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Apple, Safari is Worthless to Me at the Moment!

by Jesse Stay — published on January 3rd, 2009

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Okay, I know no one at Apple reads my blog, but this is wishful thinking on my part. I’m getting really desperate, and so are what seems to be hundreds of others who have recently upgraded to the 10.5.6 update on the various Mac and Apple forums on the internet. The issue lies around Safari, and Facebook, and Gmail, and sessions. When I use Safari, no matter what I do, after about 30 seconds, Facebook logs me out. I can’t use Facebook in Safari. After 30 minutes or so on Gmail, it becomes unresponsive, and refreshing returns a 400 Bad Request error.

The only way I’ve found to fix this is to reset Safari, reboot, or clear all my cookies, but then, another 30 minutes later or so, all the other problems resurface again. I tried downloading the latest Webkit build, still no go. I tried reinstalling Leopard, still no go. I tried installing the full package from Apple.com for 10.5.6 and it still gives me the same issue. Each time I think it gets fixed, but a few minutes to hours later the problem comes right back.

It would appear that I’m not alone on this issue, either. Just doing a google search for “10.5.6 safari cookies session” or “safari gmail 400 bad request” returns page after page of users having issues. Threads like this one and this one prove there’s a serious issue here, with no response at all from Apple.

I’ve switched to Firefox, which actually I prefer, but Firefox is extremely slow for me on my Mac when compared to Safari for some reason. I want my Safari back! Apple, please, if anyone is listening, we need a fix soon! I am powerless without this update, and I’m really, really close to just getting a PC.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 pm and is filed under Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. .

  • Believe it or not, I haven't yet "upgraded" to 10.5.6. Looks like you've given me another reason not to. That said, my very Apple-promoting nature wants to blame you. :-)
  • I suggest waiting. I wish Apple gave me a way to downgrade. This is
    extremely annoying - I can't believe that many people have this problem and
    no one has responded from Apple.
  • why should the lack of a response surprise you apple isn't known for responding in any meaningful way from what I have read over the years
  • It's no surprise, but I thought I'd complain anyway. I know they have
    employees that read - they just won't ever respond.
  • Sounds like just another reason for me to stay with 10.5.5 as well. I do love my MacBookPro, but I really get irked by some of the silly things that Apple does, well actually, what they don't do - customer support. They may indeed listen but they don't ever join the conversation and engage their customers which is a real downer.
  • I don't know if you had any issues with Safari and FriendFeed, but a few of us were (URL: http://friendfeed.com/e/b4d906a8-d1ae-462f-bbf4...), and it was frustrating. I was able to finally remove any problems I had with cookies and sessions by using the Webkit nightly (http://webkit.org, essentially a development snapshot of Safari) and no other Webkit based programs (like Adium, Fluid, etc.) It's not an acceptable solution: Apple really did a number on how cookies are handled in 10.5.6/Safari 3.2, and I think it has something to do with its anti-Phishing protection.
  • Mark, I'm using Webkit nightly and I get the same thing there, too.
  • I've upgraded to Leopard 10.5.6, and I haven't had any problems with gmail or Facebook auto-logging me out. I'm with you on Firefox. It's slow! Launches slow, loads pages slow. Flock has the same issue. I installed it because Ed Dale recommended it for his 30 Day Internet Challenge. Flock is bloated with way too many toolbar icons. The only time I use either one is when I need to vote up a URL in StumbleUpon. I wish StumbleUpon would create a way to vote in Safari.
  • Have you tried writing this on one of their forums?
  • It's already all over their forums - check the links in the post. It's not
    a unique issue, and Apple ought to know about it, but no response from them
    at all.
  • Can you report the bug through the WebKit project bug reporting page? I didn't see it listed. http://webkit.org/quality/reporting.html Sorry to hear about these issues. Maybe right now Apple is trying to think of a solution. You probably already saw this, but some people have offered solutions: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messag... Not sure if they are just temporary fixes.
  • I'll try and report it. You'll notice that most of the solutions there the
    people think they fixed it, but then later down in the thread they say it
    broke again. I'm in the same situation.
  • I did notice that. =( Maybe if you report it there and other do as well, Apple will finally start fixing this annoying issue. Good luck and keep us posted.
  • I've noticed it's difficult to stay logged into WordPress. The problems you mention on FB and Gmail are also happening for me with Intense Debate.
  • Check out Flock. It's a Firefox-based browser that was born to do social media. I'm hooked on it, and have been for quite some time.

    --Gay
    http://www.gaymwalker.blogspot.com
    gaywalker on Twitter
  • Flock, and any Mozilla-based browser, is extremely slow on the Mac. Not an
    option.
  • I got the Facebook issue too, but ain't no geek so don't understand the webkit stories.. GMail seems to be ok...

    I guess we just have to wait for Google Chrome on the Mac
  • I am having lots of crashes in safari and mail since updating with 10.5.6
  • Crystal
    You guys, I have 3 browsers. I use safari the most often but also have firefox and Camino. I like using Camino to access facebook and gmail. give it a try.
  • Thanks Crystal. I just don't want to have to open more than one browser if
    I don't have to. And switching entirely to Camino is out of the question
    because I need developer tools.
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