Safari errors on pre-owned MacBook Pro

[Casma]

Hi, I have recently acquired a used MacBookPro 11, a great upgrade from what I was using before. I haven’t yet gotten proper use from it however as Safari is not working properly.

I'm getting all kinds of messages that seem to be related to internet security. As far as I know, the previous owner did not reinstall the operating system, but simply removed all their own data and programs. All recent updates have been installed. Somewhere in this process something must have gone wrong leading to the various errors (I have listed them below), I have tried all the standard procedures and fixes that I could find online but I have not been able to resolve the issue. Apart from my iPhone this is my first experience with the MacBook operating system. I am not super computer savvy but I do my best. I’m including all information about the errors and what I have already tried below, I am hoping someone here knows what to do. Many thanks for looking!

Btw; there are no browser extensions installed, this includes Adobe Flash Player. Could this be the cause of the Youtube error (#4), I cannot reinstall it because it has been retracted by Adobe)

(NB I have clicked some random google links to gather examples of websites that cause the error message, they are in parenthesis (eg. …..))

ERROR MESSAGE #1 (eg. on almost every website, eg. https://www.cards3dprinting.com/ultimaker/ultimaker-software/)
Popup: Safari can’t verify the identity of the website “…” - The certificate for this website is invalid.

ERROR MESSAGE #2 (eg. https://discussions.apple.com/welcome)
Grey page: Safari can’t open the page (?) Safari can’t open the page “..” because safari can’t establish a secure connection to the server “..”.

ERROR MESSAGE #3 (eg. https://appletoolbox.com/mac-safari-web-content-quit-unexpectedly-error-fix/)
Checking if the site connection is secure
verify that you are human
This check is taking longer that expected. Check your internet connection and refresh the page if the issue persists

ERROR MESSAGE #4 (eg. www.youtube.com) Disabling Javascript solves this error message, but obviously Youtube will not load correctly.
Popup: Safari Web Content quit unexpectedly.

[Below I include the Problem Details and System Configuration; I removed the thread info and binary images info, let me know if this is relevant information.]

PROBLEM DETAILS AND SYSTEM CONFIGURATION:
=======================================================
Process:         com.apple.WebKit.WebContent [972]
Path:            /System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
Identifier:      com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
Version:         9601 (9601.7.8)
Build Info:      WebKit2-7601007008000000~2
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:  ??? [1]
Responsible:     Safari [272]
User ID:         501

Date/Time:       2022-11-12 09:56:17.812 +0100
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.9.5 (13F1911)
Report Version:  11
Anonymous UUID:  1BCD1600-AD5A-4404-A55A-4BF2B9475479

Sleep/Wake UUID: A1772871-7A10-4994-923C-4CD0BA53C439

Crashed Thread:  0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:  EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000

VM Regions Near 0:
-->
    __TEXT                 0000000101af5000-0000000101af6000 [    4K] r-x/rwx SM=COW  /System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

Application Specific Information:
Bundle controller class:
BrowserBundleController
 
Process Model:
Multiple Web Processes
 

[“Thread”  info removed]
 
Logical CPU:     0
Error Code:      0x00000006
Trap Number:     14


[“Binary images” removed]


External Modification Summary:
  Calls made by other processes targeting this process:
    task_for_pid: 1
    thread_create: 0
    thread_set_state: 0
  Calls made by this process:
    task_for_pid: 0
    thread_create: 0
    thread_set_state: 0
  Calls made by all processes on this machine:
    task_for_pid: 2745
    thread_create: 0
    thread_set_state: 0

VM Region Summary:
ReadOnly portion of Libraries: Total=237.4M resident=140.5M(59%) swapped_out_or_unallocated=96.9M(41%)
Writable regions: Total=1.3G written=73.4M(5%) resident=84.9M(6%) swapped_out=0K(0%) unallocated=1.2G(94%)
 
REGION TYPE                        VIRTUAL
===========                        =======
CG shared images                      140K
CoreAnimation                          20K
Dispatch continuations               8192K
IOKit                               136.3M
JS JIT generated code               128.0M
JS JIT generated code (reserved)    896.0M        reserved VM address space (unallocated)
Kernel Alloc Once                       8K
MALLOC                               88.4M
MALLOC (admin)                         32K
Memory Tag 242                         12K
Memory Tag 251                         16K
OpenGL GLSL                          1664K
STACK GUARD                          56.1M
Stack                                14.2M
VM_ALLOCATE                          16.4M
WebKit Malloc                        71.5M
__DATA                               25.7M
__IMAGE                               528K
__LINKEDIT                           84.1M
__TEXT                              153.2M
__UNICODE                             544K
mapped file                          31.7M
shared memory                          68K
===========                        =======
TOTAL                                 1.7G
TOTAL, minus reserved VM space      816.6M
 

Model: MacBookPro11,1, BootROM 431.6.0, 2 processors, Intel Core i5, 2.6 GHz, 8 GB, SMC 2.16f68
Graphics: Intel Iris, Intel Iris, Built-In
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 4 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x802C, 0x384B54463531323634485A2D314736453120
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 4 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x802C, 0x384B54463531323634485A2D314736453120
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x112), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (6.30.223.154.65)
Bluetooth: Version 5.2.7f4 15858, 3 services, 15 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en0
Serial ATA Device: APPLE SSD SD0128F, 121,33 GB
USB Device: Internal Memory Card Reader
USB Device: BRCM20702 Hub
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Thunderbolt Bus: MacBook Pro, Apple Inc., 17.2

=====================================================

These are all the things I’ve tried and checked so far:


Checked:
All the latest updates are installed.
Systems Date and Time is set correctly.
No browser extensions installed.
No plugins installed.
Computers firewall is turned OFF.
Running as admin.

