Safari has, of late, been a strong contender to remain the default browser on an iPhone and iPad, instead of options like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. It received support for extensions, a modified tab bar, home page customization, uses less resources and is very well integrated to work perfectly if you keep your iPhone and Mac in sync together. However, several users have reported that their Safari tabs have randomly disappeared. If you are also facing this problem, don’t worry because we have a solution. Here are 7 solutions to fix Safari tabs disappearing on iPhone and iPad.
7 Ways to Fix Safari Tabs Disappearing on iPhone or iPad (2022)
1. Show all Safari windows (iPad only)
On iPad, you can open multiple windows of an app for better productivity and window management. However, this also means you won’t see Safari tabs open in another window. This may lead you to think that Safari tabs have disappeared from your iPad.
- To make sure that this is not the problem in your case, it’s simple press and hold the Safari icon on the home screen or in the Dock. You will see an option to ‘Show all windows’
- Tap the option and iPadOS will show you all your open Safari windows.
- You can then switch between these windows and see if your missing Safari tabs are open in any other window.
2. Combine All Windows To Show Hidden Safari Tabs (iPad Only)
If you have multiple Safari windows open on your iPad and don’t want to keep switching between them to access your hidden Safari tabs, you can also merge all windows into one.
- Press and hold the Show tab overview (like four squares in a quadrant) and press Merge all windows.
- Now all open tabs will be displayed in the current window, including any that may not be visible on the Tab Summary screen.
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3. Access recently closed Safari tabs (iPhone and iPad)
If you’ve accidentally closed important tabs in Safari, you’ll be happy to know that you can, metaphorically, use command + shift + T on iPad and iPhone to reopen closed tabs. This is how it is done.
- Just open tab view in Safari and then press and hold the “+” button. This will open a list of recently closed Safari tabs.
- You can scroll through this list and touch any tab you want to reopen.
This is a great way to reopen closed Safari tabs in situations where you’ve accidentally closed a tab (or a group of tabs) in your browser by mistake.
4. Bookmark All Open Safari Tabs (iPhone and iPad)
While not a solution in itself, marking all open tabs will help you quickly access tabs later. If you think that marking multiple open tabs can be a tedious task, let me tell you that modern versions of iOS (since iOS 13) have made it very simple.
Mark all open Safari tabs on iPhone
- Make sure you have several tabs open in Safari. Now, select one of the tabs and then long press the Bookmark icon.
- then choose Add markers for the X tab in the popup window.
- Next, give your tab folder a suitable name and save it in your desired folder.
Bookmark all open Safari tabs on iPad
- Press and hold the address bar in Safari and select Add markers for the X tab.
- Then, enter a suitable name and save it to a desired location.
If you want to access your bookmarks in Safari, press the Bookmarks icon in the main navigation interface or in the sidebar to bring up all your saved bookmarks and folders.
After that, long press a bookmark folder and select Open in new tabs or Open in tab group.
5. Disable Safari Tab Auto-Close (iPhone and iPad)
Both iOS and iPadOS allow you to automatically close Safari tabs after a day, a week, and a month. So if you set Apple’s browser to close tabs automatically, choose to do it manually.
- Go to settings app on your iPhone or iPad, then select Safari.
- Under the Eyelashes section, press close the tabs and then select With the hand.
6. Hard reset your iPhone or iPad
Since hard reset (also known as force restart) is known for fixing common iOS problems, it might be worth giving this troubleshooter a chance as well. Don’t worry, it won’t delete any media or data.
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Hard reset iPhone 8 or later and iPad without home button
- Press and quickly release the volume up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
- Now, press and hold the side/top button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
Hard reset iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- Press and hold the Volume Down button and then the Side button at the same time until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Hard reset iPhone 6s or earlier or iPad with home button
- Press and hold the Home button and the Side/Top button at the same time until the screen turns black and the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Once your device has rebooted, head to Safari, open a few tabs, and browse the web for a while to check if the issue is gone.
7. Update your iPhone or iPad
If Safari tabs still disappear on your iPhone, the problem may be caused by a software bug. Therefore, please try to update your device to the latest version of iOS/iPadOS. To improve overall performance, Apple releases most software updates with various bug fixes. So there’s a good chance that a software update will fix the missing tabs.
- Open the settings app on your iPhone or iPad and choose General.
- now touch Software update and then download and install the latest version of iOS/iPadOS as usual.
Safari tabs on iPhone and iPad are fixed!
That’s all it takes to fix Safari tabs missing on iPhone and iPad. Most of the time, missing tabs are just opening another window, but if it’s a nasty bug that’s making things difficult, hopefully you’ve solved your issue. So, what solution can fix missing Safari tabs on your iPhone or iPad? Let us know in the comments.