My Mac Won T Let Me Download Anything UPDATED Free

It's not e'er easy downloading files in Safari on a Mac. Sometimes files seem to disappear after y'all download them, while other times they don't download at all. Confusingly, this can happen for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, the fixes are all easy enough, regardless of whether you have to click two buttons or 10.

In some cases, the solution to Safari download bug involves checking your Downloads folder. In other cases, information technology involves disabling any plugin that might cause you problems. These are all unproblematic actions, so information technology shouldn't take you lot much fourth dimension to go downloading again. We'll walk y'all through everything you lot can try to ready when Safari won't download annihilation.

1. Check Your Default Downloads Binder

Safari sends every file you download to a folder on your Mac. Unsurprisingly, it uses Downloads equally the default location. However, yous can alter this, perhaps without fifty-fifty realizing it.

You should thus check where Safari sends your downloads, and change it accordingly if desired. To practice this:

1. Click Safari (in your Mac's acme bill of fare bar) and choose Preferences.
2. Select the Full general tab.
3. Expand the File download location dropdown box.
4. Select Downloads (or whatever folder you lot'd similar to use).

You can set the default download location to a folder other than Downloads, of class. Just make sure you remember what this alternative folder is. Otherwise, yous could lose time searching for files that aren't in an obvious folder.

2. Bank check the "Open Safety Files" Box

Sometimes, it might seem like Safari downloads aren't working normally because of a certain setting. This is the Open "safe" files after downloading option, which you'll discover in Safari's General Preferences pane.

This option is turned on by default. Information technology instructs Safari to automatically open all "safety" files one time they've finished downloading. By turning it off, you might mistakenly think that Safari has stopped downloading properly, since information technology stops automatically opening your files.

However, yous tin can easily turn information technology dorsum on. Yous only have to do the following:

1. Click Safari (in the meridian menu bar) and select Preferences.
2. Make sure you're on the Full general tab.
3. Check the pocket-size box adjacent to Open "safe" files afterwards downloading.

Safari will at present open all "condom" files for you afterward information technology downloads them. And in case yous were wondering, Apple defines sure file types, such as pictures and PDFs, as "prophylactic."

iii. Check Your Network

It's worth bearing in mind that, if you can't download in Safari, that it might non be Safari that'south the trouble. In fact, it could be that your Wi-Fi connexion is besides slow, or isn't working normally. In that case, there are a number of steps you can accept.

First, make sure that you're actually connected to a Wi-Fi network and that your Mac is close to the router. Yous'll typically suffer from slow downloads when you're far away from the router, so moving closer can solve some problems.

Also, you tin frequently speed up your Wi-Fi speeds by changing your router'south channel. You can exercise this by typing your router's IP accost into Safari's address bar and striking Return. Y'all'll so come up to your router's settings page, which is where y'all tin can alter the channel it uses.

One other trick you tin can endeavor is checking whether another device is eating up your Wi-Fi's bandwidth. This can slow downward the speed of downloads, particularly if lots of devices are doing intensive work at the same time. Try pausing video streaming, online gaming, and like activities if you can.

Similarly, if you're downloading a large file, yous might simply have to wait for it to finish downloading.

4. Change DNS Servers

Using a pop DNS (Domain Name System) service can improve Safari'southward odds of locating a file's download servers. Let's try ditching your ISPs DNS servers in favor of Google DNS. Hither's how:

1. Select the Wi-Fi status icon on the Mac'south menu bar and select Network Preferences.
2. Make sure that Wi-Fi is selected on the sidebar. And so, click Avant-garde.
3. Switch to the DNS tab. So, delete any existing entries and insert the following:
   • 8.8.8.8
   • viii.8.4.4

Save your changes and try downloading the file over again. For the best results, flush your Mac's DNS cache before you practice that.

five. Check for Paused Downloads

Starting a download and then closing your Mac while it's still in progress tin can pause it. This is an obvious reason why you can't notice the download in your Downloads binder: it hasn't really finished downloading.

In such cases, you take to restart the download. Yous can do this by clicking the Prove Downloads button in the top-right corner of Safari'due south screen, which looks like an arrow pointing downwardly. Then hit the Resume button, which resembles the refresh push in virtually web browsers.

6. Endeavour Downloading Over again

Sometimes, files get corrupted or damaged when you download them. This tin can stop the download from finishing, or it tin can stop you from opening the file once information technology's downloaded.

Either fashion, y'all can try simply downloading the file again. This is a basic step, just it can work considering such interruptions and errors will forbid downloads from completing.

7. Articulate the Safari Enshroud

An outdated browser cache tin can wreak havoc and cause all sorts of problems and result in Safari not downloading files on your Mac. Cheque if deleting it makes a difference:

1. Click Safari on the bill of fare bar and select Preferences.
2. Switch to the Advanced tab.
3. Cheque the box side by side to Show Develop card in menu bar.
4. Select Develop on the menu bar.
5. Click Empty Caches.

8. Check Your Mac'south Security and Privacy Settings

Sometimes, Safari download issues occur because your Mac doesn't allow you open apps from unidentified developers. Yous'll observe this setting in the Security & Privacy pane of Organization Preferences, which restricts you to opening apps downloaded from the App Store by default.

Fortunately, yous tin open apps from unidentified developers, assuming that y'all trust them. This is what you should exercise:

1. Launch Finder.
2. Type the name of the app you want to open into Finder'south search bar.
3. Click This Mac to search your unabridged arrangement.
4. Control-click the app in question and click Open.

You can also change your settings to let you lot e'er open apps downloaded from outside the App Store. This involves doing the post-obit:

1. Launch Organisation Preferences and open Security & Privacy.
2. Click the Lock icon and enter your ambassador password to qualify changes.
3. Nether Permit apps downloaded from, click App Store and identified developers.

Note that this option only permits apps from known developers, so if you download an app from an unidentified developer, you'll have to get through the procedure above. When your Mac blocks an unidentified app, you'll also see a prompt to open it in the Security & Privacy pane here.

9. Disable Safari Extensions and Plugins

Extensions and plugins tin sometimes interfere with how spider web browsers operate. This includes downloading, so if you're having download problems on Safari, you should effort disabling any recently installed add together-ons to your browser. This can restore the browser to a state that's closer to normal.

This is what you should do:

1. Click Safari (in the top menu bar) and cull Preferences.
2. Select the Websites tab.
3. Uncheck the extensions or plugins you want to disable.

Once you've disabled any doubtable extensions or plugins, yous should try completing your download again. If it works, you know that the disabled add together-on was most probable the cause of the problem. You should keep it disabled whenever downloading.

But if y'all need it for other tasks, call back to enable it when you do them.

An Easier Time on Safari

Apple tree offers Safari every bit a simpler culling to Google Chrome, and ane that consumes less of your Mac'south battery power. As the above shows, sometimes it can run into issues, only there are thankfully ways to solve your download issues.

And even if you aren't having particular problems with Safari, bank check out essential Safari tips and tricks to arrive better.

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