Safari on iPhone crashes: Fixes

The most crash-prone application on the iPhone is Safari, with Google Maps being a close second. Several readers have reported, and we’ve experienced many times in-house, an issue where Safari suddenly quits when attempting to load Web pages or when scrolling/zooming Web pages.

Crashes are most likely to occur when loading graphics-heavy pages, or those with large (in terms of file size) images.

iPhone Atlas reader Willem Nieuwboer writes:

“I have detected a pattern of iPhone for Safari crashes that is extremely annoying: when loading pages with large graphics. This includes Mapquest.  I was looking for a local address in the Google Maps, and even-though it identified the exact address, it would not let me see more than just the zip code area. I switched to Safari and tried mapquest and it found the location just fine. Everytime the page loaded however, it would crash after seeing about 20% of the image on the screen. I had the same  problem with viewing other graphic intensive sites. I’m starting to get familiar with seeing the screen collapse and return to the iPhone launch screen.”

There are two potential fixes for this issue. The first is quickest and easiest but perhaps less effective, the second is more time-consuming but perhaps more effective:

Clear Cache, Cookies, HIstory Try these options first. Safari for the iPhone doesn’t have a very aggressive caching mechanism, but sometimes clearing it can trigger stubborn pages to load. Cookies can also become problematic. Delete them and re-try loading the page(s). Finally, deleting History can be effective on the Desktop versions of Safari, and may also be so on the iPhone. All of these items can be cleared by using the Settings application then tapping Safari.

Full reboot Perform a hard reboot of your iPhone as follows: Turn the iPhone off completely, by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button (on top of the device) for a few seconds then slide the red slider. Turn it back on by holding the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.