Macworld Forums: Safari 3.0.4 loads very slow or not at all - Macworld Forums

My Safari loads very slow or not at all. Only time it got fast was when I got it new. The slow down came a couple of weeks after that.

Have not been successful in resolving this after visiting the apple sites for the past 6 months.
The page takes long time to load. Sometimes I've to open up another new window and that will kick start the loading of the stalled window. Other options is to click the link or address a couple more times. This action works half the time.

I fell off my chair when the apple website claims Safari is lightning speed.

I've wondered why there is no reply to this thread. I've had the same experience... Safari was fast and now I can read a book and shower between page loads. Yes, I know about Onyx and other Safari enhancers, but why doesn't the stinkin' thing work like advertised? Safari is slower than IE 6 on my work PC. I hate it for its speed and love it for all its other features. I don't want to switch to Camino, but I'll probably have to do it. Does anyone have an answer to why Safari now runs like a Windows app?

So let's confirm it's Safari before we start bashing what is for many people a perfectly functioning browser.

1. So you both have a slow-down issue. Is it all the time and always the same sites or is it selective and intermittent??
2. Does this happen with major sites like Google, MSN, Yahoo, BBC, CNN, things like that?
3. Are either of you mobile and able to check to see if the problem persists on another network?
4. Have either of you tried clearing your browser cache?
5. Are you plugged into a router or a modem?
6. Have you tried a different router or modem?
7. Is anyone else on the network experiencing these problems or is it just you?

If it is Safari, simply clearing the browser cache (Safari > Empty Cache) will probably be enough. Another way to confirm it actually is Safari would be to download the latest version of Firefox and run it. If Firefox works but Safari doesn't then you know it actually is Safari that's the problem.

Otherwise you might want to consider your router or modem as that can easily be where the problem is. Quick and simple way to solve most problems with routers and modems are to unplug the entire system, that being the modem and, if you have one, the router as well as disconnecting all computers from the network. Then you wait say a minute and plug them in sequentially; the modem first, then the router then connect the computers. Let each one start up fully before plugging in the previous one.

Another thing to consider, if you're wireless, is your proximity to the router and what is between you. If you're a few rooms away and the walls are concrete you're not going to get a great signal, thus slow browsing.

You also want to figure out if it happens at the same time and to the same sites. Some sites are badly built and take a long time to load. Also, they might just be experiencing a lot of server trouble. That's why I confirm whether or not it's this issue with sites like Google and Yahoo. If these load quick and easily but others don't then I doubt the issue is Safari or your connection. Likewise if it happens at some times and not others it may just be your ISP has a heavy load at those times.

Also, if you're engaging in any P2P traffic such as Limewire or torrents then you will notice major slow-downs even if your downloads are only taking up a fraction of your supposed bandwidth. This is due to many ISPs traffic-shapping, which basically means they don't allocate you as much bandwidth when you download via P2P. Not everyone does this but quite a few do and many of them do it at peak times, say certain times in the morning and usually in the evening.

I too have had the same problem and it is really frustrating. I do use a wireless network and I definitely see an improvement when I am closer to the router/modem, but it doesn't completely solve the problem and my boyfriend (who is using a pc) does not seem to have the same issues. Any thoughts on why that is?

The way I normally figure out the cause of an issue is by process of elimination.

First we eliminate user fault. Best way to do this is make sure no one is on the network doing P2P stuff that would slow it all down. Easiest way to ensure this is make everyone else get off the network and see if the problem sticks around with just normal browsing. If it does then we know that it's not what kind of traffic you're doing as general net traffic isn't usually enough to cause that big an issue.

Second we eliminate the browser. Use a different one like Shiira, Firefox, Opera... There are dozens out there and any one will work. You don't need to keep it, just see if the problem persists in that browser. If the problem persists across more than one browser than you know it's not a program error.

Third check to make sure you don't have a firewall. This can cause all sorts of trouble when it comes to internet connections, but that really is their job in a manner of speaking. This also includes things like Little Snitch which outright blocks apps from connecting. Just make sure you have all that stuff turned off. If you still have the problem it's not a firewall issue.

Forth eliminate the computer. Best way to do this is to see if the problem persists on another network. Go to your nearest Borders, Barnes and Nobel or Apple Store or any place with free WiFi and connect to the network and see if you have the problem still. If you do it's your computer as the likelihood of two completely separate networks having the exact same problem is extremely unlikely. If there is no problem, then the problem is your modem or router or ISP.

Fifth, eliminate the Router. Simply bypass the router and plug directly into your modem. Now browse as normal. If the problem persists your router is fine. If it doesn't, your router is the problem. If your router appears to be the problem try connecting to it via an ethernet cable to see if it's just a wireless issue. Of course either way it doesn't matter as you'll probably want to get a new router. Of course I'd recommend checking it's settings as well as calling tech support before you do so.

Sixth, eliminate the modem. Some modems have diagnostic abilities. Check your user manual or the company site to see if it does. If not, try calling your ISP they can sometimes run checks remotely. This also allows them to check to make sure it's not an issue on their end.

If you've confirmed it's none of these then I'd say good luck because I have no idea and you seem to be in an alternate dimension. :D Unless, of course, someone has a better idea.

1. So you both have a slow-down issue. Is it all the time and always the same sites or is it selective and intermittent?? - it happens with Safari intermittently.
2. Does this happen with major sites like Google, MSN, Yahoo, BBC, CNN, things like that? - no, all sites, even ones I've visited a few minutes before (so, the site is cached).
3. Are either of you mobile and able to check to see if the problem persists on another network? - yes, I'm wireless and I've checked by connecting the PB to the router directly... Safari loads things slowly in an idiosyncratic manner.
4. Have either of you tried clearing your browser cache? - yes, along w/ a reset of Safari, which works for a while.
5. Are you plugged into a router or a modem? - DSL to AEBS, the 802.11n version.
6. Have you tried a different router or modem? - yes, I tried at our local cafe, same problem, slow page loading.
7. Is anyone else on the network experiencing these problems or is it just you? - yes, my wife's Safari loads slowly also.

