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Safari 13

Ahead of the October release of macOS 10.15 Catalina and the first shipments of the new iPhone 11 line loaded with iOS 13 and Safari 13 for iOS, Apple has released Safari 13 for 10.14.6 Mojave and 10.13.6 High Sierra. The new version includes an updated start page with Favorites, frequently visited, and recently visited Web sites; lets you enable Picture in Picture from the audio button in a tab; and enables jumping directly to an already-open tab from the search completion list when you type the Web site address into the Smart Search field. Safari also now warns if you use a weak password when signing in to a Web site and offers to help upgrade to a stronger password, and it adds support for authentication using USB security keys on supported Web sites.

There have been a few early reports of problems with Safari 13 (see the comments) so you may wish to hold off for a bit on installing the update. Safari 13 is available only via Software Update. (Free, 10.13.6 and 10.12.6)

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Comments About Safari 13

Notable Replies

  1. I updated to Safari 13.0 (13608.1.49) today, on my iMac 5K、High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G8030), and saw a brand-new problem. (I’ve never seen this in any earlier version of Safari.)

    Open Gmail https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox in Safari 13.0.
    Open a just-arrived e-mail message titled “TidBITS Japanese Issue #1482.”

    In earlier versions of Safari, I normally (that is, every week) would:
    click the Three-Dots (More…) button on the Gmail page window in Safari,
    select ‘Print’ from the menu (which opens a new tab, and then opens the Print dialog),
    click the ‘Cancel’ button on the Print dialog,
    and then be happy with the Safari tab containing the e-mail message
    (that is, a full TidBITS issue) only --> Select All and Copy and everything.

    However, Safari 13.0 doesn’t let Gmail open a new tab, but instead shows an error message, saying you must enable Pop-up Windows for Gmail, to open a new tab
    for the ‘Print’ command.

    I opened Safari’s Preferences, went to the "Web sites’ tab, selected ‘Pop-up window’ from the sidebar, and ‘allow’-ed pop-up windows for ‘mail.google.com’.

    After that, the problem completely disappeared.
    Conclusion: As of Safari 13.0, you must authorize the pop-up window for ‘mail.google.com’, in order to use the ‘Print’ command of Gmail.

  2. I installed Safari 13.0 today thinking it might have important security updates. It has frozen twice already. When it freezes it also prevents me from clicking on the Apple icon to access the Force Quit menu item. I have to use Option-Command-Esc to force quit safari.
    I am not using any extensions.

    Also its behaviour with text boxes (i.e logins) seems to be erratic.

    Grrr

  3. My experience with Safari 13 is it freezes up several times a day. This began with the previous edition - but not quite as often. I’m using a late 2016 13 inch MBP - R running the latest Mojave.

  4. The main showstopper for me with Safari 13 is it removes, then blocks the installation of uBlock Origin as an extension, as well as BitDefender’s “TrafficLight” extension (which warns of malware on web sites as part of the BitDefender antivirus/antimalware suite). There is no workaround offered, just refusal to install. Those are the only two extensions I use, and they’re important to me. So I “downgraded” back to Safari 12.1.2 from a backup clone I created just before installing Safari 13.

  5. Note that if you use the 1Password extension and you aren’t running 1Password 7, you’ll have to pay for that upgrade to get a Safari 13 compatible version of the extension.

  6. The Wayback Machine extension was disabled after upgrading to Safari 13. I’m guessing that’s because it’s the only old-style Safari Extension that I had installed. (All my other extensions from the Mac App Store appear to be working just fine.)

  7. So we now have a new Safari and once again we appear to need to get brand new extensions. I really wish Apple would finally make up its mind about how extensions should be handled and then stick to it. Having to go out to discover brand new extensions every time Apple updates Safari is really not all that much fun.

    That said, what are you guys’ recommendations for ad/tracking blockers for the new Safari? Anything really good that doesn’t cost a fortune?

  8. Actually, the ones that work are the same as those that were new to Safari 12, it’s just that Safari 13 will no longer load the ones that were deprecated back then.

    There is an ongoing discussion about this here in the uBlock Origin Issues that is still being updated with new information. See the Top picks, Other Good Options and Do Not Recommend sections.

  9. I’m not happy with Safari 13, sites are quite slow to load and I’ve had two crashes already. I’d roll back if not for the fact that 13 will be part of Catalina anyway. Until Apple gets the bugs worked out, I’ll be using an alternative browser.

  10. Unfortunately, I upgraded to Safari 13 without realizing the 1Password 6 extension would not work. I’m not at all happy to be forced into paying for a subscription service now in order to upgrade to 1Password 7. I’ve been a 1Password user for many, many years now and have always paid for the standalone version. So, not a happy camper. I may switch over to Chrome, anyway, because Chrome is so much faster than Safari.

  11. I have had to start using Firefox with that update.

  12. I know that Agilebits doesn’t make it easy, but according to this page, you can still get a standalone license to version 7.

  13. I’d like to put in a pitch for the Pi-Hole. It isn’t a browser extension, but rather a Raspberry Pi-based device that intercepts DNS requests and blocks attempts to access known trackers, and ad/malware servers.

