John Peel
Level 1 (65 points)

Q: Yosemite - Safari keeps asking to be default browser

Every time I quit out of Safari it it asks to be the default browser and I can't get it to stop. I don't use it as my default browser but often use it for testing websites so it gets pretty annoying.

 

Has anyone ever seen this? Is there a hidden setting somewhere similar to the check every time in Firefox?

 

Thanks,

 

-peel

Screenshot 2015-04-21 21.21.43.png

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 21, 2015 7:24 PM

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John Peel

Q: Yosemite - Safari keeps asking to be default browser

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  • by dominic23,

    dominic23 dominic23 Apr 21, 2015 10:56 PM in response to John Peel
    Level 8 (42,122 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 21, 2015 10:56 PM in response to John Peel

    System Preferences > General > Default Browser

     

    Select Safari.

     

    Screen Shot 2014-12-23 at 9.23.56 AM.png

  • by John Peel,

    John Peel John Peel Apr 21, 2015 11:15 PM in response to dominic23
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 21, 2015 11:15 PM in response to dominic23

    Thanks for the reply. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I don't want Safari to be my default. But it asks me every time I open it and quit out if it can be. It's very odd because it doesn't do it on my work computer which is configured almost identically, but it does it on my home computer.

     

    So I'm looking for a solution to keep the dialog box in my original post from appearing. ive tried using the system preferences to set safari then switch back but that hasn't helped. Technically speaking your solution would work since Safari would quit asking me to be default, but unfortunately it's not the solution I'm looking for

     

    Thanks,

     

    -peel

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 21, 2015 11:30 PM in response to John Peel
    Level 6 (14,587 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 21, 2015 11:30 PM in response to John Peel

    Historically for some time now, if you want a different browser you have installed

    in your OS X, you can choose to set the other one as default from within Safari.

     

    That would also be where you'd de-select the other browser should you wish to

    use Safari (again) as the default. With mine, I use Firefox most of the time but

    do not have it set as Default. I have SeaMonkey set as default, and use Safari

    as an option; this way the system sees the SeaMonkey browser and launches

    it instead of my preferred browser, since I seldom choose to view web site items

    in a browser, and don't want my daily browser interrupted. So there are different

    settings for security and bookmarks in each browser.

     

    Anyway, I believe unless you have tried the suggestion already given, you may

    not find the answer is to choose a default browser in the Safari preferences, as

    that is where it is done. Going back before Tiger 10.4.11, that's how you set one.

    And there is no dialog box issue when new default is selected from Safari...

     

    Also, if there are unusual problems in your user account, see about running Disk

    Utility and 'repair disk permissions' as that may help across other details.

     

    Good luck & happy computing!

     

    edited 2x

  • by John Peel,

    John Peel John Peel Apr 21, 2015 11:47 PM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 21, 2015 11:47 PM in response to K Shaffer

    I apologize as I must be really bad and explaining (Although looking back I do clearly say that I've tried using System Preferraces to change it).

     

    I have set my default browser in system preferences many many times. I have also set it in Firefox and Chrome too just for fun. I've also set it back to Safari and then back to one of the other browsers in system preferences. However no amount of serting it gets Safari to stop asking me to make it the default when I've set another browser as the default instead. If I make Safari the default it quits asking, but since I don't want it to be the default this will not work.

     

    I have Firefox set as my default browser at the office and it does not do this, and that's what's driving me crazy.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 22, 2015 12:44 AM in response to John Peel
    Level 6 (14,587 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 22, 2015 12:44 AM in response to John Peel

    Not sure if there's a script that may allow a user to change the default browser (such as OnyX utility offers)

    so the user does not have to attempt to resort to command-line or terminal utility tampering with the OS X.

     

    In the older OS X versions, the use of utilities such as Cocktail, or OnyX were helpful if used carefully...

    Even so, the method included in the OS X own main browser to change the Default Browser should work.

    I've not tried OnyX for Yosemite to see if the options there would be worth using to change the interface.

  • by kerpop,

    kerpop kerpop Apr 27, 2015 4:38 PM in response to John Peel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 4:38 PM in response to John Peel

    You explained it perfectly. I am skeptical there is a solution. I'm afraid it might a conscious decision of Apple to pester us to death unless we submit to their in house browser. In previous versions, the browser would remember your choice if you opted out once.

     

    My primary browser is Firefox and I'm considering using Chrome as my secondary browser to get around this annoyance.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 27, 2015 6:09 PM in response to kerpop
    Level 6 (14,587 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 27, 2015 6:09 PM in response to kerpop

    Chrome has been said to use much more system resources and as such that

    can add issues with the computer use in general. It could add additional load

    on processor or tax the RAM by using some the system may need, & run slow.

     

    There are some other browser options, to include SeaMonkey that does OK

    http://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/  -- current SeaMonkey v.  2.33.1

    w/ a built-in mail client, that I've never used. An option, see http://www.icab.de/

    iCab web browser will work without buying a license, I'd used it with older OS X.