It's hard for Macs fanatics like me and Doug to admit it, but Safari has, in the past, been pretty sucky at loading pages w/o a little pause. Some utilities, such as Safari Enhancer and Onyx, claim to help out and they do, for a while. It comes down to Apple polishing some of the rough edges off Leopard and the Safari beta. Heck, I see Safari loading pages fairly slowly at the Apple Store on brand new iMacs, why would it act any differently at my house? I do carry only 768 Mbs of RAM to run Leopard on my 1 Ghz PB and plan to buy more, so maybe it's just that Leopard is more RAM hungry and I'm running into disk use instead of RAM use. Who knows. I love Apple, so I'll put up with it until 10.5.2 and hope for the best.

Well 10.5.2 comes out Tuesday so at least you don't have to wait long. Did you try and confirm by using another browser? Though it does sound rather moot point. I'm not sure what the issue is exactly, however, as I don't have the same issue and for my looking it doesn't sound horribly common. Granted, I do have 3GB in my MBP but I'm barely touching 600MB active. with a full 2GB sitting completely free so it doesn't sound like a RAM issue. Likewise according to Activity Monitor it's not pulling off any other more resources than other apps. Though it does have higher virtual memory but not higher than Dashboard.

Have you tried using Onyx or Cocktail to clear out your all your internet related caches?

Check out the leaking Safari memory thread on this forum... Safari's use of memory is occasionally bizarre. I have a fraction of the RAM you have, so that's probly the issue. Everything runs faster w/ Camino, but Camino is not as feature-rich for my taste as Safari, so I put up w/ the slow page loading.

Update/FYI: I downloaded Firefox and there was a big difference. While it still had a hiccup or two in certain parts of my house (apparently too far from the router), it was significantly faster than Safari. Thanks to Doug for the link to Firefox. I guess I will use that for the timebeing.

Sorry I couldn't provide a better fix for you. However Firefox is a pretty decent browser in it's own right, I use it all the time for development work. Hopefully your issue will be one of the ones fixed when Apple releases the update tomorrow.

I have the very same issue with Safari. Sometimes I feel as though I'm on dial-up like back in the 'old' days when I had a PC.
I know why Safari is slow on my Mac and it's because I am using a wireless router. My son has a PC in his room which is just across the hall and he says his connections are always quick. I like Safari but I also like Firefox and will probably start using it instead. I have no patience when it comes to waiting for something and waiting for a connection just irks me. In this day and age of technology you would think we could connect with the blink of an eye.

Whether or not you're on a wireless connection shouldn't make a different when you're concerned with browser speed. The information is sent to and from your computer the same way, the only thing that differs is how fast the browser interprets that information. Ethernet connections tend to be a bit faster than wireless connections, if only because they tend to be more stable, but you shouldn't notice such a massive gap.

I'm going through a similar situation right now myself and after testing three computers (two macs, on PC) on two different OS's and bout 10 or so web browsers (web designer, I have all the top players) I've come to the conclusion that it's a proximity issue and how thick the walls and floors are in this house. Also, the router we have is pathetic when it comes to signal strength.

Try sitting in the same room with the router and seeing if you still have the same issue. If you do, it might be a compatibility issue with your laptop and the router. What brand is it?

I joined the forum just to reply to the original post. I have the same problem and I have to say it's just abysmal that Apple can't get Safari to work properly. Mine is loading pages like it's on dial up. Just to put this into perspective I have a 5 yr old XP machine 3 ft away, on the same network and connection - it loads the same pages many, many times faster than Safari. The Mac has a dual 3.0 CPU, 2 GB Ram and OS 10.4.11 on a broadband connection. I bought the machine in November and when it was new the browser was equal to if not faster than the XP machine. The browser's performance degraded over time. I was and am currently resetting the browser (clearing the cache, etc) more than once a day - this helped a little but it was and is still very slow. When 3.0.4 moved out of beta I loaded it. Amazingly the machine was like new. I'm sure many of you have noticed how many more items are cleared by a Reset in 3.0.4 versus the previous version. I saw suggestions on the Web about manually clearing some of these items such as "Remove all Website icons" as unofficial ways to improve browser performance but I didn't take it seriously. Now it seems these are official. Come on it took three plus versions to figure this out. I have a theory that because the degradation is not there when application is fresh and it get's worse over time there is some, yet to be determined, system folder or cache that needs clearing. Apple really who are you kidding. There are so many postings about slow downs for version 3.0.4 (as there were for the prior release). This problem can't be a mystery to Apple. I will write to Apple as I hope you will. Good luck! P.S. love the i-app's but still not a PC replacement unless you run XP. It shouldn't be this way - at least not because of browser issues.

I have to say that of all the OS X releases, Leopard has had some of the roughest edges in need of a polishing. Apparently, Apple listened and the newly tuned Webkit is so much faster than the current Safari that it is reputedly astonishing. It will form the basis, from what I've read, for the next Safari release. In other words, Apple has finally gotten around to fixing some major bugs, issues and so forth and is just about to release Leopard 10.5.2, may it come as soon as possible. Over the years, I've seen Safari slow down, then speed up after major releases of OS X, and it is happening in spades this time. Thankfully, most of the major turmoil surrounding the iPhone has diminished and Apple can get back to the best software OS in the universe. For what it's worth, I think it's time for me to pick up one of the new iMacs (after it's refreshed in the coming weeks). I recently ordered an extra Gb of RAM for my PowerBook so that Leopard's memory overhead won't slow me down so much.