Updated to Monterey. Safari is upset

Tech Support
1

I’m usually pretty good looking for solutions for tech stuff but this one escapes me. It’s pretty weird.
I’ve updated to Monterey a week ago and I have noticed that Safari stops working after a while.
By “stops working” I mean that it can’t connect to any URL. Doesn’t matter whether it’s inside or outside my network. Even using actual IP addresses.

I need to quit Safari and open it again for it to start browsing again. I timed how long it takes for it to stop working after I relaunch it and it’s usually between 3.5 to 4 minutes. Longest it has gone without a hitch was ~9 minutes.

What I’ve tried

  • Restarted, of course.
  • Disabled all extensions
  • Uninstalled all extensions
  • Remove the custom DNS (Pi-Hole) in Wifi Settings
  • Flush DNS Cache
  • Disabled Little Snitch
  • Disabled/Enabled Private Relay
  • Reset PRAM & SMC
  • Re-Downloaded and re-installed Monterey
  • Check App Limits
  • Connect to a different network (Personal HotSpot on phone)
  • Remove All History
  • Remove All History (Shift+Click Launch)

Only Safari exhibits this behaviour. I have Edge as my alternate browser and it doesn’t have this issue. Other applications that connect to the internet also do not exhibit this issue.

I’m hoping someone here might have an idea?

2

That’s bizarre.
Grasping at straws, have you checked time limits?

3

If you boot in Safe Mode, do the Safari issues remain?

If you try a different network – say, at a coffee shop – do the issues remain?

Try to open Safari > Preferences > Privacy and click Manage Website Data, then wait a minute or so for all cookies, caches, etc., to populate in that panel, and finally “Remove All”. Then close all tabs, quit Safari, hold the Shift key while you click the Safari icon in the Dock.

4

Yes, that I did check. I’ve updated my post to reflect that.

5

I did try on a different network and cleared cache. Both didn’t work.

Just tried clearing cache again then shift+click launch. That worked longer (about 15mins) but then stopped again.

Trying out safe mode now.

6

Another option is creating a test user to see if they are affected.

1 Like
7

It works fine on safe mode.

And so I restarted. It worked then stopped again after only 30 seconds.
I quit Safari.
I’m guessing one of my running apps might be affecting it. Little Snitch is still off so my next guess would be Docker. So I quick docker, launched Safari.
It kept working fine. So I started Docker again.
It kept working.

Safari seems to be working fine now but I’m still not sure what could have fixed it.
Thank you for the tips!

8

I had the same problem but I rarely could get on the Internet. Someone here thought it might be the VPN. I had a heckuva time trying to get it off. Mcafee tech support is a nightmare. I certainly DO NOT recommend them. Finally I found someone who knew what he was doing.

I talked to Apple Care a few times. They try. At long last, a Genius figured out it was an app called AdGuard.( I love AdGuard as it blocks annoying ads that drive me bonkers.) So we shut it off. It is still installed on my Mac.

Two days wasted. Evidently it was interfering with Apple’s latest privacy stuff.

From now and eternity, I will never download an upgrade (?) right away. I will wait a month for the kinks to be smoothed out.

My understanding from people right here was that Monterey is quite stable.

Call Apple Care. If the rep cannot help, ask to talk to a senior advisor, they TRULY know their stuff. If you don’t get it resolved, call later and try a different rep.

If you don’t have Apple Care- shame on you. (I AM joking! :wink:) No, take a look at the kind of
software you have installed.

Someone here did recommend a clean install and I was getting ready to do it (dread, dread). But finally I found the right person.

Good luck!!!

9

Good deal. Glad you’re up and running. App conflicts are a bear to find and diagnose, sometimes. There’s big money in it for anyone who can write the “UBUG” universal-bug-and-conflict.

(For the peanut gallery: it’s a joke.)