    However it may or may not see any security updates, if license is bought.

     

    Though I am not sure why your Safari has been causing you grief. Did you test

    to see if a different user account has any issue with Safari? It certainly shouldn't

    given no other choices, but once you have a choice, there are two ways to set

    up the default. One is through Safari Preferences. The other, through Firefox, as

    it will prompt you to select it as default. I did not use Firefox to choose itself.

     

    Anyway, the google chrome browser may be a system resources hog, as others

    who have had slow computer issues tended to have installed that. Plus, there are

    other problems that can slow a computer; some are not browser related.

     

    Good luck in this matter!

  • by kerpop,

    kerpop kerpop Apr 27, 2015 7:08 PM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 7:08 PM in response to K Shaffer

    Thanks.

     

    Just to be clear though, my default is set properly. That part is working perfectly. Firefox is my default browser and Safari knows it. The system knows it. All of that is good.

     

    The problem is that I often need to run 2 diff browsers. Every time I open Safari, it asks me if I'd like to change my default back to Safari. I don't. I just want to run it but I'm perfectly happy keeping FF as the default.

  • by John Peel,

    John Peel John Peel Apr 27, 2015 7:46 PM in response to kerpop
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 7:46 PM in response to kerpop

    I did notice that this does not happen on other user accounts. Can you confirm that it's the same for you? If you don't have other user accounts can you create one and test?

     

    If that's the case, then it sounds like it has to do with some user preference somewhere.

     

    I know it doesn't make you feel any better, but I am happy to find someone with the same problem.

  • by kerpop,

    kerpop kerpop Apr 27, 2015 8:00 PM in response to John Peel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 8:00 PM in response to John Peel

    Your experiment convinced me there was something user related causing the problem.

     

    I went to Safari -> History -> clear all data -> all and restarted Safari and it no longer asks if I want to set it as the default. I tested 5 times and it looks like the problem is fixed for me. Hope this helps you too.

     

    Thanks, you guys.

  • by John Peel,

    John Peel John Peel Apr 27, 2015 8:12 PM in response to kerpop
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 8:12 PM in response to kerpop

    Dang. I was so hopeful. I tried your suggestion. Followed by deleting anything and everything Safari would let me (Seems like the Reset Safari button is gone in Yosemite). When that didn't work I proceeded to delete the Safari folder from my Library. Unfortunately that didn't do the trick either.

     

    New behavior that I just noticed as well. Now, every time I open Safari it tries to import all of my Firefox bookmarks. I tell it no, quit, get the popup asking if I want to make it the default, tell it no, reopen and it tries to do it again. It really really wants to take over.

  • by John Peel,

    John Peel John Peel Apr 27, 2015 8:43 PM in response to John Peel
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 27, 2015 8:43 PM in response to John Peel

    Ok, I think I got it.

     

    I went to my Library and basically deleted everything that said Safari.

     

    • Safari Folder
    • Preferences
    • Saved States
    • Crash Reports
    • Everything

     

    The first time I opened it and quit, the dreaded pop up appeared. But I tried again right after and this time a bar appeared over the top asking if I wanted to use it as the default browser. I clicked no, and it hasn't come back.

     

    Thanks for the help in getting to the bottom of this. Hopefully this helps someone else.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 28, 2015 1:31 AM in response to kerpop
    Level 6 (14,587 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 28, 2015 1:31 AM in response to kerpop

    Looks like the answer or source of the issue is in the User account, for Safari

    troubles in your Yosemite. There's a tedious method to generate long cryptic

    command-line Console logs in which some bits may mean something to an

    expert who could find intelligent purpose resulting from incomprehensible lines...

     

    When the issues occur, there is a corresponding Console log (or dozens of them)

    sometimes per second, in various system sections, some in duplicate, in OS X.

     

    Maybe this thread may catch the attention of ASC discussion regulars who have

    a good grasp of the Console logs and may share a method to extract those; or

    at least divine simpler shortcut methods to 'whack the ghosts out' of the machine.

     

    At least overall, it seems there may be an answer in some aspect of the Safari

    and user preferences, privileges, with maybe some corruption involved too.

    Was there any Safari extensions installed? Some of them can be bossy, when

    from a third-party source. A few adware items also can affect Safari settings.

     

    The Developer setting for Safari may enable other settings in the Yosemite version

    that may (or not) be helpful; the standard feature I had used most often was Reset

    Safari, to wipe out many items saved that didn't need to be kept in between uses.

    If Yosemite's newest Safari version hasn't that available, it'd be a strange loss.

     

    Hopefully this topic can help others who find it and are willing to dig into -but not

    destroy their system- to find the odd cause behind this settings problem.

  • by Sheepylike,

    Sheepylike Sheepylike Jul 8, 2015 10:48 PM in response to kerpop
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 8, 2015 10:48 PM in response to kerpop

    Yeah.... this worked for me. I was getting so frustrated and was delighted to find this conversation thread. Thanks for the help.

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