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Apple Acknowledges 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Freezing Issue, Recommends Updating OS X and Flash

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safariiconIn recent months, 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro owners have been complaining of a bug that causes Safari to completely freeze up, requiring a full system restart. Apple addressed the problem in a new support document that was released on Friday.

Complaints about Safari freezing issue started popping up in March, following the launch of OS X 10.11.4, but the bug was also present during the beta testing period. 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro users appear to be primarily affected, but on the Apple Support Communities and the MacRumors forums, some users with other machines have experienced similar issues.

Luckily, Apple's solution is a simple one, instructing customers to update to the latest version of OS X and upgrade to the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player web plug-in. The newest version of OS X is OS X 10.11.5, which includes a fix for the bug. OS X 10.11.5 was released to the public on May 16.

On the MacRumors forums, a number of users have confirmed that the OS X 10.11.5 update fixes the freezing problem.

Top Rated Comments

n-evo Avatar
n-evo
134 months ago
Great advice Apple!

PS I don't have Flash installed and run the latest version of OS X. Any other brilliant ideas?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
keysofanxiety
134 months ago
Okay Apple, you can tell me to update the OS but don't tell me to update flash.

Few people even have it installed and it's full of vulnerabilities anyway, not to mention almost pointless nowadays. Seriously what the hell Apple.
Update means you already have the software. They're not telling you to install Flash.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
134 months ago
My tip is to keep Chrome installed, and use it for the few things that still require Flash. Chrome has flash built in, AND keeps it updated automatically (unlike installing Flash directly where you have to update it yourself).

If you MUST use flash, using Chrome (or Safari with Chrome just for Flash sites) is the way to go. I'm not a big fan of Chrome otherwise but keep it in my arsenal for this reason.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
npmacuser5 Avatar
npmacuser5
134 months ago
I removed Flash from both of my Mac systems. Not one issue since. Run into a few Flash challenges now and then. However, losing flash for me, less painful then having it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Avenged110 Avatar
Avenged110
134 months ago
My late-2009 iMac kept freezing (the whole system, not just Safari) on both 10.11.4 and 10.11.5, and flash was never installed. Pissed me off so much, I just put it back on Mavericks 10.9.5 and haven't has a single issue since.

My tip is to keep Chrome installed, and use it for the few things that still require Flash. Chrome has flash built in, AND keeps it updated automatically (unlike installing Flash directly where you have to update it yourself).

If you MUST use flash, using Chrome (or Safari with Chrome just for Flash sites) is the way to go. I'm not a big fan of Chrome otherwise but keep it in my arsenal for this reason.
This in conjuncture with Safari's Develop menu "open page with" option is also really handy.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
TurboPGT!
134 months ago

Few people even have it installed and it's full of vulnerabilities anyway, not to mention almost pointless nowadays. Seriously what the hell Apple.
LOL.
It is genuinely funny to read Apple forums sometimes and see the Apple-slanted perspective some people have on the real world.
Flash is still widely used by a lot of people, and even a lot of older corporate Applications. You would have no idea.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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