Safari users are today reporting an odd issue causing Apple’s web browser app to crash on both Macs and iOS devices. Several Mac users are also not receiving autocomplete suggestions when entering text into Safari’s address bar, with many pages including sites like Google failing to load completely. For many iPhone and iPad users, simply tapping on the URL bar causes Safari to crash.
“When you type a URL, Apple sends what you type to its servers, returning a response with autocomplete search queries, Top Sites and other info,” explains 9to5Mac. “There appears to be a bug in this server request that is causing Safari to randomly crash.”
There are two simple ways to get around this until the problem is resolved by Apple. The quickest and easiest is to use Private Browsing mode, which does not contact Apple’s servers for Safari Suggestions when you enter URLs and search terms.
The other option is to disable Safari Suggestions and Search Engine Suggestions. Here’s how on iOS:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Safari
- Disable Safari Suggestions and Search Engine Suggestions
Here’s how on Mac:
- Open Safari
- Click Safari in the status bar, then click Preferences
- Click the Search tab
- Under “Smart Search Field,” click “Include search engine recommendations” and “Include Safari Suggestions” to disable
The problem appears to be affecting users around the world and will likely be resolved when Apple corrects the service on their end.
How To Fix Safari Crashing for Both iOS and Mac Users