safari browser keeps reloading

Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

>  Learn more

>  Add to your calendar 

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How to disable Safari auto-reloading pages

Safari is deciding at times to reload pages with the following message:

"This webpage was reloaded because it was using significant memory."

This varies between a minor and significant inconvenience for me. I have heard anecdotally that this also affects students attempting to fill out long quizzes/tests and they can lose all of their progress.

If this "feature" is going to exist, please at least allow us to opt-out of it.

I wanted to switch to Safari to enhance my privacy but am rather close to fully moving back to Chrome. I'd rather know that my browser is using an unnecessarily large amount of RAM than hope my page doesn't reloaded for arbitrary reasons.

MacBook Air

Posted on Feb 7, 2021 6:10 PM

Posted on Feb 8, 2021 7:17 AM

Unfortunately that only treats a symptom of this problem and does not solve the problem.

Also, this doesn't even really treat the symptom. I have done this in the middle of watching a video, closed and reopened Safari, and then had Safari auto-reload the video 5 - 10 minutes later.

Doing this every 5 minutes is not realistic.

Similar questions

• Automatic Reloading of Safari Tab When I use certain websites, it pops up that the site is using significant memory and says I should refresh the window. I don't want it to, but then it automatically does and I lose all the work and the spot in the video where I was at before it refreshed. I was wondering how to stop it from automatically refreshing like that. 570 1
• What is Safari web cached? What is safari web cached? takes up alot of memory.... [Re-Titled by Moderator] 235 1
• Safari pages using huge amount of memory I have seen this some years ago, but I thought it was getting better. My wife goes to lots of web sites using Safari, mostly about cooking. She leaves lots of tabs open. After a week or two, the computer becomes very sluggish, and I see in Activity Monitor that there are many web pages that are using over 1 GB of memory. Is there any way to stop these web pages in Safari from using this huge amount of memory? We bought this MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM that was the most possible at the time, but it should not become unusable by simply opening web pages in Safari. 2123 4

Loading page content

Page content loaded

Feb 8, 2021 7:17 AM in response to dominic23

Feb 8, 2021 5:37 AM in response to Konrad9

Enable Develop menu in the Safari menu bar.

https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/use-the-developer-tools-in-the-develop-menu-sfri20948/mac

Click "Develop" in the menubar and choose "Empty Caches".

Feb 8, 2021 7:31 AM in response to Konrad9

Yeah the same here and that's kinda unsolvable problem for now, I guess. But, hope it will be solved soon, so now try to use Chrome instead. It surely helps)

We explain and teach technology, solve tech problems and help you make gadget buying decisions.

Top 12 Fixes for Safari Not Loading Pages on iPhone and iPad

Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.

The Safari browser comes pre-installed on Apple devices such as iPhone and iPad. Many iOS and iPadOS users prefer using it as the default browser . Sadly, the browser doesn’t work at times, for pages do not load in it. If you are from the unlucky ones, then you have landed on the right page. You can easily fix it when Safari does not open web pages on iPhone and iPad, as shown in this post.

iPhone and iPad users face different kinds of issues related to Safari . Some see a blank, white page and others get errors like ‘Safari cannot open the page because iPhone isn’t connected to the internet,’ or the browser freezes and crashes without loading any page.

The following fixes will help you resolve all kinds of problems related to Safari not loading pages on iOS and iPadOS. Let’s start.

1. Restart Phone and Modem

To start the troubleshooting process, restart your iPhone and iPad . Also, reboot your modem if you are using Wi-Fi. In case you are connected via cellular data, please turn it off for a few seconds and turn it on again.

Tip: You should also remove the SIM card from your phone for a while.

2. Check Network Connection

Next, verify whether the issue is with Safari alone or not. For that, check if other apps are working on your iPhone or iPad. If you cannot connect to the internet using other apps, then the problem is with your network connection. Switch to mobile data from Wi-Fi or vice versa.

