On my macbook air, since yesterday, tabs disappear while tab groups are open. They get closed randomly, and can't be reopened with undo. It is most frustrating as it means I can't use my tab groups which I do for work! I am losing important links I collected on various topics and it's becoming impossible to use any tab group. I have a video of when it happens https://youtu.be/kqRbgomfmeU
What can be done?
MacBook Air 11″
I had a similar problem - not sure if it's the same, but will share just in case. For me it was that I would move tabs to one of several Tab Groups I'd created in the past, but when I returned to those Tab Groups, the new tab I'd recently moved to the group (or even a new tab I opened directly in the group) had disappeared. The tabs that disappeared could not be found in history either. So I had 4 Tab Groups, all created months earlier, and all retained the tabs that had been put in them up until several months back. Then at some point more recently, any tabs newly moved to any of my 4 Tab Groups, would simply disappear shortly after having been moved. This issue is only happening to tabs added to or newly created in Tab Groups - and does not impact new tabs that are not in a group (Hope that description made sense.)
I searched like crazy for a solution but could not find one. The only things I found that felt like they might be in the right direction were referring to the issue as being somehow caused by the iCloud sync feature.
So I reviewed all of my Apple devices to see which had iCloud sync turned on for Safari, and that's when I realized that around the time my issue started was when I had set up a really old Mac mini (late 2014 model) as a cheap server used only for Time Machine on my main Mac. I still don't understand how this old Mac mini could be causing any issues, but I turned off Safari iCloud sync on that ancient Mac mini and my tabs stopped disappearing!!! Somehow, it seems, that old and super slow Mac mini being set to sync Safari with iCloud was impacting Safari on all my other Apple devices and causing tabs added to Tab Groups to disappear.
Can't explain why, but if you recently added an Apple device to your iCloud and it's syncing Safari, you might want to turn it off and see if the issue stops for you like it did for me. And sorry I have no suggestions for recovering lost tabs. I lost a ton of them too and feel that pain.
I had a similar problem - not sure if it's the same, but will share just in case. For me it was that I would move tabs to one of several Tab Groups I'd created in the past, but when I returned to those Tab Groups, the new tab I'd recently moved to the group (or even a new tab I opened directly in the group) had disappeared. The tabs that disappeared could not be found in history either. So I had 4 Tab Groups, all created months earlier, and all retained the tabs that had been put in them up until several months back. Then at some point more recently, any tabs newly moved to any of my 4 Tab Groups, would simply disappear shortly after having been moved. This issue is only happening to tabs added to or newly created in Tab Groups - and does not impact new tabs that are not in a group (Hope that description made sense.)
I searched like crazy for a solution but could not find one. The only things I found that felt like they might be in the right direction were referring to the issue as being somehow caused by the iCloud sync feature.
So I reviewed all of my Apple devices to see which had iCloud sync turned on for Safari, and that's when I realized that around the time my issue started was when I had set up a really old Mac mini (late 2014 model) as a cheap server used only for Time Machine on my main Mac. I still don't understand how this old Mac mini could be causing any issues, but I turned off Safari iCloud sync on that ancient Mac mini and my tabs stopped disappearing!!! Somehow, it seems, that old and super slow Mac mini being set to sync Safari with iCloud was impacting Safari on all my other Apple devices and causing tabs added to Tab Groups to disappear.
Can't explain why, but if you recently added an Apple device to your iCloud and it's syncing Safari, you might want to turn it off and see if the issue stops for you like it did for me. And sorry I have no suggestions for recovering lost tabs. I lost a ton of them too and feel that pain.
Yeah, I have the same problem and agree that Apple support is basically useless - they never help with anything.
Dear Keisha, thanks for replying. the problem is not losing tab groups. as per the video, the problem is that when I have a tab group open, safari randomly deletes its tabs one after the other and the action can't be undone. so much so that a few of my tab groups are now almost empty.
Anyway, quitting and restarting does nothing, neither going into safe mode. it keeps happening. any other suggestion?
Hi roots24,
Thanks for posting here in Apple Support Communities. Have you been able to retrieve any of the tab groups? Does quitting Safari and restarting your Mac address the issue, even temporarily? One thing we can have you try is to test this out while starting up in safe mode on your MacBook Air. Keep in mind that starting in safe mode will take a little longer than normal, because it verifies and repairs the directory, cleans caches, and loads only Apple-critical items.
You can see how to do so here: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
Regards.
so, as was predictable from this thread, apple support did nothing, and I began exploring other forums and finally found my answer: it's a recurring problem with safari and icloud. whenever safari is backed up on icloud, it can randomly start to behave this way and even worse, deleting entire tab groups in one go or emptying them. the oldest forum post I found on this was January 2017, when tab groups weren't even a thing and synching icloud often caused bookmarks to disappear.
the only workaround that I found is to toggle safari back up off from icloud.
however, this is not a solution and given the problem is over 6yrs old, apple should now have fixed it.
Understood roots24,
If you go to Safari settings > General tab is "All windows from last session" selected? We just want to rule out what may be influencing these going missing.
More details on tab groups can be found at Group tabs in Safari on Mac - Apple Support
Thanks!
May I ask how you fixed it? Because I've also had two tab groups disappear automatically recently.
so sorry I only just saw your message. I wrote what worked for me in a response: I had to turn off icloud sync for safari. that solved it. hope you found a solution in the meanwhile.
No, it's not selected and it's nothing to do with my issue.
the issue is when I open any of my saved tab groups, which can happen at any time while I am using safari, as per shown in the youtube video, the tabs saved are randomly closed and deleted one by one and the action can't be undone.
so check this one out. I too noticed that when I scrolled through tab group favorites in bookmarks the folders appeared empty. BUT, if I actually opened the tab groups in a new safari window, all the tabs I had saved were still there! worth a try right?
what I would suggest if you are able to recover the links is to save them in 'bookmarks' for safety going forward.
good luck!
Thanks but what you suggested does not help, as I said with the tabs fully open they were just being deleted by safari one by one and disappeared completely, so much so that when I opened an old tab group they were empty. furthermore saving all in bookmarks makes it pointless as I divide my tab groups carefully by topic and they contain some 10-50 links each. Imagine having 500 bookmarks in random order. Furthermore, as I mentioned, turning off icloud back up has stopped the issue from happening.
Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately not my case as I only had my iphone syncing and it's a new model. I should add that this did not happen for over a year of joint syncing but only begun to happen in April. anyway, I can see a pattern here of icloud sync creating tons of problems, which is really frustrating. thanks again for your suggestion
Hi roots24,
At this point, we suggest contacting Apple Support for additional troubleshooting. Click the link below to get started.
Take care!
Tabs in tab group disappear