    I initially put in a Pi-Hole at my office when ad networks started to become a serious malware vector. I also put a VPN server on it, so that my iPhone would be protected when I was away from the office. The Pi-Hole will block ads not just in the browser, but in apps, IoT devices, and other net-connected software. It carries little of the risk of browser add-ons (a significant source of malware infections these days). It is independent of whatever ad-block-unfriendly changes that browser makers like Apple and Google add to their browsers. It also gives you fine-grained monitoring and control over what’s going on with your network. Mostly, though, I forget it’s even there until I reset my phone and forget to turn my VPN back on, and wonder why my phone is suddenly so much less responsive and my browser window is so crowded with ads that I can’t see content.

    Yes, it’s a lot more trouble on the front end, but you won’t have to worry about a browser extension that might sell you out or have to be re-written for new releases of browser or OS software.

    –Ron

  14. Thanks @Doug Miller for this info. I didn’t see this on the 1Password website initially. I’ve just downloaded 1Password 7 and unfortunately, the deal for $49.99 for the standalone license is no longer available. Also, the payment pop-up states “Some features are only available with a 1Password membership, like multi-factor security, web access, data loss protection, and family accounts.” At any rate, thanks for letting me know that a standalone license is, indeed, available. I’ll mull over the options.

  15. AdGuard. Fantastic multi-platform ad blocker. Fast and light on the resources and well-supported. I ended up buying the Mac edition to just run everything thru but the Safari extension is free as are their other browser-based extensions.

  16. Thanks, Al. Very useful. :+1:

    I’m surprised about the negative comments about AdBlock. I don’t like the idea of “paid acceptable ads” either, but it appears AdBlock lets you turn that off. I’ll try Ka-Block.

  17. I have to say that I find this idea to have Safari extensions be “apps” in /Applications rather misguided. Who thought that was a good idea? And why? The plugin has no life outside of Safari. Why should I deal with it as if it were a proper app? It’s just more unnecessary clutter.

  18. You can use the 1PW extension with Firefox

  19. I’m now hearing of problems with authenticating Google accounts in Safari 13. If you haven’t yet updated, I recommend holding off.

  20. Haven’t seen that issue so far. We use Google for everything here at work. Authentication so far appears to be working normally.

  21. Good to know. I was intentionally generalizing because I had just been asked reauthenticate my Google account (I haven’t upgraded to Safari 13 yet) minutes before I saw the email thread about how adding new Gmail account wasn’t working. It sounds like I was overgeneralizing and the problem may be more specific.

  22. I wouldn’t know about adding a new account. But authenticating an existing account at least for me appears to be working normally so far (Mojave, Safari 13). :crossed_fingers:

  23. I love and use Inastpaper.
    and
    Yes the new Safari update broke the Instapaper extension.
    You can still use the “Bookmarklet”,
    How to save to Instapaper

    I reached out to the Instapaper team and receive this reply:

    Thanks for writing in. Our apologies for any inconvenience. We were already working on updated save methods for Safari and mac OS for the full Catalina release but it looks like Apple decided to surprise release the full Safari 13 update before the actual OS. We’ve accelerated our development work to get the new extensions live as soon as possible and the bookmarklet you’re currently using is the best workaround for the time being.

    Rodion
    Team Instapaper

  24. I upgraded and then discovered the DuckDuckGo extension doesn’t work. Very unhappy.

  25. Ever sine I installed Safari 13 on my Mojave Mac, my iOS 12 iPhone can no longer exchange iCloud tabs with it. Any ideas? I restarted both the Mac and the iPhone, but still no tabs display on the other device. :frowning:

  26. It appears to be broken in both IOS 13 and Safari 13. I opened tabs on my Mac desktop and laptop, both running Safari 13, my iPhone running IOS 13, and my iPad running IOS 12.x. I was not able to view remote tabs from any on the devices on another .

    However, I normally use a better mechanism to work with tabs I have opened on one device on another one. I often open a bunch of tabs (usually from emails on one computer) and wish to switch devices while many of them are open. In the Bookmarks menu of Safari, there is an ‘Add Bookmarks for these ’n’ items…’ option. Choosing it allows you to set up a folder of bookmarks for the current tabs. When I am switching to another device, I select that item and then close and reopen Safari (clearing out all the current tabs, caches, processes, etc.). On the other device, the old tabs will be in a folder in the sidebar. If it is a Mac, I can control-click and open all the tabs in that folder and then delete it, and continue as before. On an IOS device, I open each item successively and delete it when I go to the next. Note that IOS 13 and iPadOS will add the same ability to crate a bookmark folder of tabs.

  27. Thanks for confirming, Alan.

    Interestingly enough, I have an older MBP here with HS (cannot update to Mojave) and its Safari 13 shares open tabs with my iOS 12 iPhone just fine in both directions. But that same iPhone and a Mojave Mac running Safari 13 refuse to share either way.