Things I’ve tried:
Safari>Preferences>Privacy>Cookies and other website data>Remove all website data

Safari>History>Clear History

Safari>Develop>Clear cache

Safari>Reset Safari (all boxes checked)

Safari>Preferences>Security>
Check OFF "enable javascript" solved “safari web browser quit unexpectedly” error message on youtube, but doesn’t load the website correctly (thumbnails and links not loading).

Apple>system preferences>Network>Wifi>Advanced>DNS
Using googles public DNS 8.8.8.8. does not change the certificate or other problems.

I was not able to try the following as I did not know what to fill in the “router” and “IPv6” blank fields.
Apple>System preferences>Network>Wifi>Advanced>TCP/IP>configure IPv6
-> manual



At this point I am completely lost as to what else to try. Hopefully someone here knows how to solve it, thanks for looking at it.

 

[808?]

Have you tried creating a new user and seeing if these errors occur when using the new account?

 

[Boyd01]

It looks like the MBP 11 is was introduced in 2013 and originally shipped with MacOS 10.9 (Mavericks). The system info you posted suggests that it was never upgraded beyond that (10.9.5). That is an old, unsupported operating system and the version of Safari is likely to be a problem on many sites today.

You should be able to update to Big Sur (I think) on that computer, you can confirm this by finding your model at EveryMac and scrolling down to the "Maximum MacOS" item. Big Sur is in its final year of support, so it should be compatible with a current version of Safari.

 

[Casma]

Thanks for both of your suggestions. I made two new user accounts, one standard and one administrator, and enabled guest login. None of these made a difference although the ERROR#3 (checking secure connection) seems to have resolved itself even in the account I started with. I can now access the appletoolbox link although it still loads as one of those text & pictures only layouts. Not sure why this changed.

I also found some other suggestions online:
-Restart in safe mode
-Finder>Go>Go to folder>~/Library>
Delete Caches>com.apple.safari and Saved Application State>com.apple.Safari.savedState
These did not change anything.

Boyd01, you may be on to something. I am using safari 9.1.3 with MacOS 10.9.5 and their age may be the problem. Being new to MacOs I did not catch this as no updates showed up, I just assumed everything was uptodate. There is a link here of a thread of someone using the same OSX and Safari versions and having similar problems:

Updating Safari from 9.1.3 - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

I am going to try now to upgrade the MacOS/Safari. This is a bit complicated as they don't show up in the app store and I cannot access the webpage which has the links (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683), also I saw some reports that say you need to upgrade to intermediate OSX before you can upgrade to Big Sur. I will try to get the files on another computer and move them to the MacBook, after I do the upgrade I will report back.
Thanks so far!

 

[Nermal]

I am going to try now to upgrade the MacOS/Safari. This is a bit complicated as they don't show up in the app store and I cannot access the webpage which has the links (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683)

The URL you want is:

macappstores://apps.apple.com/app/macos-big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12

Hopefully you can copy and paste that, otherwise you might need to manually type it into Safari.

 

[wordsworth]

I would agree with Boyd about the outdated OS you're currently trying to use. Might I suggest you take care when you upgrade as there are numerous potential variables that may cause you problems.

For example, a couple of years ago I tried to move from OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) to 10.11 (El Capitan, the last OS to work with this laptop model) on a 2009 white MacBook. I liked Snow Leopard very much but eventually Apple Mail and, if I remember correctly, Safari, no longer worked fully. Access to some websites was problematic, and yes, the 'this site is insecure' messages began to appear. Attached files via Mail were flaky, too, sometimes failing to appear at all.

So I upgraded the hard drive to an SSD, increased the memory, and then tried to install El Capitan. It just wouldn't take and I ended up in an endless install cycle, much to my frustration. Eventually I gave up and Ieft it for a while and then searched the web for possible options based on others' experiences. Seems like there was a date issue – a conflict between trying to install 'future' software on hardware/software that only recognised a past date! I forget the details here but can hunt them out if you happen to need them in your situation. Suffice to say, I had to switch off the internet connection at some point during the upgrade process so that the MacBook couldn't identify the current date, and then alter the laptop's date to a time more pertinent to the era of the El Capitan OS. This worked a charm.

So, what seems like a simple process may turn out to be less so for you, one way or another. Or not. It may prove straightforward. Try to find out what other users have concluded is the optimum OS for your machine, in terms of performance as well as general OS and software usability. And try to identify whether there is anything specific you should be aware of, or beware of, before – or when – doing the upgrade. Good luck.

