Software update issues with macOS Sequoia

What is this? Basic thing to be able to open web pages with Safari is pathetically broken. Ironically Chrome reliably works.

How respecting itself company could let such utter fiasco happen? I have no other option but to make Chrome my default browser. Not sure how hard pressed I will be to switch back to Safari.

Yes, after downloading Sequoia I can not open Safari. Spent all day with support, no solution

Oh yes - Safari is an absolute mess, completely unusable. What bugs they did have, like pages getting sticky and having to reload sites...or Safari stalling and not feeding new pages, have intensified.

Like, 'hey Apple' how about fixing the old bugs, instead of creating new bugs?

Distractions like lecturing on VPN is avoiding the issue. It's not VPN. It's the Apple software engineers.

Chrome it is!

This pretty much applies to every computer operating system upgrade not just Apple.

Recommended OS Upgrade Best Practices:

• Do Not Upgrade as soon as a new macOS becomes available. Do Not Allow FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) result in breaking your Mac
• Review forums like this one for those reporting problems that might impact you
• Take inventory of all software not installed from the App Store
• Check each software vendor states they support the newly release macOS version
• Security software is notorious for breaking on upgrade, double-check these are compatible
• VPN software, specialized audio/video software and hardware, etc. might have issues
• If you have an old printer or scanner it might no longer be supported anymore
• BACKUP your Mac (Time Machine / Carbon Copy Cloner / SuperDuper)
• Proceed with the upgrade but understand there will no doubt be bugs and problems regardless. Allocate enough time to recover your system if something fails unexpectedly
• Be prepared for needing to implement workarounds until problems are fixed
• If things break to the point you can't work, restore you backup and try again later after Apple and 3rd parties release updates to fix those problems.

Operating system providers (Apple, Microsoft, Linux) cannot possibly test every scenario, that's why they provide early betas to developers and then public betas.

Most of the time it is worth waiting a couple weeks and putting your ear to the ground to listen to the Mac User communities feedback on forums. If you are a business running Macs managed by an MDM server the IT department might want to defer the OS upgrade for 90 days. You may wish to wait for 15.1 to be released. IT should aggressively test the betas and the releases before opening it up to the managed Mac population.

Sounds like the connector ribbon cable between your display and the system board is bad or there's a chipset failing in the display. Now that you are seeing flicker in other browsers. Yeah, that's hardware.

Check in with an Apple Genius bar or 3rd party Authorized Repair center. If you have AppleCare it should be covered under the extended warranty.

Updated my MacBook pro to Sequoia 15 without any fear of it making everything impossible. When you look up one problem on a search it always says check your connections, reload your internet blah blah blah. I did a bunch of things and then had to go. Today retry and one simple news site I look at most everyday can't be found by Safari. I go to apple community looking for answers and someone said to remove my VPN and security software then reload it (after several other hoop jumping tasks) then it should work. I DON'T WANT TO and don't have the time to so I can read basic things on my laptop. Now I will just revert to my phone because I don't have to jump through any hoops to use that. UNHAPPY APPLE customer, MacBook pro owner for decades, iPhone user for a long time, sick of updates making life harder.

I'm having the same issue with Safari not loading any webpages (I'm actually using chrome to make this post). I do not have a VPN so that isn't the issue. It will act like it is loading but will not complete. Progress bar gets to about 20%. I have restarted the app, and my computer, dumped the cash and turned off all extensions. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Don't you think Apple would have tested their new release and on systems using popular add-on software? It's a computer! You are supposed to be able to run programs. Apple is supposed to include their partners in a rollout process and inform them about critical changes...not blame the users when things go pear shaped.

It is not your fault.

There are no amount of hours wasted that will make this right.

I had the same issue...

Here is how you need to proceed.

As you still don't have any connection due to ESET after the update of MacOS to Sequoia, go to your System Setup/Network/VPN and filters/

then delete all the ESET line shown on your screen

You should have your internet connection back to normal.

• You have to uninstal your former ESET protection from your application folder.
• Go to this link ESET upload : https://www.eset.com/be-fr/professionnels/download/endpoint-security-mac/
• Then you have to install it on your new macOs Sequoia
• Then you have to allow MacOs to use and install all extension : go there to proceed : https://support.eset.com/en/kb7636-allow-system-extensions-for-your-eset-product-for-mac#sequoia
• Then everything will work.