Tip: Check out 8 fixes for can’t find server error on Safari .

3. Enable Airplane Mode

Another way to troubleshoot issues due to network connections is to put your device in Airplane mode . That will turn off and refresh all network connections. To enable Airplane mode on your iPhone or iPad, open Control Center and tap on the Airplane mode icon. Alternatively, go to Settings and enable Airplane mode. Keep it on for a few seconds, and then turn it off.

4. Turn off VPN

Are you using any VPN on your iPhone or iPad? If yes, disable it for a while and see if you can open web pages through Safari.

Tip: Find out whether you need security apps on your iPhone or iPad .

5. Update Software

Before you try the below-mentioned fixes, we would suggest you update the Safari browser from App Store. Often there is a bug in the app or phone’s software. So you should look for any available software updates and install them. To check for the phone’s software, go to Settings > General > Software update.

6. Check Cellular Data Settings

If you can load web pages on Wi-Fi, but pages do not load on cellular data, you must check mobile data settings. For that, go to Settings > Cellular data/Mobile data. Scroll down and make sure the toggle next to Safari is green. If it’s off, turn it on.

Tip: Check out other ways to fix iPhone apps only work on Wi-Fi and not mobile data .

7. Check Content Restrictions

You must check on your iPhone/iPad if any content restrictions are enabled. To do so, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. If the Content & privacy restrictions toggle on the next screen is turned off, skip this fix and jump to the next one.

In case it is on, scroll down and tap on Content Restrictions. Go to Web content and select Unrestricted access.

Tip: Find out how to block and unblock certain websites on iPhone .

8. Enable JavaScript

You should check if the Safari browser has permission to use JavaScript. For that, open Settings on your iPhone and go to Safari > Advanced. Enable the toggle next to JavaScript.

9. Clear Cache and Browsing Data

This is one of the fixes that has solved the web pages not loading issue for many users. To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone/iPad. Go to Safari.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Advanced.

Step 3: Tap on Website data. Scroll down and hit Remove all website data.

Step 4 : Restart the phone and see if you can open web pages. If the issue persists, come back to Settings > Safari. Scroll down and tap on Clear History and Website data. Confirm when asked. This will delete all your browsing history and other browsing data from all the Apple devices using the same iCloud account.

Tip: Find out how to fix if the Clear history and website data button is greyed out .

10. Reset Network Settings

Often the problem of web pages not opening on Safari happens due to some problematic network setting. The best way to fix this is to reset network settings. Doing so will not affect your personal data. Only settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., will be reset to their default values. You will need to set them up again. Find out in detail what happens by resetting network settings .

To reset network settings on iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset network settings.

11. Disable Content Blockers

If you have installed any content blocker on your iPhone or iPad, you should try disabling it for a while. To do so, go to Settings > Safari > Content Blockers. Disable all of them and see if you can load pages now. Know what are content blockers and whether you should use them on your iPhone.

You should also try disabling various Safari experimental features one-by-one. For that, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Experimental features.

12. Change Wi-Fi DNS

Sometimes, the issue happens to a wrongly configured DNS server. You should change it to Google DNS and see if websites open in the Safari browser.

To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1 : Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.

Step 2 : Tap on the (i) icon next to the problematic Wi-Fi. Tap on Configure DNS.

Step 3: If Automatic is selected, tap on Manual > Add server. Enter 8.8.8.8, remove existing ones, and hit Save. If Manual is selected, tap on Automatic.

Change Default Browser

We are positive that at least one of the above fixes should solve issues with the Safari browser. We would also suggest that if you have a huge number of tabs open in the Safari browser, you should close at least some of them. If the issue continues, you can always use Chrome, and now you can even make it your default browser .

Was this helpful?

Last updated on 28 November, 2022

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

DID YOU KNOW

More in iOS

Top 5 Ways to Fix iPhone Making Random Calls Issue

Top 5 Ways to Send Multiple Photos From iPhone

Join the newsletter.

