Level 1

62 points

iOS 18 Safari tabs not syncing via iCloud

Whenever opening a new page in Safari, open tabs that were closed on other devices still show under the open iCloud tabs. The only way to remedy this so far has been to turn off iCloud syncing with Safari and then back on.

Also those iCloud open Safari tabs on the Start page are ridiculously large compared to the previous text versions that were condensed properly. There needs be an option to have text only instead of a small page preview next to the text, which takes up a large amount of screen real estate.

iPhone 12, iOS 18

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 3:13 PM

Top-ranking reply

sepatuboots

Level 1

38 points

Posted on Oct 26, 2024 2:30 AM

I've also noticed the same problem and I'm very much annoyed with this bug and the fact that it hasn't been fixed with the latest 18.0.1 update. iCloud tabs and its seamless syncing across devices has been my primary reason in sticking with Safari and now it's just straight up a complete mess.

Closing tabs on other devices does not actually close them, open tabs don't automatically show up, and the new interface looks ugly with the blown up icons and the drop down menu to choose between devices is now unintuitive.

I wonder what makes Apple keep making unnecessary changes to ruin what otherwise has been a perfectly fine feature and experience.

View in context

40 replies

Dec 7, 2024 9:44 AM in response to LSchamltz

Okay, force closing Safari and reopening it will update the tabs. It's just not pinging iCloud to update on its own for some reason.

dhan16

Level 1

8 points

Dec 20, 2024 6:16 AM in response to Molarkey

same problem

Molarkey Author

Level 1

62 points

Dec 29, 2024 10:32 PM in response to Molarkey

I was going to try and pull up a page open on my desktop tonight when I noticed this (note: for privacy, I have removed my personal favorites icons from the second screen grab):

Dev personnel: I know what we'll do. Let's just phase the section/selection out completely even though the box is ticked on to be there in the start page Safari settings (sarcasm)

Dec 3, 2024 8:51 AM in response to Molarkey

It seems like it's kind of starting to work a little bit for me now. I saw some recent tabs from my iPhone this morning on my Mac, but I had to toggle iCloud sync to get tabs from my Mac back on my phone.

frank120

Level 1

4 points

Feb 10, 2025 5:20 AM in response to Molarkey

I'm just adding to the chorus. Same issue. I did the 'turn them off and on again' thing and they all updated, but then everything just stuck on the newer version. According to iCloud Safari tabs, nothing has closed or opened since this reset several weeks ago, which is not the case. Based on my experiences, it would mean repeating the initial turn it on and off again across devices every time you want a current version of your tabs, and providing you never want any new additions you're set... which sort of defeats the whole idea.

lunhil

Level 1

22 points

Feb 11, 2025 12:33 PM in response to Molarkey

I discovered a way to get at least some improvement to sycing. On my iPhone, I went to Settings, then my Apple Account, then iCloud then iCloud Storage. I found two lines for saved Safari data, which seemed odd. One was 400KB, the other about 800KB. Anyway, 1) turned off iCloud Tabs and Safari syncing to iCloud on both my iPhone and iPad. 2) I deleted both Safari lines from iCloud storage. Restarted my devices, turned everything back on. Now it seems to sync when I force close Safari on both devices, which is an improvement. But still not fast and automatic like it was back in iOS 17. I also notice that Safari no longer shows up in my iCloud storage, so I think that continues to be an indication that something underlying is still broken.

Mar 10, 2025 10:15 AM in response to Molarkey

Same here. My iPhone (15 Pro Max) and iPad Pro (first 11 in) seem to stay in sync with each other, but my Mac will only display the tabs open on the other two if I either A) toggle off and back on Safari syncing or B) quit and re-open Safari. Once synced, I can see and even close tabs on the other devices, but adding new tabs to either my phone or iPad does nothing. All devices are on the latest (non-beta) software versions.

I have tried toggling all 3 devices off simultaneously then re-syncing, and also (huge pain) signing out from iCloud on all devices and logging back in, but the problem persists.

Very frustrating that this feature that I have come to rely on remains broken throughout this software release cycle. This should have been an 18.1 fix.

Mar 4, 2025 10:04 PM in response to Molarkey

Yep, same issue here as of 3/5/25 (iPhone 15 Pro Max - iOS 18.3.1) it’s like the sync is delayed by 24-36+ hours or something.

Mar 8, 2025 1:00 AM in response to Molarkey

Same issue here, works fine on iPhone but won’t show up on iPad at all. Tried resync on iCloud (turn off and on), tried force reset devices, restart Safari, turn on and off iCloud tabs etc.

May 12, 2025 2:17 AM in response to Molarkey

Safari stopped updating after 17 or 18 didn't it? all my browser issues resolved with chrome. (some nice fella shared the details online but I can't find it...)

iOS 18 Safari tabs not syncing via iCloud