 

[maflynn]

You should be able to use the internet recovery for your mac or am I missing something?

• Option-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall macOS and upgrade to the latest version of macOS that’s compatible with your Mac.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

maflynn has the solution in reply 7 above.

If this is a "new to you" MBP, and if there's nothing on the drive you need to keep, then do this:
- disconnect any external drives
- boot to INTERNET recovery (command-OPTION-R)
- you'll need your wifi password, be patient "as the globe spins"
- once the utilities are loaded, open disk utility and choose "show all devices"
- in the list on the left, select the topmost item that represents the physical drive inside
- ERASE IT to APFS, GUID partition format
- quit disk utility and open the OS installer
- start clicking through. The MBP will restart one or more times, and the screen will go dark for a minute or two, with no other indication of activity. Just be patient.
- when the install is done, you'll see the initial startup screen, choose your language.
- start clicking through setup. If you have a backup drive, connect it.
- the startup assistant will give you the option to migrate from your backup, if you wish to do so.

As part of the new OS, you'll get an upgraded version of Safari that should solve your previous connection problems.

 

[Nermal]

@Fishrrman: I've added one extra step to your list; disconnect external drives (to ensure that the wrong drive doesn't get wiped). Hopefully I haven't overstepped my bounds there

 

[Fishrrman]

OK with me!

 

[Casma]

Wiping the wrong disk would sure be frustrating!

All of your suggestions have been really helpful. Nermal, your link worked like a charm, put Big Sur just one click away and saved a hassle. Before starting the upgrade I spend some time googling as Wordsworth suggested. I initially got a bit worried with all the horror stories from 2000 of Big Sur totally bricking late-2013 and mid-2014 MBP’s, and also found some mixed reports on how well Big Sur worked on these machines compared to 10.15 Catalina, with claims that it slowed down the system and one Macrumors user saying it made their mid-2014 MBP “almost totally unusable”. However, there were also many positive reports and with the bricking problem seemingly solved and Catalina no longer receiving security updates, I decided Big Sur was probably the best way forward.
I also established that 10.9 Mavericks can be upgraded directly to 11 Big Sur, as the apple support link I posted earlier said it is necessary to upgrade to 10.11 El Capistan first when upgrading from MacOS 10.7, 10.8 or 10.10, but did not mention 10.9.

My MBP is completely new to me with no files or data to keep on it, so the procedure suggested by Fishrrman seemed like a nice option as it would wipe the hard drive and give me a completely blank slate. I wasn’t confident enough though to wipe the hard drive before I knew for certain the upgrade was going to work, so decided to use Nermal’s link.

Logging in with my AppleID gave me some trouble, as I kept trying and looking at the MacBook screen, when instead I should have looked at my iPhone and “allow”ed the new device to login to my AppleID. When I finally did press “allow” it was too little too late and the MacBook wouldn’t accept it, it kept saying my AppleID was disabled even after I re-enabled it. Rookie mistake I guess, but it took some time to figure that out.

The apple support page said I needed to contact apple support to solve this, so I started a support chat and they were extremely helpful. He confirmed that my AppleID should work and also suggested the command+R method, but suggested I’d try less drastic options first such as:

1. Making a new AppleID
2. Rebooting in safe mode
3. Resetting NVRAM

Options 2 & 3 did not work and frustrated with the procedure I decided to just use the command-R method to upgrade, but not wipe the disk. Without wiping the disk however I could only reinstall the current OS, not upgrade to another one. I suspect the other options come up after you wipe the disk, but at this point I definitely did not have the confidence to test my hypothesis by wiping the entire hard drive!

So I went back to solving the AppleID problem by trying to create a new AppleID account. This would not work (“your request is temporarily unable to be processed”) but when I then tried logging in with my old AppleID it started “fresh” and with me now keeping an eye on both the iPhone and MacBook I was able to login.

So using Nermal’s link, from here everything was a totally a breeze. Basically click install and wait. And so yes, I have now finished the upgrade to Big Sur and I can report that it works great so far! I can browse anything I like, watch videos on youtube, download and install apps, and everything is completely self explanatory whereas before it was quite the opposite.

Somewhat unrelated, while googling I also learned that there exist third party tools that allow you to use unsupported MacOS on outdated machines. A popular one seems to be Catalina Patcher by DosDude1. Sounds pretty cool and apparently it works quite well. More info about this can be found here:

What is the best OS for a MacBook Pro from early 2011?

Answer (1 of 2): Q: What is the best OS for a MacBook Pro from early 2011? A: Its always the newest version of macOS * Apple continually updates macOS so it continually gets better each year * In fact, many of my clients use a third party utility and they install macOS Catalina 10.15 which wo...

www.quora.com

tldr: SOLVED! Thanks guys, I could not be more pleased with the new system!




For completeness sake, here is some info about my system:
Mid-2014 MacBookPro11.1 13” Retina, MODEL A1502
I’ve upgraded to 11.7.1 Big Sur and included in the new OS is Safari 14.1.2.