Get Guiding Tech articles delivered to your inbox.

How-To Geek

How to fix "this website is using significant memory" on a mac.

What do you do when Safari tells you a website is hogging more than its fair share?

Quick Links

What the "significant memory" warning really means, things you can try that may help, ditch plugins and extensions to speed up safari.

Your Mac only has a finite amount of memory available, so if a process starts to use more than its fair share, the rest of the system can suffer. Sometimes, Safari will warn you that a website is using a lot of memory, but what can you do about it and how do you stop it from coming back?

Your computer uses physical memory, or RAM (random access memory), to store data that needs to be rapidly accessed by the system. The more memory you have, the longer you can go before running out. To make the most of available memory, the solid-state drive is used as a temporary location to " swap " data in and out as required, which is why a Mac with twice as much memory isn't necessarily twice as capable.

Some websites require more system resources than others. This is often the case with complex websites like social media feeds or web applications like Google Docs which handle a lot of data. There also may be scripts running in the background of a webpage that introduce additional overhead.

The "significant memory" warning is an indicator that a tab is asking for a lot of system resources, which may lead to a performance drop. More memory being used by one process means there is less memory available to the system overall. This can result in slowdowns, crashes, and instability.

This warning will only appear above the tab causing the issue, so you may need to cycle through tabs if you suspect a web page is causing your computer to perform poorly.

The easiest remedy is to refresh the tab in question. This should force Safari to reallocate resources, freeing up any memory that's tied down and removing the warning. Unfortunately, a problematic website is likely to keep asking for more resources and so the warning can come back.

Safari splits tabs up by process in Activity Monitor (accessible via Spotlight or under Applications > Utilities). Access the "Memory" tab then arrange the "Memory" column by descending to see which processes are using the most memory at the top. You can quit any webpage process to force a reload.

You can take the more drastic route of quitting Safari altogether (using Command+Q or simply right-clicking on the dock in the icon). If Safari has become unresponsive you may need to force quit the process to restore performance.

Sometimes warnings such as these can be caused by problems rendering a webpage as a result of an outdated browser. Install any available updates for Safari under System Preferences > Software Update is recommended for both  performance and security reasons .

If the website in question has an issue with Safari in particular, installing and using a second browser like Chrome or Firefox  could be the answer. Safari is a solid choice for Mac users on account of being highly optimized, but it often doesn't enjoy the same support as more popular cross-platform browsers.

If you're seeing this error a lot, you might want to consider upgrading your Mac . If your machine is relatively new, it's likely a problem with the website and you may want to submit a support ticket or seek an alternative. Accessing the website periodically rather than leaving it open all of the time could work too.

Webpages using more than their fair share of resources is an issue that appears from time to time, but there may be more you can do to improve Safari's performance across all websites.

Consider ditching web plugins and removing unnecessary browser extensions  to reduce Safari's overall footprint, freeing up more resources for thirsty webpages and other processes.

If Safari isn't loading websites or quits on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

If you can't load a website or web page, or Safari quits unexpectedly, follow these steps.

Connect to a different network

Try to load a website, such as www.apple.com/au , using mobile data. If you don’t have mobile data, connect to a different Wi-Fi network , then load the website.

If you're using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), check your VPN settings . If you have a VPN turned on, some apps or websites may block content from being loaded.

Restart your device

Turn off your device and turn it on again.

Restart your iPhone

Restart your iPad

Restart your iPod touch

Clear website data

You can clear website data every so often to improve Safari performance.

Go to Settings > Safari.

Tap Clear History and Website Data.

Tap Clear History to confirm.

Turn on JavaScript

Turn on JavaScript if it's not already on.

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced.

Turn on JavaScript.

Get more help

If the issue continues and only affects a certain website or web page, check if you have Private Relay turned on. You can temporarily turn off Private Relay in iCloud Settings . If Safari still doesn't load websites and you've tried all these steps, contact the website developer for more help.

