Safari Not Working On Your iPhone? Here Are 4 Things To Try

Back when the iPhone was first announced in 2007, one of the three highlighting features of the product was the ability to surf the web anytime and anywhere. Fast-forward a couple of years, and the internet browsing experience on mobile has improved tenfold, with most websites now offering a tailored mobile-friendly view, among other features.

Safari is the default web browsing app on all Apple devices, and is known for its simplistic design. Despite Google Chrome adding memory and battery saving features, Safari is deemed the best option when it comes to endurance and performance across Apple's range of products. But that's not all that the browser has going for it — you can find a good selection of Safari features that change the way you surf the web.

Unfortunately, no software is immune to bugs, and you may occasionally run into annoyances while trying to browse the internet using Safari. It could be the inability of the browser to load certain webpages, or just an error connecting to the internet as a whole. For those encountering problems with Safari on their iPhone, here are four troubleshooting steps that may identify and resolve the issue for you. The solutions also work for iPads and Macs, albeit with slightly different steps and menu names.

The first thing to check for, in case of abnormalities with any of the apps installed on your phone, are updates. App developers are constantly rolling out newer builds that not just bring new features, but also address existing bugs. So, before you begin scouring for other possible reasons, it's best to check for any app updates available for Safari. 

1. On your iPhone, open the App Store.
2. Tap on your profile picture, located in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Scroll down, and you'll find a list of apps that have updates available.
4. You can either choose to update all apps here, or find and update Safari specifically.

The Safari app will then be upgraded to the latest version, this time hopefully fixing any and all bugs. The same concept applies to system updates as a whole. Apple pushes out iOS updates to counter bugs quite frequently, so if you haven't updated your phone in a hot minute, now's a good time to do so.

1. First, make sure you have at least 60% battery to begin with. Next, launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to General > Software Update.
3. If your phone catches any pending updates, you can download and install them here.

Keeping your apps and system software up to date also safeguards you against malicious attacks, and the new features are just the cherry on top!

Not being able to surf the web using Safari may be caused due to improper network configuration. Start by making sure you're connected to the internet through either Wi-Fi or cellular. There are ways to fix an iPhone that won't connect to the internet, including staying in proximity to your router or rebooting it. Try to see if you can connect to the internet using any other browser on your iPhone.

If you're utilizing a VPN on your iPhone, it is worth disconnecting from it to check if that fixes Safari. Most websites on the internet depend heavily on JavaScript to handle actions and logic, and this feature is turned on by default on the iPhone. You can confirm this by navigating to Settings > Safari > Advanced and enabling the "JavaScript" toggle.

In case you haven't been able to connect to the Internet in Safari while on mobile data, navigate to Settings > Cellular. Depending on your region, this may be labelled as "Mobile". Under the "Cellular Data" options, tap on "Show All", and make sure the toggle for Safari is enabled — the app won't be able to use your cellular network otherwise. If all else fails, and you've been noticing network issues system-wide, it may be worth it to reset all network settings on your iPhone. 

The web browser is probably one of the most used apps on anyone's phone, and the amount of data it handles and stores grows tremendously over time. There are a few ways to clear your iPhone's cache, and occasionally purging your browser's data can free up storage and fix broken app behavior. 

1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
2. Scroll down to find the Safari app. Alternatively, you can perform a search in case you have a lot of apps installed on your device. 
3. Tap on "Clear History and Website Data". 
4. You will see a pop-up with a few options where you can select the timeframe to clear your browsing history. 
5. Select "All history" and check the "Close All Tabs" toggle.
6. Tap on "Clear History".

Head back to the app drawer and launch Safari. Try searching for something on the internet to see if the browser is now operational. Do note that clearing Safari's history will sign you out of all websites. While this trick is useful to speed sluggish performance or resolve miscellaneous bugs, cached data actually serves a lot of purpose and makes your browsing experience much faster, so don't overdo it. 

In the realm of tech support, all roads lead to the same advice — have you tried turning it off and back on again? Though not very common in iOS, it's possible for certain apps and services to break, and the quickest way to address these issues would be to perform a restart of the device. We wouldn't blame if you are unfamiliar with the process — iPhones are generally known for their stability, leaving little to no reason for troubleshooting measures such as this.

Depending on your iPhone model, the steps to reboot it will vary. For iPhones without the home button, follow these steps to perform a system reboot:

1. Press and hold either the volume down or volume up button in combination with the side button. 
2. You will see the power menu pop up. Swipe the "slide to power off" slider at the top.
3. Your iPhone will take a few seconds to shut down. 
4. Wait at least 30 seconds, then press and hold the side key to turn your iPhone back on.

For older iPhone models that still rock the trusty home button, simply press and hold the side button and then swipe to power off. In even older models like the iPhone SE, you will have to hold down the top button instead. Restarting is the same as holding down the power button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.