Fix: Safari Can’t Open the Page Error on Mac

If the Safari browser cannot connect to the web server, we may encounter the can’t open the page error. There are multiple ways to resolve the issue.

We can check the internet connection and URL address, turn off the extension, hard refresh the web page, clear site data, change DNS settings, etc., to fix the problem.

Method 1: Check Internet Connection

Instead of trying too many things, check whether your internet connection is active and functioning well. You can access the www.google.com or check your internet speed at fast.com.

Before doing anything, ensure your internet works and then load the page again.

You can read our essential browser troubleshooting guide to follow simple yet effective methods before starting with advanced techniques.

Method 2: Check and Validate Site Address is Correct

You need to ensure the website address is valid. The most common reason you have a ‘can’t open the page’ is that the website doesn’t exist.

You can cross-verify using a search engine like Google to check if the address is correct. Just enter the URL and hit the search button to get the correct web address.

Method 3: Turn Off Safari Extensions

AdBlocker/VPN Extensions often try to interrupt the connection to the website. Hence, this might lead to encountering the error.

Even if you have the latest versions of extensions, turn them off to ensure they aren’t affecting the browser connectivity. Here are the steps to turn off the Extensions:

1. Launch the Apple Safari app on your Mac computer.
2. Click on the Safari menu from the menu bar at the top, and select Settings... sub-menu.
   It will open the Safari Settings window.
3. Switch to the Extensions tab in the Settings window.
   It will display the list of all the Safari extensions installed.
4. Uncheck the checkbox in the left side pane to Disable the extension.

Your installed extensions may block websites. So, temporarily disable them to check if they are causing the issue.

Method 4: Hard Refresh the Web Page

Refreshing the page might fix the issue as well. So, after connecting to a stable internet connection, perform a hard refresh to clear the corrupt data.

You can hard refresh the page by holding the option key and simultaneously click on the Reload in the address bar.

Method 5: Force Quit and Relaunch Safari app

Close and exit all the Safari app processes on your device and reopen. Quitting and relaunching the browser might iron out the unwanted glitches that can fix the page loading issues.

If the browser is not responding to close action, you can try to force quit the Safari app.

Method 6: Check and Change DNS Settings

All the internet requests are routed through the DNS server, which helps resolve the site address to corresponding IP addresses. Sometimes, your ISP’s default DNS services might need to be fixed. Switching to a Public DNS, like Google DNS, OpenDNS, etc. might help.

Google public DNS servers are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Here are the steps to change on your Mac; however, this setup is system-wide and not limited to the Safari app.

1. Click on the Apple menu, and choose System Preferences/Settings.
   It will open the Preferences window with the list of options.
2. Click to open Network preferences.
3. Select the Network Adapter you are connected to.
4. Hit on the Advanced command button.
   
5. Switch to the DNS tab, then click the Add button at the bottom of the DNS Servers list.
6. Enter the Google DNS Server addresses — 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
   
7. Hit the OK command button to save the changes.

It will set the new DNS server address on a Mac. Now, relaunch the Safari app and open the website or page facing a loading error.

Method 7: Clear Cache and Site Data from the Safari app

Every website we access on the browser stores the site cache and cookies to improve speed and usability. Over time, this data might grow in size and get damaged. Hence resulting in the page accessing problem. You should clear these site data to fix the issue:

1. Launch the Safari app on your Mac computer.
2. Click on the Safari menu from the menu bar, and select the Settings... sub-menu. It will open the Safari Settings window.
3. Switch to the Privacy tab, and click to open the Manage Website Data... button. It will load the list of websites currently storing the cache and cookies in the browser.
4. Hit on the Remove All command and then the Done button. It will flush the cookies and cache for all sites in Safari.

You can now check if the website or page is loading correctly or if it is still having issues.

Alternative: Using Different Browser on your Mac

If the issue persists, another choice is to use alternative web browsers for Mac. You may try opening the same URL in a different browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

If the website is opened in another browser, the problem is only specific to the Safari browser, and you can consider resetting it.

Bottom Line

There might be any reason for the browser not to load the page. We can only try different troubleshooting to fix the problem; however, if the issue is within the browser app, you should update Safari to the latest version.

If the issue persists, you can report to the Safari Developer with the problem and troubleshooting steps you’ve taken. You can also share this link with them.