Contact Apple Support

Need more help? Save time by starting your support request online and we'll connect you to an expert.

Geeks On-site Computer Repair Blog

Get tips from the local pros at geeks on-site computer repair.

• Testimonials

What to do if Safari keeps force reloading

These days, Web content is heavy with video, music and images, so sometimes, a page can take a few seconds to load. But, unfortunately for Mac users, if a page on Safari's 5.0 is having trouble loading, it can often trigger a force reload for any other tabs you have open in the browser, causing you to lose any unsaved information on those pages.

The reason for the reload is that this process is Apple's attempt to stop Safari from freezing, but it doesn't work as smoothly as many users would have hoped.

"Safari 5.0 brought some helpful security and convenience features, but its rebuilt machinery – intended, Apple says, to ensure that 'an unresponsive website won't affect Safari' – seizes up too often," writes local Washington D.C. tech expert and journalist Rob Pegoraro in a recent article for USA Today.

According to Pegoraro, there are a few things you can do before calling your Washington, D.C. computer repair service for Mac repair .

First, try to only open a few websites that use Adobe Flash at the same time, because they take longer to load, and thus, can cause a Safari-wide reloading. If you need to access a website with Flash, limit the number of other tabs you have open.

Second, Pegoraro suggests that Safari users save links in Safari's Reading List feature, rather than simply keeping 20 tabs open for future reading. In addition to storing the links, Reading List makes note of which pages you have and haven't read, too – taking the concept of bookmarking to the next level. 

Either way, try to limit the number of tabs you have open, no matter what, because too many can cause a browser to freeze, force-reload or otherwise slow you down.

Leave a Comment

For a Free Quote call (877) 433-5766 Now

For a free computer repair quote call (202) 670-9966, related mac repair articles, leave a reply.

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

ERROR: si-captcha.php plugin says GD image support not detected in PHP!

Contact your web host and ask them why GD image support is not enabled for PHP.

ERROR: si-captcha.php plugin says imagepng function not detected in PHP!

Contact your web host and ask them why imagepng function is not enabled for PHP.

Advertising

• Subscribe to our mailing list

• Computer Repair (117)
• Computer Tips (47)
• Computer Upgrades (32)
• Laptop Repair (59)
• MAC Repair (49)
• Maryland Computer Repair (56)
• Maryland Laptop Repair (34)
• Maryland MAC Repair (21)
• Maryland Spyware Removal (16)
• Maryland Virus Removal (24)
• Spyware Removal (48)
• Uncategorized (6)
• Virginia Computer Repair (50)
• Virginia Laptop Repair (32)
• Virginia MAC Repair (22)
• Virginia Spyware Removal (15)
• Virginia Virus Removal (20)
• Virus Removal (72)
• Washington DC Computer Repair (49)
• Washington DC Laptop Repair (27)
• Washington DC MAC Repair (23)
• Washington DC Spyware Removal (15)
• Washington DC Virus Removal (17)
• July 2014  (1)
• April 2014  (1)
• July 2013  (2)
• June 2013  (2)
• May 2013  (8)
• April 2013  (7)
• March 2013  (6)
• February 2013  (10)
• November 2012  (2)
• October 2012  (4)
• September 2012  (4)
• August 2012  (3)
• July 2012  (22)
• June 2012  (17)
• May 2012  (5)
• April 2012  (3)
• March 2012  (4)
• February 2012  (15)
• January 2012  (12)
• December 2011  (20)
• November 2011  (20)
• October 2011  (20)
• September 2011  (17)
• August 2011  (20)
• July 2011  (20)
• June 2011  (1)
• February 2010  (3)

Geeks On-site Computer Repair Service | (240) 426-6691 | (877) 433-5766 | 10908 Barn Wood Lane | Potomac, MD 20854

2012 Geeks On-site Computer Repair Blog.