Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Why does it lag so much when I scroll in Safari? (OS X Lion)

I've noticed that ever since the OS X Lion update, webpages in general are pretty laggy when scrolling. I let the page completely load and when I scrollthere is stuttering and lag. It is made most apparent when I use momentum to scroll a long webpage.

It seems to happen mostly with more complex pages (which makes sense I guess). For example, some parts of NYTimes.com doesn't have much lag when scrolling. But most websites (like mine: http://wistfulwriter.com) are pretty laggy. I know I use a background image and use special fonts, but I never had this problem before the Lion update. Many other sites lag too: CNN.com, WashingtonPost.com, etc. It seems like any time there is an image, there is stuttering.

I have tried setting the zoom level to default (command-0) just in case, and I have exited unnecessary applications and everything. The lag is still there, regardless if I use fullscreen mode or not (though on some sites it is not as noticable in windowed mode).

Any clues? Thanks!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7), 27 inch, Mid-2010. 3.2 GHz i3

Posted on Jul 24, 2011 1:45 PM

27 replies

Sep 1, 2011 4:50 PM in response to wistfulwriter

Lagging for me too. I also notice when I click a text box to type that the curser pauses a beat. This is bugging me badly!

Sep 13, 2011 5:17 PM in response to BigWood

I just want to confirm that this does do the trick, at least for me and BigWood, but you need to look in your profile's library and not the home folder's library. I deleted them and its smooth scrolling for me!

Parre

Level 1

20 points

Sep 14, 2011 8:48 AM in response to youknowmeh

Okey, I just found out that in Lion my Library was hidden so I had to go to the terminal and type: chflags nohidden ~/Library/ before I could see it.

After that I deleted the com.apple.safari.rss.plist and com.apple.safari and now it looks like the problem is solved. I have to test it for a while but thanks again guys!!!!

LandonAB

Level 1

14 points

Sep 29, 2011 4:30 PM in response to BigWood

Thanks, this fixed it for me.

Jun 26, 2012 3:05 AM in response to wistfulwriter

Should the problem persist, I can only add that I solved by simply reinstalling Safari. I don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched, but things seemed to get definitely better after reinstalling the browser. However, if I were you, I'd go for a clean install of the OS just a couple of days before the official release of OS X Mountain Lion, especially if you have this sort of problems and your processor is not as new as an i5 or i7.

Jul 2, 2012 7:09 AM in response to JAMIII

I have 44GB free on my SSD and its laggy as **** on some pages. It has nothing to do with free space!

Jul 2, 2012 7:17 AM in response to Parre

There are a couple ways to get to the Library folder without unhiding it.

First is, you can press Shift+CMD+g and type ~/Library/

You can go into finder click on the go panel and press the option key...it will reveal the hidden Library icon.

BTW, deleting that plist file seems to have reduced my lag as well. Thanks!

Sep 15, 2012 7:42 AM in response to rservello

These steps haven't made a difference for me. I'm on a 6 month old MacBook Air. It's vastly more noticeable on NYTimes.com; open an article, zoom in to the text (double-tap w/ two fingers) and then try to scroll along as if you're reading (slow, steady, continuous scroll). This appears to have gotten much worse w/ Lion.

Jan 11, 2013 8:01 PM in response to wistfulwriter

I get the same problem with my brand new macbook pro retina display that i opened today with 750gb free memory 2.7 ghz processor and 16gb ram... Im starting to think apple ***** to be honest. It doesn't just do that but also as im typing to you right now it eats up some letters like they just become invisible and i have to delete them and retype them to be able to see them.

LandonAB

Level 1

14 points

Jan 11, 2013 8:15 PM in response to soicysononikeboy

My suggestion, use Chrome or Firefox. I moved to Chrome. The problem with disappearing text is a rendering issue, discussed here.

I know, it ***** because I like Safari but, not worth the pain 🙂

I hear at least the rendering issues are fixed in 10.8.3.

Lauri17

Level 1

0 points

Jan 23, 2014 10:20 PM in response to BigWood

Hi!

I just bought my first Mac (Macbook Air) a few days ago and some of the sites are kind of lagging. So I found this thread.

But instead of a folder in FINDER-LIBRARY-PREFERENCES I have a file named com.apple.safari.plist

Should I delete it or is it the wrong file?

I do have a folder com.apple.safari in CACHEs though.

Thanks in advance

Oct 27, 2015 8:34 AM in response to BigWood

This is the fix that someone should come to first. I have been experiencing stuttering when scrolling in safari since i first purchased my macbook pro retina (2014, 2.5, GeForce 750M) and could not figure out how to fix it. This cured the issue without even needing to reboot the Mac. Now all I need is to figure out how to cure the stuttering when switching spaces and I will have a Mac that is smooth as silk.

Why does it lag so much when I scroll in Safari? (OS X Lion)