I’m not sure which assumption is not helpful. The FACT that an update can break VPN is just that. It isn’t an assumption. And the solution is to delete the VPN profile and reinstall it.

Yeah, me too. 2021 iMac M1 with Bitdefender. Safari 18.0 and Sequoia updated together. On restarting the iMac rebooted twice before starting up properly. Safari bricked immediately, webpages won’t load. Typing the Google address into the search bar does nothing other than replacing the address with some random previous search starting with ‘g’.

[Edited by Moderator]

marybeth266 wrote:

Updated my MacBook pro to Sequoia 15 without any fear of it making everything impossible. When you look up one problem on a search it always says check your connections, reload your internet blah blah blah. I did a bunch of things and then had to go. Today retry and one simple news site I look at most everyday can't be found by Safari. I go to apple community looking for answers and someone said to remove my VPN and security software then reload it (after several other hoop jumping tasks) then it should work. I DON'T WANT TO and don't have the time to so I can read basic things on my laptop. Now I will just revert to my phone because I don't have to jump through any hoops to use that. UNHAPPY APPLE customer, MacBook pro owner for decades, iPhone user for a long time, sick of updates making life harder.

VPN frequently creates more problems than it solves. The biggest problem is many VPN users do not understand the technology they are using. For example, a key "feature" that few people realize is that any VPN by its nature slows your internet connection to about 1/4 of the speed of your "raw" internet connection. For visiting websites this probably doesn't matter, but it will certainly affect downloads.

VPN also changes your apparent location. But think about this for a moment. Your bank knows where you should be. If you try to log in to their site or use their app with VPN enabled they may block the connection as a hacking attempt. And some financial institutions will simply block all VPN access. As will many social networking apps such as Facebook, Insta, Snapchat, etc.

Another important fact is that when you install VPN it configures itself to the specific hardware, OS version and network that the phone uses. If any of those change it can break the VPN. So any time you change any of these you may need to delete the VPN app and profile, restart your phone then add them back (if you still want to use VPN) so it can configure itself to the new environment.

Here's Apple's advice on VPN→

Check VPN (Virtual Private Network) and third-party software to help resolve network connectivity issues - Apple Support

Something to think about→Don't use VPN - GITHUB

Here's Brian Krebs on VPN security (or lack thereof)→Why your VPN may not be as secure as it claims

There are two legitimate purposes for using VPN:

• To allow access to a private network such as a school or business when you are not on site. 
• To allow access outside of a country with a repressive government that has restricted Internet access. (This has suddenly become more important)

Any other use is risky, and can lead to problems like the one discussed in this thread. VPN disguises your location by making you appear to be somewhere else in the world. But you usually can’t control that “somewhere else”, and if it is in a location that an app isn’t approved for the app won’t work. Plus the fact that the provider of the VPN knows everything about you and your location, as well as what sites you access through the VPN. So you are totally dependent on the VPN provider’s honesty. As a start, if the VPN is free, DON’T USE IT. The provider has to make money somehow, and if you aren’t paying them then they are selling your private data to make money. And it was recently discovered that a major wholesaler of "free" VPN that is provided by many "free" VPN deliverers also makes your computer a node in a worldwide botnet used to hack other users.

But even those that charge can’t necessarily be trusted. For example, a few years ago Avast was caught selling user browsing data. They claim they have stopped doing so, however, they lied 🤥→ FTC Order Will Ban Avast from Selling Browsing Data for Advertising Purposes

You don’t really need VPN when using public Wi-Fi, because all communications between your device and the servers it accesses are end-to-end encrypted.

If you want VPN for privacy about the sites you visit, that’s not a good choice as discussed; instead you should download and use the TOR browser.

The other use for VPN is to “steal” content that is not available in your area. I leave this question to your personal ethics.

With iOS 15.2 and later for iOS/iPadOS and MacOS Monterey 12.2 and later Apple now has iCloud+ Private Relay, which is not VPN, but provides a safer browsing environment than VPN, and it doesn't spy on you→About iCloud Private Relay - Apple Support

VPN frequently creates more problems than it solves. The biggest problem is many VPN users do not understand the technology they are using. For example, a key "feature" that few people realize is that any VPN by its nature slows your internet connection to about 1/4 of the speed of your "raw" internet connection. For visiting websites this probably doesn't matter, but it will certainly affect downloads.

