macOS 26 issues with URL bar, tab closing, and slow webpage loading on our Macs

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Level 1

8 points

macOS 26 issues with URL bar, tab closing, and slow webpage loading on our Macs

So my husband and I both upgraded to MacOS 26 yesterday. Since then we have had a myriad of issues: my husband is on a MacBook Pro M1 (2020). Every time he goes to type in the URL bar, he can't. Get this; he found he has to be on his 'favorites' page, otherwise he can't click on the bar or type in it. He also can't close them unless he right-clicks then hits 'close tab'. He did find that if he 'jiggled' the URL bar while he is on the 'favorites' page, he can type in it.

I am on a MacBook Air M1 (2020). I have found that some webpages are taking 'forever to load'. Yes, I have cleared my cache, history and even went into the cookies and deleted a bunch of those too. One of the sites I go to (game site) won't scroll, won't load a game, nothing. The latency is so bad that I actually shut my computer off this morning. Memory is not an issue as I only have one app outside the suite that Apple provides and is a research tool. Yes, I have read that waiting 24 - 48 hours for all the kinks to get worked out but really? No one thought of the secondary or tertiary effects some of the new things might have?

As for iPhone update, we are holding off until 26.1 comes out. For those who aren't sure....you must update to 18.whatever and then scroll down to the bottom of the page where the comment "updated to 18. whatever" is and the link to upgrade to ios26 is there. (Updated comment is AFTER you have updated.)

Someone please tell me what, if anything, is being done to fix these issues. I have looked at other 'support' sites and found many complaints, some like mine (latency). Thank you for your help.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Bugs and more bugs

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Sep 16, 2025 3:26 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Community+ 2026

Level 9

68,516 points

Sep 16, 2025 3:39 PM in response to Navigator123

The waiting for 24 - 48 hours is for the background processing to complete that includes indexing files and optimizations for photos object detection. This is most noticeable on iPhones and happens after every update and not specific to Mac OS 26.

Since there clearly is not the same issue for all that have updated, that indicates it is more likely a conflict with a third party process running on startup that may be causing the problem.

As for what you can do:

If you are using a VPN, remove it to test. Not just by turning it off, but uninstalling it.
Send feedback to Apple using this link and one of the options is for a bug report.

Product Feedback - Apple

Contact Apple directly for reproducible problems that are not related to a specific website. Especially relevant to the issue with your Husband not being able to type in the URL bar. Not something I have experienced after the update.

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

Post the free EtreCheck report to identify third party files that may be causing a conflict and would not be resolved unless the developer provides an update or they are removed. The report contains no personal information.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Navigator123 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 17, 2025 3:28 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thank you for your feedback but we don't see why rebooting our router would have anything to do with a downloaded program on our computers. That seems to be a standard answer for "we don't know what is wrong." We have no peripherals, no third-party apps, no cleaners, optimizers, anti-virus, etc.... I did read this on the Mac Forum: "Updated my M1 Macbook Air and the performance downgrade is quite noticeable. All animations are stuttering (maximizing windows and quick preview are the most noticeable)."

This could be what we are encountering. I have noticed this morning that the website that we use for games is a little better.

My husband figured out the problem with the URL bar. His computer never finished the download. He has since cleared it out and re-downloaded. It is working fine (URL wise) but he is also having the issue of stuttering and latency. Maybe when MacOS 26.1 comes out that will fix some of the problems.

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Answer 3

leroydouglas

Level 10

201,166 points

Sep 16, 2025 3:42 PM in response to Navigator123

Navigator123 wrote:

So my husband and I both upgraded to MacOS 26 yesterday. Since then we have had a myriad of issues: my husband is on a MacBook Pro M1 (2020). Every time he goes to type in the URL bar, he can't.

I am on a MacBook Air M1 (2020). I have found that some webpages are taking 'forever to load'.

Someone please tell me what, if anything, is being done to fix these issues.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Bugs and more bugs

Seems most unusual. I certainly experienced none of these issue on macOS 26 Tahoe.

Have you shut down and rebooted more than once since your upgraded macOS...(?)

Have you shut down and rebooted any modem/ router you are using in your Network...(?)

Try a different browser and compare your results...

For Safari.app quit the app and relaunch it holding the Shift key down and compare you results.

ref: If Safari doesn't open a page or work as expected on Mac

unplug all non-essential peripherals when testing

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS

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Answer 4

Navigator123 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 17, 2025 3:43 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Thank you for your reply. If you go to MacRumors Forums, you will see a lot of people on there running more sophisticated machines than what we have who are experiencing latency issues as well as stuttering with animations. "I have a Mac Studio M1 and it worked great on Sequoia. But now after updating to Tahoe everything is just so laggy. What in the world??" (an example)

We don't have any third party apps. We also run very clean machines since we mainly use them for communication and research. As for my husband's issue....he found out last night that 26 didn't download completely. He has removed what did download and reinstalled it. His issue with the URL bar went away but he still (like me), is having latency issues and 'stuttering' with animations. Even some sites we go to all the time seem to be having an issue as basic as the side scroll bar taking a 'minute' to actually move.

"Has anyone with M1 machine (MBP/MBA/iMac) updated to Tahoe?

My M1 iMac has been updated to Tahoe. I found that the common dialogue (pop-up) box's animation is very jittery (Framerate drops to around 30fps). Quick Preview is stuttering, not smooth at all. Besides, Adobe AI, ID performance are bad, extremely stuttering during panning and zooming objects.

Are these issues existing in high-end machines such as M2-M4, Pro/Max, etc...?"

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