Horrible Safari experience on Ventura 13.7.4 - any idea how to remedy?

Hi,

I'm working on all Intel macs, so all are already older.

The issue I'd like to resolve happens on a MacBook Pro i9, 2,4 GHz 8-core with 32 GB of memory.

It is important to notice that I am using a BlackMagic Design external GPU with AMD Radeon Pro 580. Next to that I also use 2 displayport adapters to drive a total of 3 monitors (1920 x 1080)


My main complaints / issues are:

  • macbook easily starts panting and puffing, not at all in proportion to what is going on (I have set most app properties to "prefer external GPU"
  • The main issue however is Safari: It is very, very often times totally unusable:
    • pages don't react to scrolling, neither by using the trackpad using two finger up/down nor by trying to grab the scrollbar on the righthand side of the window. (This does NOT happen with any of the other applications or browsers like Chrome, or Brave)


I'd like to point out that I am indeed a very heavy tab user, and that I have a workflow of (nearly) always keeping track of all the sites I visit by saving the tabs (to Devonthink pro).

I am aware that at a certain point in time, Apple changed its sytem of Safari extensions and that these now are available using the Appstore.

I would also like to mention that I am extremely irritated by the fact that:

  • Safari does not offer an easy way to "search" through "open" tabs. (I'm aware that it suggest to visit "an already open" tab, but that is not the same
  • I make use of an app / extension "Tabs Switcher" which does it's job partly but does not properly work (I will contact the maker of Tabs Switcher) This extension can help in finding an open tab, but it does not properly help to switch to the found tab.
  • I am trying to return to Safari as a default browser, but Apple is making it extremely cumbersome and akward.
  • I have even gone so far as to completely erase this MacBook and do a network recovery install - this does not solve the problem.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 13.7

Posted on Apr 25, 2025 04:11 AM

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2 replies

Apr 25, 2025 12:21 PM in response to iPanini

The MacBook Pro with 2.4 GHz i9 processor can run Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia.

Is there some reason you haven't upgraded or don't wish to upgrade to one of the newer macOS versions. It's possible that a fix for the poor performance of Safari might be in one of those upgrades.


Have you considered the possibility of malware having been inadvertently installed on the computer? Malwarebytes is a lightweight utility that you can use to scan for discovery.


Also, you might try starting up the Mac in safe mode and see if that has any effect on your process.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode will often correct weird software behavior by forcing the OS to clear caches, do disk repair and other housekeeping and temporarily disables third-party mods.


Does the same thing happen while in Safe mode?

If not, then that may be an indicator of some conflicting software install.


You can exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then reevaluate the problem.

Apr 26, 2025 03:07 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

D.I. Johnson,


Thanks for answering. Will definitely try your suggestions.

Although I checked for updates / upgrades, I either Apple is reading along ;-) or it's plain coincidence, but an update to Ventura 13.7.5 and an update to Safari were present on 2025-04-26.

So I first installed those. Will see for a couple of days and report back.

Will definitely do the Malwarebytes checkup as that was the main reason I did a fresh install only very recently.


Reasons not to upgrade (all too quickly):

  • It often takes a lot of work to get a system up and running properly, also I have bad experience with macOS updates leaving behind some application developpers.
  • I'm not a fan of a new macOS version approx every year, I prefer decent and functional updates

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Horrible Safari experience on Ventura 13.7.4 - any idea how to remedy?

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