Imagine that you have searched for an important topic and come to see that it has disappeared out of the blue. Frustrating, right?
Safari is the only built-in and default browser for iOS. It is very common practice to keep multiple tabs open to view them later.
Seeing them disappear is the last thing we want. Even though it is a tiny issue but starting from scratch is a big problem and takes a lot of time.
After all the small annual updates, the Apple Company is still surviving this glitch that is annoying the users., This small bug has been there since IOS 13 and hasn’t been fixed permanently.
Recovering lost tabs on iOS can be easily fixed. There can be two reasons for this problem. First, in which the tabs get closed automatically, and the other is that you cannot view them.
You need not panic, as there is a solution to both problems.
Troubleshooting disappearing tabs on iPhone
Following these steps can help fix missing tabs in the Safari browser.
Disable auto-close tabs
Since a new tab is created every time the application is opened, Safari is well known for having hundreds of active tabs.
Thus, some individuals choose to enable the “Auto Close Tab” option, which, after a certain time, closes the Safari tabs automatically.
The Safari tabs on your iPhone can disappear as a result of choosing this option. Therefore, the first thing you should do is switch off this Safari browser setting.
- Go to settings
- Select Safari and then Closed tabs
- Choose the option”manually”.
This will keep Safari from disappearing from the tab bar on your iPhone.
Merge all windows
To enhance the website compatibility this is the most common and convenient method followed by the users.
- You will see four squares in a quadrant-like icon called “show tab overview” in the top-right corner.
- Press and hold it for a drop-down menu.
- From there select merge all windows.
- For tab management, this is the best option as you can see all the hidden tabs in one window.
Recently closed tabs
Reopening tabs is the simplest way of retrieving them that got closed mistakenly.
For this action follow these steps:
- Tap the tabs option and press the +icon on the bottom left of the screen.
- This will revive the recently closed browser tabs.
- You can view the list and re-open the tab you want.
Bookmark all open tabs
Adding bookmarks may seem not like a proper solution but it can help in solving tab display issues on iPhones. If you believe that bookmarking many open tabs would be a time-consuming process, updated iOS versions (starting with iOS 13) have made it simple.
- Bookmark every active Safari tab on your iPhone.
- Make sure Safari is open with some of the tabs open. After that, select a tab and hold down the Bookmark icon.
- Then, in the popup, select Add Bookmarks for the total number of tabs opened.
- Give a suitable name to the tabs folder and save them.
Clearing browsing history
Once you have deleted the browser cache you might lose the opened tabs. You can retrieve these lost tabs by checking the browser history. This will help your web browsing experience much better.
- Open Safari on your iPhone.
- Tap the clock icon on the top left corner of the screen.
- Closing tabs mistakenly can be revived this way.
Background App refresh
Refreshing tabs is the most unnoticed option for optimizing tab management on iPhone.
The application may not function properly and miss some tabs since Safari is not permitted to operate in the background. Safari may operate in the background if you activate Background App Refresh. You only need to do the following:
- Click Settings, then select General.
- Click Refresh Background App.
- Select Background App Refresh one more.
- Turn on mobile data and Wi-Fi.
Software update
Safari tabs can disappear because of the IOS update. You should always keep the software updated to avoid this inconvenience. As Safari is an in-built application, it cannot be updated individually.
To update Safari, go to settings, then tap General and check for the latest updates.
Syncing tabs across devices
Users of Apple products may sync Safari among all of their Apple products. Therefore, restoring the Safari tabs from another Apple device is one solution to the disappearing Safari tabs on iPhone issue. Remember that all of your devices must have iCloud turned on.
To restore your tabs from your iPhone, follow these instructions:
- On your iPhone, open the Safari app.
- Choose the Tabs symbol that is located in the top-right corner of your screen next.
- Locate the tabs for additional Apple devices by scrolling down.
- To open a website in a new tab on your iPhone, simply tap on any of the ones shown under the open tabs.
Private browsing
You can recover your private tabs by changing settings.
- Tap the content and privacy restrictions option.
- Change it to unrestricted access and you are ready to go incognito mode.
Tabbed browsing
This is the latest User Interface enhancing tab navigation on iPhone. This feature has helped users organize the tabs and preventing to lose them.
- Press the tab key followed by the ctrl key on the left side of the keyboard
- Tap both keys and you can switch between tabs easily.
Safari extensions
Web browsing has been made easier and adaptable with time. It is a software application modifying the browser. You can add extensions to Safari to customize your tabs.
Add colors, buttons and change the appearance of your tabs to avoid losing the important work on tabs.