    Bug report submitted. I really wonder how after all these trumped up beta and public beta programs such an obvious and simple bugs makes it all the way to GM release. :disappointed:

  28. Safari 13.0.1 has just been released! (System Preferences/Software Update)

  29. I just installed 13.0.1 hoping it might fix the broken iCloud tab sharing. No dice. Still works on Safari 13.0.1 on HS, but still broken on Safari 13.0.1 on Mojave. :frowning:

  30. On a more positive note, this update did fix the bug in 13.0 where if you middle-clicked on several links the separate tabs would open out of order. :+1:

  31. DuckDuckGo extension doesn’t work

    Is that with or without DDG set in Safari->Prefs->Search tab as the default browser?

  32. I’m not at the computer where I experienced the problem, but as I recall, after I upgraded and tried to do a search, I received some error message related to DDG being a problem. I went to look at what extensions I had and DDG was gone. When I went looking to add it, it wasn’t in the list of possible extensions. The I went to the DDG website and it said it was not compatible with the new version of Safari.

  33. I have a couple of friends who are using DDG and Safari v.13 via changing the Safari Prefs; not using the extension at all. Since the extension is no longer needed, you might try just changing the Safari Prefs, assuming you enjoy DDG as much as I do. :thinking: :grinning:

    BTW, Safari is now at V. 13***.0.1***. Maybe Apple should have waited until Catalina? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

  34. You are correct. That’s fantastic. DDG is back in effect.
    Thanks for your help.

    Thanks

    Gary

  35. Well, the extension problem is bad, but wasn’t a showstopper for me.

    But with Safari freezing on me so much, I can’t use it anymore. Firefox here I come.

  36. I too am unhappy with Safari 13, which I installed by accident. I tried to reinstall Safari 12 from a backup but that seemed not possible: everything I tried resulted in a message that it is not possible to remove or overwrite Safari because it is an essential part of the operating system.

    I would be very happy if someone could explain how to reinstall Safari 12 or provide a pointer to a place where this is explained.

  37. It’s extremely difficult. It’s even more difficult now with SIP than it was the last time I downgraded. You must replace the Safari app and the WebKit component files that reside in /System/Library, so the only way to do that is to disable SIP and then restore from backup. From my standpoint, it’s not worth the effort.

    Sent from my iPad

    -Al-

  38. Can anybody comment on if Safari 13 will at least share tabs over iCloud with iOS 13’s Safari? I know Safari 13 on HS works while on Mojave it’s broken, but that’s based on sharing with iOS 12 devices. Anybody able to test on iOS 13?

    To me tab sharing is the single most important “continuity” feature. So knowing that iOS 13 restores that functionality would actually be quite a good reason to update soon.

  39. It’s working for me. But both of the recent mac and iphone updates have left me worried. Nothing is stable. I would not update if I were you. Just because it’s working for me today doesn’t mean it will work for you, or even that it will work for me tomorrow. It’s that unstable right now.

    For example, a related feature is that links I’ve visited on my phone are marked as visited on my computer and vice versa. That’s not working for me.

  40. Hehe, so I can probably get tab sharing to work by going to iOS 13 but apparently that will likely break a whole bunch of other stuff. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. :smiley:

    Has the 13.1.2 update helped with any of the instability you mention?

  41. Installed it last night. If I notice anything I’ll post back here.

  42. It appears to be working a bit better for me! Hopefully I’m not speaking too soon.

    Visited links are syncing now.

  43. Good to hear. Thanks.

    I’m awaiting some more positive reports from iOS 13 early adopters and they’ll I’ll take the jump.

    I still hope Apple fixes this in Safari 13. I don’t think it’s ok to force iOS updates by releasing something on Mac that breaks existing functionality unless you update your iOS devices. Especially considering not all iOS hardware can actually update.

  44. Ok… Instapaper just fix my extension problem.

    Download new Instapaper extension here:

  45. Any news on what the Safari 13.0.2 update does? The update description sounds to me like copy/paste from 13.0. Security updates page says nothing in 13.0.2.

  46. Same here, and so far there hasn’t been much positive.

  47. I can report that the 13.0.2 update has restored updating iCloud device browsing history sync. Safari 13.0.2 on my Mac now in its history again shows pages I’ve viewed on my iOS 13.1.2 iPhone. That was broken here before the update.

  48. Thanks, Simon! @agen held off on even writing about 13.0.2 because we couldn’t tell what had changed at all.

  49. Safari 13.0.3 has just been released as a security update. The only problem that I have encountered so far is that when I first opened it the spinning beachball was constantly there. However I could click on links etc and also I could quit Safari from the menu bar. The next time I opened it the beachball was gone.
    With Safari 13 on my iMac I have found there is often a delay in the app displaying my custom menu bar and allowing me to type in the URL field. I suspect it has something to do with sharing history and settings through iCloud, although my Macbook doesn’t seem to suffer from delays. I don"t have any extensions running on either computer.

  50. jrg

    Somewhat related: I’ve just had to switch work machines (MacBook Pro battery replacement time…), and a clean install of High Sierra has left me with Safari 11: Is there a way to download the Safari 12.1.2 package update from anywhere, so that I can hold off on the Safari 13 update until I’ve got more time to deal with lack of extensions.

    All the links I can find online are to CDNs and are now dead.

  51. Can’t check this out at the moment, but you might want to try this Terminal command:

    softwareupdate -i --products 061-45358

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