There are a few common reasons why Safari may not be opening Facebook properly on your device. The most likely culprits include outdated app or browser versions, problems with cookies or cached data, or issues with your Facebook account itself.
Check for App and Browser Updates
The first thing to check is whether you have the latest versions of the Facebook app and the Safari browser installed. Apps and browsers are periodically updated to fix bugs and improve compatibility, so being out of date can sometimes cause issues.
On an iPhone or iPad, open the App Store app and go to the Updates tab to see if any updates are available for the Facebook app or Safari. On a Mac, open the App Store app or Safari browser and check for updates in the same way. Install any updates that are pending.
Clear Cookies and Website Data
Outdated cookies or cached website data can also prevent pages and apps from loading properly. Clearing this data forces Safari to start fresh, which may resolve the issue.
On iOS, go to Settings > Safari and tap Clear History and Website Data. On a Mac, open Safari preferences and go to the Privacy tab. Check the box to “Remove All Website Data” and confirm.
Check Facebook Account Status
Problems loading Facebook can also point to an issue with your Facebook account itself. Check that your account is in good standing and not blocked or deactivated for any reason.
Try logging into Facebook from another browser or device. If your account is working normally elsewhere, the issue is isolated to Safari.
You can also use Facebook’s account troubleshooting tools to check your status, recover disabled accounts, or resolve other login problems specific to your account.
Reset Safari
If you still can’t load Facebook after updating and clearing data, a deeper reset of the Safari browser may be needed. This will clear Safari’s history, cookies, caches and settings entirely to eliminate any problematic data.
On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Safari and tap Clear History and Website Data again, then choose “Clear” to confirm the reset. On a Mac, open Safari preferences, go to the Advanced tab, and check “Show Develop menu”. Then from the Develop menu, select “Empty Caches”.
Check Facebook Site Status
There are times when access issues are on Facebook’s end, not yours. If Facebook is down for maintenance or experiencing a widespread outage, even a perfectly configured browser may have trouble loading it.
Check the Facebook Site Status page or Downdetector to see if others are reporting problems. If so, the only solution is to wait for Facebook’s services to come back online.
Try Alternative Browsers
If no fixes within Safari seem to help, try loading Facebook in another browser like Chrome or Firefox to narrow down where the problem lies.
If Facebook works normally in a different browser, then you know something is misconfigured with your version of Safari. You may need to dig deeper into its settings, plugins, and extensions to pinpoint what’s causing Facebook to not load properly.
Update Operating System
Using outdated versions of iOS or macOS can also create browser compatibility issues. Make sure your operating systems are updated to the latest stable versions.
On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update. On a Mac, open System Preferences > Software Update.
Updating provides under-the-hood fixes and improvements that may resolve Safari difficulties like Facebook loading problems.
Disable Safari Extensions
Safari extensions can sometimes interfere with page loading. Try disabling all extensions temporarily to see if that fixes Facebook access.
In Safari on a Mac, go to Preferences > Extensions and uncheck all enabled extensions. On iOS, extensions aren’t available so this step doesn’t apply.
Try Private Browsing
Private browsing starts Safari without any existing cookies, caches or history. Using it essentially tests loading Facebook in a brand new browser profile.
If Facebook works normally in a Private window, it indicates something in your main Safari profile is causing functionality issues.
On Mac, choose Safari > New Private Window. On iOS, tap the Tabs button at the bottom, then tap Private at the bottom left.
Reset Safari (Again)
If you’re still troubleshooting at this point, try repeating the full Safari reset process a second time. Sometimes fixes like extensions and Private Browsing only isolate the problem area rather than resolve it entirely.
Contact Facebook Support
If no solutions do the trick and Facebook is unusable specifically in Safari, contact Facebook support for personalized troubleshooting help.
From the Facebook app, tap Menu > Help & Support > Contact Us and choose the option for “Login and Account Support”.
Contact Apple Support
For browser-specific issues, you can also reach out to Apple support for assistance with debugging Safari problems.
On an iOS device, open Settings > Support to access customer service options. On a Mac, choose Apple Menu > Support to get help.
Conclusion
In summary, troubleshoot step-by-step through updates, caches, account issues, iOS/macOS versions, extensions, private browsing and resets to resolve Facebook loading problems in Safari. Check for general site outages as well. If the problem persists, leverage Facebook and Apple’s customer support teams for additional troubleshooting.