This post highlights potential solutions to a performance issue with the default browser application on the newest Apple iPhone. Read on to learn what to do if your iPhone 13 Safari keeps crashing in iOS 15.3.1.
What causes Safari crashing issue?
Safari is tagged among the most stable browsers to-date. Nonetheless, such a reputation didn’t spare it from facing random snags. On a positive note, various tweaks and helpful workarounds are likewise available.
The easiest way to fix in-app glitches is to determine the main culprits. And if you couldn’t pinpoint the underlying cause, you can rule out the common triggers individually.
In the case with the iPhone 13 Safari app that keeps crashing or not working properly, you can start ruling out network connectivity issues, random software glitches, settings conflicts, and restrictions settings to name some.
To give you some input on what to do whenever you encounter the same issue while using Safari on your new iPhone, I’ve mapped out a few potential solutions as follows.
Troubleshooting iPhone 13 Safari keeps crashing issue
Dealing with app problems in mobile devices is not really that complicated considering the fact that these are software-related. If you’ve managed to identify the root cause of the problem, then you can work straight on the required solution. Otherwise, you’ll have to eliminate the common triggers individually.
Before you begin troubleshooting, check and ensure that your iPhone has a stable internet connection preferably via Wi-Fi network. If you’re on cellular data and Wi-Fi is not available, make sure that your phone has a stable cellular signal and sufficient data credit to browse (unless you’re on postpaid data subscription).
If there’s no problem with the internet connection, you may go ahead and start ruling out other common factors that might have triggered the iOS safari browser to crash.
Solution #1: End/force stop Safari.
There are times when an app suddenly goes rogue even without altering any settings on the device. This is common among the internet-based apps like Safari given the many factors that can halt the internet connection.
Should this be the first instance that the Safari app crashes on your iPhone 13, then that is likely just a random glitch that’s rectifiable by restarting the app.
So here’s what you should do first:
- Launch the multitasking view by swiping up from the bottom left corner of the Home screen.
- Then swipe up on individual app previews to close them.
After clearing out all background applications, relaunch the Safari app browser on your iPhone and see if it’s already working stable.
Solution #2: Restart the iPhone (soft reset).
Restarting the iPhone from time to time is recommended. Not only that it refreshes the operating system, a restart also clears out any existing software glitches that are inflicting minor system conflicts.
That said, restarting or performing a soft reset is deemed among the first recommended solutions when dealing with random software problems in computers and mobile phones.
If you haven’t already, just follow these steps to restart/soft reset your iPhone 13:
- Press and hold either Volume button and the Side button simultaneously and then release both when the Power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to power off the device completely.
- After 30 seconds, turn your iPhone back on by pressing and holding the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
Performing a soft reset is also a way to clear temporary files (cache) and residual system data in iOS devices. It does not affect any saved information from the internal storage so you won’t lose any critical data in the process.
After rebooting, reconnect your iPhone to the internet and once the internet connection becomes stable relaunch the Safari app to see if the problem is gone.
If restarting doesn’t fix Safari, proceed to the next applicable methods.
Solution #3: Clear Safari History and Website Data.
Like many other apps, Safari also stores temporary files from your recent web searches and online activities. These files are stored among other browsing data in the Safari app cache. While these temporary files may benefit in terms of reloading of the same internet data, conflicts may likewise arise if any of these files gets corrupted.
For this reason, clearing the browser’s cache and browsing data periodically is advised.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Go to Settings-> iPhone Storage-> Safari-> Website Data.
- Then tap Remove All Website Data at the bottom of the next screen to confirm.
Alternatively, you can clear history and website data straight from the Safari app settings with these steps:
- Go to Settings-> Safari menu.
- Scroll down to find and then tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Read the pop-up warning then tap Clear History and Data to confirm.
After clearing the browsing history and website data in Safari, quit and then relaunch the app to give it a fresh start.
If this tweak still fails to fix Safari, move on to the next solution.
Solution #4: Disable Safari Suggestions, iCloud Safari Syncing and JavaScript.
Other iPhone owners have managed to deal with the Safari crashing issue by turning off relevant settings and browser features including Safari Suggestions, iCloud Safari Syncing and JavaScript. Should you wish to give these tweaks a shot, just refer to these outlined steps.
Turning off Safari Suggestions and Search Engine Suggestions in iOS 15:
- Go to Settings-> Safari menu then turn off the switch next to Search Engine Suggestions. Do the same to turn off the switch next to Safari Suggestions.
Turning off iCloud Safari Syncing in iOS 15:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap on your Apple ID header.
- Tap iCloud on the succeeding menu and then turn the Safari switch off.
You can always get back to this menu later if you need to re-enable iCloud Sync for Safari on your iPhone.
Disable JavaScript in Safari iOS 15:
- Go to Settings-> Safari menu.
- Tap Advanced to view more advanced settings and options.
- Then turn the JavaScript off.
After making the recent changes, close and then relaunch Safari to see if the problem is fixed.
Solution #5: Turn Safari App Restrictions off.
Crashing issues isolated to online apps like Safari may likewise be attributed to the phone’s restriction settings. This is possible if content & privacy restrictions are enabled on the iPhone.
For example, certain websites and web contents might be indicated in the iOS restriction database. The same problem may occur if Safari is disabled in the Allowed Apps section.
If that’s the case, then Safari wouldn’t be able to access or load the requested sites or contents. Eventually, the app may crash.
To make sure this isn’t the underlying cause of the problem, review the content and privacy restrictions settings on your iPhone 13 with these steps:
- Open the Settings app then tap Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Tap to view Allowed apps and make sure that the Safari switch is turned on.
Also check restriction settings for web content to see if the content you’re trying to access is restricted or not.
If necessary, adjust the restrictions settings to remove any restrictions for websites and online contents you’re trying to access.
After altering the restriction settings, relaunch your iPhone Safari app and see if it’s already working stable.
Is Safari still crashing on your iPhone 13?
If the problem continues after applying all the aforementioned solutions, your next option is to reset all settings on the iPhone.
Doing so will delete all recent system settings including customized network and options that might have indirectly caused conflicts with the Safari app.
- To reset all settings on your iPhone, go to Settings-> General-> Transfer or Reset iPhone-> Reset menu and then select Reset all settings from the given options. Read the reset details then tap Reset settings twice to confirm.
Unlike a factory reset, this reset does not affect any user data from the iPhone storage so none of your saved and downloaded files will be deleted.
After the reset, you will need to re-enable necessary apps and features that are disabled by defaults and set your preferred default applications to process certain data types and protocols.
You also need to reconnect to the internet either via Wi-Fi or cellular data like the first time in order to get back online and browse the web.
Make sure that Safari and your iPhone Software Up-to-Date
Keeping the Safari app updated is also recommended to ensure optimum performance and app stability. Since Safari is a built-in application, keeping it updated also means keeping your iPhone software up-to-date. That said, verify and ensure that your device is running with the latest iOS version.
All updates for the preloaded apps are typically embedded in every software update (iOS update) rolled out to Apple devices periodically.
Check Apple Server Status
There are also some cases wherein the Safari crashing issue is tied to unexpected server downtimes. To make sure that the problem isn’t due to unexpected technical difficulties with Apple services, you can visit the Apple Support Status page.
Please keep posted for more comprehensive iOS tutorials and troubleshooting guides on this site. Or you can check out this YouTube channel to view more comprehensive tutorial and troubleshooting videos including recent iOS devices.