Mac Mini Late 2012 w/ Mojave Safari Question

[MrGuder]

Late 2012 2.5 GHz Core i5
16 GB Ram, Intel Graphics 4000

My Mac Mini is still running great, I have Mojave 10.14.6
I have plenty of ram and hard drive space and works fast.

The only problem I’m having is the Safari browser 14.1.2 sometimes does not work correctly on some website, most are ok but there are some that the webpages just don’t load correctly.

Software update says I can download Catalina 10.15.7

Will this help with Safari working better?
I don’t use Google Chrome.

Thank you.

 

[chrfr]

Late 2012 2.5 GHz Core i5
16 GB Ram, Intel Graphics 4000

My Mac Mini is still running great, I have Mojave 10.14.6
I have plenty of ram and hard drive space and works fast.

The only problem I’m having is the Safari browser 14.1.2 sometimes does not work correctly on some website, most are ok but there are some that the webpages just don’t load correctly.

Software update says I can download Catalina 10.15.7

Will this help with Safari working better?
I don’t use Google Chrome.

Thank you.

Safari will be newer in Catalina, and should be somewhat more compatible, but ultimately you should move away from using Safari in Catalina or Mojave as neither are updated anymore.

 

[Hrududu]

Those 2012 Minis fly with Ventura or Monterey. Like chrfr said, Catalina is almost a year removed from getting updates, and Mojave 2 years. At this point, you can go ahead and update to Catalina, but opt for FireFox for a fully updated browser, or the now outdated Safari 15. Only do that if you really don't wan't a patched OS. Ideally, go with OpenCore Legacy Patcher and bring it on up to Ventura, which I would guess is the last MacOS it'll ever be able to run. Might as well do it now and get it over with IMO. Thats basically what I've done with all my older systems.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Late 2012 2.5 GHz Core i5
16 GB Ram, Intel Graphics 4000

My Mac Mini is still running great, I have Mojave 10.14.6
I have plenty of ram and hard drive space and works fast.

The only problem I’m having is the Safari browser 14.1.2 sometimes does not work correctly on some website, most are ok but there are some that the webpages just don’t load correctly.

Software update says I can download Catalina 10.15.7

Will this help with Safari working better?
I don’t use Google Chrome.

Thank you.

my iMac is still on Mojave 10.14.6 and what I do when a website won't load properly with Safari, I switch to Firefox for that site and then go back to Safari when I'm done

 

[MrGuder]

Thanks for the replies.
I know it’s time to upgrade and safari is way outdated. This 2012 mini has been awesome no issues except for safari. I guess I can update to Catalina and use Firefox or chrome.

This mini and mavericks were a perfect marriage. Mojave also works great. I hate letting it go but it’s outdated. Just a home family pc, never any intensive graphics or such.

I probably should just get a new mac mini. The mini is what brought me to using a Mac over windows.

 

[fricotin]

Running Catalina, gave up on Safari and now using Brave for Internet browsing.

 

[wordsworth]

I'm currently running Mojave on a 2015 i5 MacBook Air.

As Macky-Mac tells us he does in his earlier post, I too use Firefox when Safari won't load a website properly. I downloaded Firefox quite recently, in fact, to circumvent this. (I have held off moving to a later OS because some of the software I currently use won't run in its current format beyond Mojave.) Adding Firefox to your existing repertoire should make a useful difference to your web browsing experience.

I do have a Mac Mini M2 Pro waiting to be set up, but as that comes with various software 'complications' for me and consequent changes in my working methods, I have yet to do so. I'll probably run it alongside my current set-up until I make the leap fully.

 

[avz]

This is a very good question and unfortunately it is a case by case situation. I found that Safari 14.1.2 is working better on some banking websites than the latest Safari 16.6. So the latest Safari does not always guarantee the best experience unfortunately. I even ended up deleting my Big Sur volume and now using Mojave 10.14.6 exclusively. However you should probably expect Safari 15 on Catalina work just as well(if not slightly better) as Safari 14.1.2 on Mojave.

 

[MrGuder]

Yeah banking was one of the websites that said my browser was out of date (Safari 14.1.2) but it still lets me use it.

I may just update to Catalina this weekend and see how safari works. If I’m still having issues I’ll download Firefox and stop using Safari. I don’t think I can go past Catalina on my late 2012 Mac mini though.

 

[moongravy]

Try Orion. It's webkit based but supports Chrome/Firefox extensions. https://browser.kagi.com

 

[headlessmike]

Yeah banking was one of the websites that said my browser was out of date (Safari 14.1.2) but it still lets me use it.

I may just update to Catalina this weekend and see how safari works. If I’m still having issues I’ll download Firefox and stop using Safari. I don’t think I can go past Catalina on my late 2012 Mac mini though.

I had an i7 version of the 2012 mini and it ran Big Sur and Monterey very well, as good as newer Macs. It's not officially supported but this can be easily be overcome using the tool Open Core Legacy Patcher (OCLP): https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/

That page has plenty of information as to how to use it but there is also a healthy community here on MacRumors devoted to this topic.

I successfully used Ventura on my machine but think that Monterey is probably the best system for the 2012 mini and that should work for several more years.

 

[HackMacDaddy]

Since Mojave is the last great OSX I am running three machines on it that would be capable of newer OSes. I simply switched to Firefox for secure browsing. Remember to enable syncing and you‘ll have passwords and bookmarks on all of your devices running firefox.

 

[Juicy Box]

Will this help with Safari working better?

Yes, but if you like Mojave and/or use 32bit SW and want to stay on Mojave, consider using Firefox. It will continue to get updates long after Apple stops updating Safari on your OS.

I have plenty of ram and hard drive space and works fast.

You didn't ask, but if you are not using a SSD, I highly suggest trying one for your boot drive. It is a huge difference and you will wish you would have done it long ago.

 

[winxmac]

Firefox 115.x ESR will work with 10.12 [Sierra] to 11 [Big Sur]

Firefox ESR 115.1.0 System Requirements