VPN also changes your apparent location. But think about this for a moment. Your bank knows where you should be. If you try to log in to their site or use their app with VPN enabled they may block the connection as a hacking attempt. And some financial institutions will simply block all VPN access. As will many social networking apps such as Facebook, Insta, Snapchat, etc.

Another important fact is that when you install VPN it configures itself to the specific hardware, OS version and network that the device uses. If any of those change it may break the VPN. So any time you change any of these you may need to delete the VPN app and profile, restart your device then add them back (if you still want to use VPN) so it can configure itself to the new environment.

Here's Apple's advice on VPN→

Check VPN (Virtual Private Network) and third-party software to help resolve network connectivity issues - Apple Support

Something to think about→Don't use VPN - GITHUB

Here's Brian Krebs on VPN security (or lack thereof)→Why your VPN may not be as secure as it claims

There are two legitimate purposes for using VPN:

• To allow access to a private network such as a school or business when you are not on site. 
• To allow access outside of a country with a repressive government that has restricted Internet access. (This has suddenly become more important)

Any other use is risky, and can lead to problems like the one discussed in this thread. VPN disguises your location by making you appear to be somewhere else in the world. But you usually can’t control that “somewhere else”, and if it is in a location that an app isn’t approved for the app won’t work. Plus the fact that the provider of the VPN knows everything about you and your location, as well as what sites you access through the VPN. So you are totally dependent on the VPN provider’s honesty. As a start, if the VPN is free, DON’T USE IT. The provider has to make money somehow, and if you aren’t paying them then they are selling your private data to make money. And it was recently discovered that a major wholesaler of "free" VPN that is provided by many "free" VPN deliverers also makes your computer a node in a worldwide botnet used to hack other users.

But even those that charge can’t necessarily be trusted. For example, a few years ago Avast was caught selling user browsing data. They claim they have stopped doing so, however, they lied 🤥→ FTC Order Will Ban Avast from Selling Browsing Data for Advertising Purposes

You don’t really need VPN when using public Wi-Fi, because all communications between your device and the servers it accesses are end-to-end encrypted.

If you want VPN for privacy about the sites you visit, that’s not a good choice as discussed; instead you should download and use the TOR browser.

The other use for VPN is to “steal” content that is not available in your area. I leave this question to your personal ethics.

With iOS 15.2 and later for iOS/iPadOS and MacOS Monterey 12.2 and later Apple now has iCloud+ Private Relay, which is not VPN, but provides a safer browsing environment than VPN, and it doesn't spy on you→About iCloud Private Relay - Apple Support

rsandss wrote:

The Sequoia update has basically bricked every Apple native app on my iMac. It is not just Safari, it is also Mail, Music, Photos, etc... The only native apps that still work are Notes and Calculator. I guess the ones that don't connect to the internet.

Apple please fix ASAP!!! Either that or give us an easy way to revert back to a OS that works.

Have you tried disabling or updating your VPN? That’s how 50 or so users in this and other threads solved the problem.

And, BTW, Apple doesn’t read these user-to-user forums for requests or suggestions.

Hi Marybeth,

I feel your pain! Here’s what’s happened with me so far since this problem occurred (and I appreciate you not wanting to jump through hoops, I didn’t.)

None of this worked:

Clearing cookies, caches and website data in Safari.

rebooting in Recovery Mode and reinstalling OS Sequoia

rebooting the router

Disabling Bitdefender

Uninstalling Bitdefender

Creating a new Admin account and logging in to that.

Stuff that did work but offered no answers:

In Recovery Mode, Safari worked fine.

After rebooting and logging back in, Safari worked but only on the Apple website and even then, just shop window stuff, access to Apple communities did not work.

FWIW I don’t run any extensions in Safari other than Bitdefender which is now uninstalled.

Yesterday evening and again this morning, Apple Support attempted to work through possible solutions with me. This came to nothing. Right now I’m waiting for the Mac to finish restoring my files from Time Machine. The last option (and I won’t know if it’s successful until the file transfer finishes) was to erase the Mac HD and do a clean install of Sequoia. I’ll report back here with the outcome.

Like you, I’m very disappointed this has happened but note that by no means everyone is affected. I don’t know enough about this stuff to have an objective opinion as to cause. On a basic level I have to say everything was working just fine before I upgraded to Safari 18.0 and Sequoia. Go figure.

Got my fingers crossed for a positive outcome.