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Mac Safari Tabs That Can't Be Deleted From iPhone Safari

Hello there,


Safari tabs that were once open on a Macbook still appear on iPhone Safari even after months. It reappears even though I delete these tabs. I signed out of iCloud on the phone but it didn't work. I turned Safari off and on via iCloud but it didn't work. I didn't clear all the cache in Settings > Safari but it didn't work. I cannot delete these old Mac tabs from iPhone Safari no matter what I did.


Please suggest a definitive and permanent solution. I hate this situation because I don't want to see dozens of old and closed Safari tabs when I open Safari on iPhone.

iPhone XS Max, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 7, 2021 12:06 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jul 23, 2021 10:11 PM

Helle fir13,


I think I found a solution for this problem yesterday.


on iPhone:


Settings > (Your Name) Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes, AppStore > Safari >> turn off (and delete all datas)


on MacBook:


Apple menu  > System Preferences > Apple ID > unmark Safari



With this method, we have removed the synchronization of Safari on both Macbook and iPhone. If you enable both after a few hours (unsyncing completely), the problem will be fixed. The problem seems to be solved too, but I'm afraid that it may occur again another day.


Edit: Please leave feedback if this method works.

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7 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 23, 2021 10:11 PM in response to fir13

Helle fir13,


I think I found a solution for this problem yesterday.


on iPhone:


Settings > (Your Name) Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes, AppStore > Safari >> turn off (and delete all datas)


on MacBook:


Apple menu  > System Preferences > Apple ID > unmark Safari



With this method, we have removed the synchronization of Safari on both Macbook and iPhone. If you enable both after a few hours (unsyncing completely), the problem will be fixed. The problem seems to be solved too, but I'm afraid that it may occur again another day.


Edit: Please leave feedback if this method works.

Jul 7, 2021 6:29 PM in response to cemallamec

Hi cemallamec,


Thanks for posting your issue in the Apple Support Communities! We'd be glad to check this out with you. We understand that your iCloud Tabs aren't updating when they're supposed to. You mentioned that you may have already cleared your browsing history and website data from your iPhone. Have you attempted to do the same thing from your Mac yet? If not, try it out by following the steps in Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac.


In addition, as stated in Set up and use iCloud Tabs, we'd recommend following these steps below:


"If you can't set up or use iCloud Tabs

iCloud Tabs works between devices running iOS 13 or iPadOS or later and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later, or between devices running iOS 12 or earlier and macOS Mojave 10.14.3 or earlier. 

• If your iCloud Tabs aren't updating, make sure that you're running the latest iOS or iPadOS on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and the latest macOS on your Mac.

• Check that you signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices."


Cheers.

Jul 7, 2021 6:29 PM in response to cemallamec

Hi cemallamec,


Thanks for posting your issue in the Apple Support Communities! We'd be glad to check this out with you. We understand that your iCloud Tabs aren't updating when they're supposed to. You mentioned that you may have already cleared your browsing history and website data from your iPhone. Have you attempted to do the same thing from your Mac yet? If not, try it out by following the steps in Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac.


In addition, as stated in Set up and use iCloud Tabs, we'd recommend following these steps below:


"If you can't set up or use iCloud Tabs

iCloud Tabs works between devices running iOS 13 or iPadOS or later and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later, or between devices running iOS 12 or earlier and macOS Mojave 10.14.3 or earlier. 

• If your iCloud Tabs aren't updating, make sure that you're running the latest iOS or iPadOS on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and the latest macOS on your Mac.

• Check that you signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices."


Cheers.

Jul 11, 2021 9:54 AM in response to cemallamec

Hi cemallamec,


Thanks for the additional information regarding your issue! Just to ensure we're on the same page, are you removing your iCloud Tabs by swiping them to the left and then choosing to close each one when you're on your iPhone? If this is true and the behavior continues, we'd recommend reaching out to Apple Support next to investigate this more closely with you. You may contact them directly from Get Support.


Take care.

Mac Safari Tabs That Can't Be Deleted From iPhone Safari

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