Address Bar has disappeared from Safari

[Trompista]

Someone's grandchild changed something on my mother's Safari interface such that there is no longer an Address Bar. All she has at the top is the built-in Google Search bubble (the one with "Google" in gray letters). She therefore cannot type a URL without typing it in the Google Search bar. And when she searches and clicks on a resulting link, the page that loads still doesn't have an Address Bar.

I have no idea what the child did to put my mom's Safari in what seems to be some kind of unbreakable Google-specific interface. My mom is not good with computers and is easily frustrated, so my trying to figure out the problem with trial and error over the phone stressed her out greatly.

Any idea how I can change this back to regular Safari, with an Address Bar and a Search Bar? I live in a different state from my mom. I *think* I have remotely backed up her iPad on my Mac via iCloud (I'm a little unsure of this, but I log in to my Mac with her Apple ID separate from my regular login with my credentials and open iTunes). Would it work for me to delete her Safari using iTunes and then reinstall it from iTunes? She does not connect her iPad to a computer

Thanks for any help,
Linda

 

[KevinJS]

You can't delete Safari. It is a native app and cannot be deleted.

Given that you live at a distance you may as well bring up the big guns right away and do an across the board settings reset. That should chase out the gremlin.

Settings/General/Reset/reset All Settings

This will leave content untouched, so she won't have to download apps etc.

I would normally try to find the bug but as you are going to have to transmit everything to her I think it will be too frustrating.

Sent from my iPhone using iPF

 

[ms.tardaguila]

Someone's grandchild changed something on my mother's Safari interface such that there is no longer an Address Bar. All she has at the top is the built-in Google Search bubble (the one with "Google" in gray letters). She therefore cannot type a URL without typing it in the Google Search bar. And when she searches and clicks on a resulting link, the page that loads still doesn't have an Address Bar.

I have no idea what the child did to put my mom's Safari in what seems to be some kind of unbreakable Google-specific interface. My mom is not good with computers and is easily frustrated, so my trying to figure out the problem with trial and error over the phone stressed her out greatly.

Any idea how I can change this back to regular Safari, with an Address Bar and a Search Bar? I live in a different state from my mom. I *think* I have remotely backed up her iPad on my Mac via iCloud (I'm a little unsure of this, but I log in to my Mac with her Apple ID separate from my regular login with my credentials and open iTunes). Would it work for me to delete her Safari using iTunes and then reinstall it from iTunes? She does not connect her iPad to a computer

Thanks for any help,
Linda

The grandchild probably went into safari setting and cleared cookies and history. New one will appear as she uses Safari. Don't think you can recover what was lost unless it was bookmarks......I am a Grandma novice with an IPad and no computer. This may or may not help.

 

[KevinJS]

I think the OP means that the entire address bar is missing.

Sent from my iPhone using iPF

 

[twerppoet]

Before we panic, have the normal fixes been tried?

--------------------


When you have problems with an app it's a good idea to clear it from RAM.

Close/Clear the app: With the problem app closed, double tap on the Home button to get the multitask bar. Tap and hold on any icon in the bar until they jiggle, then tap the minus sign on the problem app. This will remove it from RAM and insure a clean start the next time you launch the app.

If that does not work try a restart,

Restart: Hold down the power button until the power off slider appears. Slide it off. When the iPad finishes shutting down, hold down the power button again until the Apple logo appears. Apple recommends you restart the iPad at least once a month.

and then a reset if that does not work.

Reset: Hold down the power and home buttons until the Apple logo appears. The iPad will reboot. This usually takes a bit longer than a restart.

 

[Trompista]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Yes, the entire Address Bar is missing. I'll ask her to clear the cookies and history. I didn't think to ask her to close everything running and turn off/restart the iPad. We'll do that as well, and, hopefully, this will resolve the problem. If not, I'll ask her to reset the iPad.

Thanks again!

 

[twerppoet]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Yes, the entire Address Bar is missing. I'll ask her to clear the cookies and history. I didn't think to ask her to close everything running and turn off/restart the iPad. We'll do that as well, and, hopefully, this will resolve the problem. If not, I'll ask her to reset the iPad.

Thanks again!

The reset is safe. It is a Restore that deletes stuff.

 

[Trompista]

The simple fix worked! I had her close all running apps then we restarted her iPad. All is well.

Thanks again.

 

[twerppoet]

Good. Glad to be of help.

 

[KevinJS]

Good one. Shouldn't be afraid to be doing a bit of digging before turning the heavy guns on a problem. A note for the future.