Safari does not support WebGL; can’t display some websites, including parts of Apple’s own website and iCloud.com

So... everything seems to work in Safari running in a separate user account. What does that mean?

And in that case, is there a way to “reset” Safari in my regular user account, and recover/re-enable/revert to the default behaviour?

I know it’s *supposed* to work. But it doesn’t. What I want to know (and other users in these forums do too) is how to turn it back on again!

I have no Extensions either loaded or running in Safari.

Example: This URL won’t load: https://www.icloud.com/notes — I get this message:

On Apple’s own website, it’s Big Sur preview page doesn’t load correctly (the page looks blank; I can scroll but there’s nothing to see):

The WebGL setting appears only if it's turned OFF for security reasons. It’s in Safari > Preferences > Websites > if it's not listed in the sidebar, then it's ON.

But it isn’t!

You say WebGL works for you. Good. But it doesn’t work for everyone. And it doesn’t work for me. I have no Extensions loaded or running. I am running no Networking or Security utilities. I am just a regular, semi-pro, creative user. No bells. No whistles. And no WebGL. My new MacBook Air isn’t even a year old.

You suggest that WebGL could have been disabled in Terminal. If that’s possible, then it must be possible to *enable* in Terminal, in which case I’d love to know how! As I said in my original post, I’ll be happy to try.

Clearly the issue is “at my end” — but the ‘end' in question is Apple’s OS and software, and I just want it to work as billed. I am perfectly prepared to believe that I actively did something to my own system that disabled WebGL some time ago (and it’s been broken for a while; this issue predates Catalina; it predates my new MacBook — which means it must have been carried over from my Time Machine backup) — but if that’s the case, what’s the fix, since there’s no visible button to press or lever to pull?

My question is: why is WebGL even able to *be* disabled with zero feedback. The software seems to be built on an assumption that WebGL works, is supported and will be persistently available, but that assumption is simply incorrect. There’s a gap somewhere down which my system has fallen — and other people’s system’s too!

Hopefully there’s someone out there reading this who can help!

There are no differences in Preferences — and I don’t see a preference that’s anything to do with WebGL.

And yes, JavaScript is most-definitely enabled, and always has been.

But since there is no preference for WebGL, this can’t be a preference issue, can it? Whatever’s going on has to be buried more deeply. Is there any way just to swipe Safari’s slate completely clean and effectively reinstall it?

Thanks for suggesting some practical steps. :)

I’ve tried the Shift-key-held-down relaunch, but it has not fixed the issue (WebGL still fails).

I will try the NVRAM and SMC steps (I’ve done those in the past on my old MacBook).

I know what Safe Mode is, but it would be great if you can explain that option in more detail. If I restart in Safe Mode, what do I need to try that might fix Safari?

Thanks again!

I’ve now tried all of the practical steps you suggested:

— Resetting Safari’s caches

— Resetting NVRAM

— Resetting SMC

— Restarting in Safe Mode: all issues persisted when running Safari in Safe Mode

— Checking for malware: no malware detected

As an experiment, I have downloaded the Safari Tech Preview (for Catalina): WebGL works as billed.

But: my Catalina install of Safari is still broken.

Is there really no way to get WebGL re-enabled?

Thanks — and done! But no change to behaviour. WebGL still broken.