Safari 5.0, the latest version of Apple’s web browser, is causing extreme frustration to Mac users worldwide, going by a number of forum posts Softpedia has recently stumbled upon. Users are reporting hangs, freezing, crashing, high CPU temperatures, etc. For some, the new Safari won’t even launch.
“How do I switch back to Safari 4.0 from 5.0?” the first cry Softpedia has found over at Apple’s Discussions forum reads. “Since I downloaded 5.0 yesterday, downloads have slowed sometimes to a complete halt, the computer has frozen, the loading indicator continues to move and other annoying activity has taken place,” Patricia Cornell claims. “I now have to use Firefox exclusively. This is the worst experience I have had since switching from Windows to Mac,” the disappointed customer writes.
Apple Discussions posters have the option to include system information with their posts, something Patricia opted for when she signed up to use the forum. According to the information she discloses about her Apple devices, Patricia owns a 20" iMac Aluminum 2.4 GHz running Mac OS X (10.5.2). The computer has 500 GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, a Wireless Mighty Mouse, and a Wireless Keyboard. To be noted that Safari 5 requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 to run on Leopard, and Mac OS X 10.6.2 to run on Snow Leopard machines.
While the old OS version may be at fault in Patricia’s case, the same thing cannot be said about forum user D.A.M.O.N, who claims he’s running Mac OS X 10.6.3 on a “MacBook 2.0 (White)” and is experiencing similar issues, following the update to Safari 5. “I'm having the same problem as you,” he writes. “I'm running 10.6.3 and Safari 5 is running horribly slow. I can literally go downstairs to grab a cool, tasty beverage before web pages finish loading. It's ridiculous. I'd like to know how to downgrade also.”
Poster markg0410 chimes in saying, “I used my Time Machine to return to Safari 4.0.5 and now THAT version crashes. Hmm, I guess the guys and girls at Apple were too busy trying to figure out how to make a thinner iPhone…” This customer also appears to be running an unsupported Mac OS version - his system information reads “Mac OS X (10.6).”
Apple Discussions (Topic : Safari 5.0 is a disaster) “Since the update to Safari 5.0 last night, my MacBook has frozen with beachball of death requiring hard boot a dozen times,” johnj-nj shares with fellow Apple Discussions users. “Today it was so frequent I downloaded Google Chrome and am using that until there is a patch fix update to Safari,” he claims.
Apple Discussions (Topic : Thanks for the update, Safari 5 is garbage in my opinion!!!!!) Over at the MacRumors forums, zw-gator writes, “Anyone else experiencing wayy higher temps? I've been hovering around 82*C all morning.” Others are reporting similar issues. While low system specs appear to be the main issue for these users, third party add-ons left over from Safari 4 may actually be to blame here.
A Support document posted by the Mac maker back in February when everyone was still using Safari 4 and older revealed that, “Third party add-ons may add features to Safari or change its appearance. However, if you use third-party Safari add-ons you may run into a variety of issues.” These include: Safari quits unexpectedly; Safari runs slowly; Safari is unable to download files; Other unexpected behaviors.
A possible resolution is to quit Safari and remove any add-ons installed, the Mac maker says. Updating the plug-ins may also provide a fix. However, the knowledge base article in question should only apply to Safari versions older than 5.0, since the document has been last updated four months ago.
Apple Support document (Safari: Add-ons may cause Safari to unexpectedly quit or have performance issues) Softpedia will soon post
a simple downgrade guide for those looking to revert to Safari 4.
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