Hello, I have a 13" Mid 2013 MBA base model on OSX 10.8.5 that seems to be acting up every time i use safari (rainbow beach ball). It'll pop up every minute or so while i'm using safari and freezes if i play a game on Facebook. While typing this thread there's a slight delay where i'll type the words, but they wont appear until a second later. I have no extensions installed on safari. I've closed all my apps and only have 3 or 4 tabs open. The laptop isn't hot underneath, so it can't be a heat issue. Could the integrated GPU (HD 5000) be the issue in that it isn't powerful enough for heavy flash/shockwave website?
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Problems when using Safari 6.0.5
- Thread starter stevenngu
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Hi Steven, we can try run a few quick tests to identify that the issue isn't hardware or software related. At least that'll offer peace-of-mind and by troubleshooting what isn't wrong, it'll give us a better idea of what is wrong, so we know what to look for.
Please could you review the steps below and stop if either of these steps identify a problem?
1) Check SSD SMART Data. This will check for corruptions on the SSD. You can download and run SMART Utility here: http://cloudfront.volitans-software.com/smartutility314.zip If there's anything other than 'Passed' is displayed, the SSD is corrupted.
2) Verify your volume. To do this, open Disk Utility (search for it in Spotlight, or go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility). Then single-click your volume (typically called Macintosh HD) to highlight it, and then click the 'Verify Disk' option along the right-hand side. If it comes up with red writing, we'll need to repair the disk.
3) Restart your MacBook Air, with the option 'Reopen windows when logging back in' disabled. This means that if there's a background software conflict or memory leak causing the problem, it won't come back up.
4) Check for software updates for your OS (Apple menu>Software Update on Mavericks or earlier, or Apple menu>App Store on Yosemite). There may be an update for Safari.
Please let me know (quote this so I'm notified) once you've had an opportunity to try the above troubleshooting steps. If no problems are detected or the steps don't fix the issue, we can try a few more things such as clearing the Safari cache. I'm sure other posters have some more ideas too.
Speak soon!
No, the problem can't be the GPU.
One of the tabs you have open might be interfering with the other tabs. (If so, I would argue that this is a design flaw with Safari, but I don't think anybody ever said Safari was perfect.) Process of elimination to see which one it is...
You could also see if you have the same problem with using Chrome.
I had similar issues, but not the beach ball. I ended up calling Apple Tech support. After an hour with them, and after many tests, I was told it was my WiFi modem. Come to find out it day dying! I replaced the modem and was back in business.
You might want to try Chrome or other browser instead of Safari!
Start by updating your OS to Mavericks or Yosemite, both of which also come with a newer version of Safari and can handle the 4 GB RAM in your MacBook Air a little better. Afterward, if you're still experiencing slowdown follow the steps explained in keysofanxiety's post above to determine if you have have a hardware problem.
Edit: I also suggest you uninstall Flash from Safari and use Chrome for any Flash-based games.
A dying modem or slow internet connection would not cause beachballs or a delay when entering text after the page has loaded.
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I just tried using chrome and although there is a slight lag i am no longer getting the beach ball anymore, so it appears that safari is the issue. There are Wi-fi issues with it not working after sleeping issues with mavericks and i want to avoid Yosemite so upgrading is not an option for me. I can deal with a slight lag/delay, but the beach ball and safari freezing was driving me crazy. Thank you everyone for your help.
Be aware that, at least compared to Safari in 10.9.5 and 10.10.x, that using Chrome carries a significant battery penalty. In some instances, Chrome shortens battery life by several hours over Safari.
Is there a reason why you are still running Safari 6.0.5? I have a 2013 MBA with MacOSX 10.8.5 and am running Safari 6.2 with no issues. Sounds like you probably visit very different kinds of websites than I do however.
Is there a reason why you are still running Safari 6.0.5? I have a 2013 MBA with MacOSX 10.8.5 and am running Safari 6.2 with no issues. Sounds like you probably visit very different kinds of websites than I do however.
This is a good point. The current Safari for 10.8.5 is 6.2.6.
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Is there a reason you haven't updated to Safari 6.2.6?
If you're vigilant about closing tabs or extensions that are using excessive CPU power, then I think Chrome uses similar power vs. Safari.
If you use Chrome it's probably worth it to download an extension that blocks Flash elements (until you click on them).
Presumably Safari would offer similar savings if similar practices were followed. The article didn't make any mention of plugins or extensions.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/10/8381447/chrome-macbook-battery-life
I don't know why you would assume that.
I use Chrome. I just checked and with my usual 7-8 tabs open, it's only using 3 to 4 percent of one CPU core.
Can't get much better than that.
I assume that when Safari does a lot better than Chrome in terms of battery life, it's because the user is looking at pages with poorly-coded Flash content, because Chrome comes with a version of Flash built-in and Safari does not.
To quote you: I don't know why you would assume that.
It's well documented and widely known that Chrome offers significantly worse battery life than Safari.
That's not true in all cases. You're oversimplifying the issue if you think Safari does better than Chrome in all cases. The more interesting and relevant question is, WHY does Safari use less power in some cases, and can something be done to make Chrome competitive in those cases?