Q: iPad Safari crashing regularly

So a little more info (let's get away from the bashing and try to help with the issue).

The pages that seem to cause the Safari crash are for message boards that have the Tapatalk app available.  I try to hide the annoying banner at the top declaring the Tapatalk app with the button to get the app (I have the app but prefer to use the website directly).

I've never seen a crash on a page that didn't display that Tapatalk banner so I am wondering if it is that little plugin causing the problem.

Anyone else notice this or am I alone here?

In response to my own post, i've never been back because I was too busy in school and it seemed to work itself out or my husband fixed it. I'm lucky to be married to a techie. I don't know where I would be now if I were not. Probably at the bottom of a very tall building without the use of their elevator. I am sorry I brought so much upset to so many people. It is a brand new iPad 3 and I love it. I am a new-born apple-ite or whatever we are called. Again, I will try to do better next time. Consider me well flogged.

Miss789

I don't think I have ever gotten as much mail as I have for this than I have for anything else in my life.

Miss 789

Thank you for providing this. I do not know what piece of code allows for this. You probably can get around it by disabling Javascript. Enabling private browsing is also worth a try.

You may be able to use Terra with these settings so that you don't have to customize them in Safari.

For troubleshooting purposes, would you mind uninstalling the app and seeing if the problem persists?

I would also recommend writing webmaster@talkatalk.com with the specifics of your configuration. (OS version, ipad version) for help.

--Sam

I am happy that everything has worked out for you and that you are happy with your iPad.

"You may be able to use Terra with these settings so that you don't have to customize them in Safari."

What is Terra? If it is a browser, I can not find a browser named 'Terra' on the App Store.

Try again -  Terra is in the apple store  - try Terra browser or just browser and search for. Free ones only - it should come up. However, do not be optimistic - Terra crashes just as quickly in my iPad mini with IOS 7.0.3 as does Safari. Doh!

Sorry I meant App Store not apple store

Um, it seems as not many people get the underlying issue here.

EVERY app that calls upon Webkit crashes. That includes other Browsers, IM Clients, Games, Reddit/Digg Clients etc and whatnot.

Yes, you can disable Javascript in the settings for Mobile Safari which results in a few crashes less, but this setting works ONLY for Mobile Safari and no other browser and no other app.

Perhaps some other browsers also get the ability to turn off Javascript, but they will still crash due to the memory overflow in Webkit.

So the issue here ist that Webkit crashes. Safari is only a frontend for it, just like every other browser in the appstore that does not bring it's own rendering Engine with it. (Like Firefox Gecko, but other rendering Engines other than Webkit are banned from the appstore)

And every other app that has a smidgen of Internet connectivity (calling Webkit via API) has the ability to trigger the crashes.

You only see this more in browsers because they have to handle the full thing, and 'native' apps like Alienblue or iReddit for example not not always load the full webpages, only parts of them.

The result is that in just 3-5 minutes of Safari / Atomic Web / Chrome / iCab / Mercury / Alternate / Sleipnir and whatother browser the crash  happens, while one can browse 2 - 3 hours before an app like Alienblue crashes with the memory overflow.

The best 'fix' for now is to use the Opera Mobile browser, since it's not a real browser that renders webpages on your device, but renders them on Opera's servers (also Skyfire)

But these browsers have Javascript compatibility like Internet Explorer 4 or 5...

Since millions of iPads do not display the problem that we few thousands have here, i suspect that this is hardware related (Webkit conflicts with faults in buggy chips in the A4, A5, A6 architecture and their memory controllers, think you got the luck of getting a B-Grade Chip in your iPad and your replacements), and this problem is unfixable via Software.

Three options to choose from here:

- live with your current iPad and use Opera mini /Skyfire /a similar Browser and get used to a few crashes in other apps

- sell your iPad and get another one (good resale value on Apple gear, then get the Air)

- sell your iPad and get a Android Tablet (i recommend the Nexus Tablets or new Kindle Fire HDX once they come out in two weeks, great price/performance/battery life on these)

But be prepared to get used to bugs in these Tablets as well, like constant Wireless connection losses (i have these, too, yay, lucky me...) on the Nexuses with a lot of wifi stations, or a lot of app incompatibility with the other tablets.

Not to mention of almost never getting any system updates with most of them. (but please don't pick a Samsung, these guys are cro*ks; read into their history, they practically evolved from an arm of the korean m*fia)

Nothing is perfect, just pick your lesser evil here.

So again, no use blarghing in these Forums that Apple does not read, no use contacting Apple support about this because they do not believe you (only 1 in 1000 has these crashes); you can only email the big boss himself and tell him of the problem.

I only hope that enough people here have the b*lls to do so. (but be polite, or the email will get scrapped right away)

here you go:

tcookATapple.com

No, I do get it.

I understand how Webkit works. And I precisely recommended Terra as a troubleshooting tool because it is webkit based. It allows us to do things like clear cache and cookies and switch to private browsing mode without disturbing Safari settings. It may also be immune to a Safari-specific bug like URL handling (which is how the tapatalk hooks work.)

If the poster responds back that they have Terra installed, or would like to troubleshoot Safari instead, we can continue.

But here is the general troubleshooting method I use:

1. Clear Cache and Cookies.

2. Turn on Private Browsing mode.

3. Surf to the site.

4. Turn off Private Browsing mode.

5. Observe if symptoms change.

This person was reporting a very specific bug with the way Tapatalk Javascript URL schemas detect if the app is installed, which is I believe actually an Apple specific thing, but I'm not sure.

It is entirely possible that Terra is immune, and if not, changing the settings on Terra will be less destructive than changing them on Safari.

I am wondering if the new A7 would help any. I have no idea. Thought-provoking post.

--Sam

P.S Not to say that there is anything wrong persay with existing apple hardware, but the A7 seems to process things faster, and is also 64-bit which means it addresses RAM more efficiently. source: anantech http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review/5

P.PS If you do want to trade in hardware, many apple retailers will do that.

I found Terra via Google:

http://readdle.com/products/terra/

However, it tells me it is not available in the US.

I could take a trip up to Nova Scotia and download it, but I think I will hold out for a fix.

My apologies. Looks like Apple pulled it.

What version of iOS are you running? Which iPad?

I am curious as to whether turning on private browsing mode allows you to surf to those sites or not.

Will you try it?

Settings-->Safari and check the appropriate options.

If that doesn't work, clear the cache as well.

If that does work, clearing the cookies may benefit you.

--Sam

Re: Terra in US "My apologies. Looks like Apple pulled it."

As one of the 999/1000 NOT having a problem, my interest in Terra was mostly out of curiosity. Too as they pulled it.

Always lucking for new tools ...

Re: A7

My iPhone 5s w/ 7.0.3 is rock stable (YMMD)

I haven't weighed in on this subject in months because, frankly, nothing has been done about it and I don't see anything being done about it in the future!  The only reason I'm writing this is because I'm not only crashing more since IOS 7 but NOW when I check out the new Apps in iTunes it not only crashes constantly I get a "Cannot Connect To iTunes" message after every crash!  Crashes are more frequent with everything no matter what I do.  Constantly clear cookies, cache, remove ALL active Apps, etc., etc., etc.

I was looking into upgrading to the iPad Air from my iPad 1 BUT reading some of the discussions on the crashes on that unit doesn't make it sound like a better investment.  Guess I'll wait a little longer maybe Apple will get it right by iPad 20!!!!!

I don't remember any of these problems when the iPad first came out.  It seems the better their technology gets the worse their products get.