

This lets you remove cookies and website data just for specific sites.

1. Open Safari and choose Safari, thenSettings from the top menu bar.
2. Select the **Privacy **tab, then click Manage Website Data.
3. Select a website, then click Remove.

Clear history

You can clear out your history, which will also clear cookies and website data for all of the websites you have visited. This means you will have to log in again to websites (and do 2FA and all that). Your passwords saved in Keychain will not be affected.

1. Open Safari and then select Historyfrom the top menu bar.
2. Select Clear History.
3. Choose your time frame. You can choose all history.
4. Click Clear History.

Clear Safari cache

Apple makes it a little more complicated to just clear caches.

1. Open Safari. Click on Safari, thenSettings (Preferences) in the top menu bar.
2. Select the Advanced tab and check the box next to "Show Develop menu in menu bar."
3. Now, from the top menu bar, choose Develop.
4. Click Empty Caches.

Restart your Mac

If Safari is still not working on macOS Sonoma, restart your Mac. This may fix minor glitches preventing the Safari app from working properly. Go to the Apple  menu and selectRestart.

Check anti-virus or VPN software

Several anti-virus and VPN software users reported problem using Safari after macOS Sonoma update,. If you are using an anti-virus or security type of software, including VPN, You can try the following:

• Uninstall the anti-virus software and then check if you can load web pages on Safari. If you can load web pages, then, obviously, this software is the problem. Check if there is an update to the software. Then, you can try to install the updated version. If the updated version causes problems, too, you may want to keep the software uninstalled until its developers address the issue.
• VPN services may also cause this. Are you using a VPN? Then disable or uninstall it and then try again.

Please note that uninstalling the VPN may not be enough. Even after uninstalling it, its configuration may stay on your Mac and continue to cause issues. You may need to remove it. On your Mac, go to** Apple menu** >** System Settings** > Network. Then select VPN. Then, tap the info (i) button next to the VPN service and select Remove Configuration. You will be asked if you are sure you want to remove it. Click Delete again.

Restart your modem/router

If you are still experiencing problems loading web pages on Safari after macOS Sonoma update, the root cause might lie with your Wi-Fi router or modem rather than the Mac. Hardware or firmware issues in your Wi-Fi router could impede wireless network access. A restart of your Wi-Fi router might prove effective in resolving the problem. You can do this by unplugging the modem/router from its power source and waiting about 15 seconds, then plugging it in again.