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

In 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

(View all)

n-evo

45 months ago

Great advice Apple!

PS I don't have Flash installed and run the latest version of OS X. Any other brilliant ideas?

Rating: 7 Votes

keysofanxiety

45 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.

Rating: 6 Votes

zorinlynx

45 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.

Rating: 5 Votes

npmacuser5

45 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.

Rating: 4 Votes

TurboPGT!

45 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.

Rating: 3 Votes

Wiejeben

45 months ago

Am I the only one who read "Apple Acknowledges 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro" and got really excited? LOL

Rating: 3 Votes

Avenged110

45 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.

This in conjuncture with Safari's Develop menu "open page with" option is also really handy.

Rating: 3 Votes

grahamperrin

45 months ago

Done all that AND it still crashes....

I am on 10.11.5 and have no Flash installed...and... the crashes continue:mad:

If the operating system runs in any way (if, for example, the Caps lock key shows a light when pressed) but what's on screen does not change, then sysdiagnose is your friend. https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/22966682

Rating: 2 Votes

keysofanxiety

45 months ago

Well said. There are still companies out there that utilise their databases from a DOS-based system, let alone 'upgrading' to Windows XP.

If you're editing the odd Word document and watching a YouTube video every now and then, I'm sure you can uninstall Flash, pat yourself on the back for getting rid of a resource-hog application, and laugh at everybody else who still uses it.

The real world isn't that simple, though.

Rating: 2 Votes