Reader View Not Working on Safari? 8 Ways To Fix It

Reader View is a Safari feature that hides ads, navigation menus, and other distracting elements on a website. After you switch to Reader View, the website will only display necessary information (text and images) which enhances the interface and makes text easily readable. Unfortunately, several people are encountering issues with Reader View/Mode not working on their iPhones, iPads, or Macs. If you’re facing similar issues, here’s how to fix Reader View not working in Safari. 

How To Fix Reader View Not Working in Safari

1. Restart iPhone or Mac To Fix Reader View Not Working in Safari

A temporary bug or glitch might be responsible for Reader View not working in Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The quickest way to get rid of the temporary bug is to restart the device. 

Restart iPhone 7, SE (3rd Gen) and below 

1. Press and hold the Side button until the power-off slider appears. 
2. Drag the power-off slider to turn off your iPhone. 
3. After waiting a few minutes, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on your screen.

Steps to Restart a Mac.

1. Click the Apple logo at the top right corner of the menu bar. 
2. Click the Restart… option.
   
3. Unselect the checkbox to the left of the “Reopen windows when logging back in” option.
4. Then, click the Restart button to restart your Mac. 
   

2. Force Quit and Relaunch Safari To Fix Reader View Not Working

Force Quitting any application stops all its activities right away. Relaunching the application will freshly start all the services from the ground up. Again, this process helps eliminate glitches, and force quitting Safari can help fix Reader View not working. 

On iPhone and iPad 

1. Open the Safari Browser and swipe up from the bottom or press the Home button.
2. Once on the Home Screen, swipe up and hold from the bottom or double-click the Home button until you see the recently used apps.
3. Swipe up on the Safari Browser to remove it from the recent list and force quit.
4. Restart your iPhone or iPad or ask Siri to restart your iPhone/iPad. 
5. After your iPhone restarts, open the Safari Browser and check if the Reader View is working. 

On Mac 

1. Click on the Apple Logo in the Menu Bar at the top left corner. 
2. Select the Force Quit option. 
3. Select the Safari Browser from the list and click the Force Quit button at the bottom right.  
4. Click Force Quit again in the popup window to confirm your selection. 
5. Relaunch the Safari Browser and check if the Reader View is working properly.

3. Ensure the Website Supports Reader View

If you aren’t already aware, Reader View is not available on every website you visit. A website needs to have a certain amount of text to qualify for the Reader View option. Safari automatically detects this text and then displays the “Reader Available” message in the address bar. 

Just glance through the website, and check if there’s enough text on it for it to qualify for the Reader View. We do not have any information about the minimum requirements for Reader View. However, Safari offers Reader View for most news websites, blogs, etc., and if the website has more text compared to images, tables, or any other elements, it should support Reader View. 

4. Request Desktop Website on iPhone or iPad

If the Show Reader/Reader View option is grayed out in Safari, you can try switching to the Desktop website on your iPhone or iPad. It might be able to help resolve the Reader View not working issue on your iPhone or iPad. 

1. Open Safari Browser on your iPhone or iPad. 
2. Tap the AA icon at the bottom right corner of the Address Bar. 
3. Select the Request Desktop Website option from the list. 

After the page reloads and switches to the Desktop Site, you can tap on the AA icon and select the Show Reader option to switch to Reader View. Again, the Show Reader feature will only work if the issue is resolved. 

5. Disable Low Power Mode To Fix Reader View Not Working in Safari

Low Power Mode reduces background activity. While the Reader View feature is not a background activity, Safari might not get access to much needed resources to process the website and offer the Reader View in Low Power Mode. We suggest disabling Low Power Mode to fix the Reader View not working on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 

On iPhone and iPad 

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. 
2. Head to the Battery option. 
3. Disable the Low Power Mode toggle. 

On Mac 

1. Click the Apple logo at the top right corner of the menu bar. 
2. Select the System Settings… option. 
3. Click the Battery option in the sidebar. 
4. Now, click the drop-down list beside the Low Power Mode. 
5. Select the Never option. 

6. Update Software To Fix Reader View Not Working in Safari

Another reason for Reader View not working can be a software bug within the Safari browser or the operating system. Moreover, there’s no way to individually update Safari as the browser is a part of the operating system. Therefore, you must update the system software which in turn will update Safari and might help resolve the Reader View not working issue on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 

Update iOS or iPadOS on iPhone or iPad 

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone/iPad and head to the General option. 
2. Select the Software Update option. 
3. Now, tap the Update Now or Install Now button. Please note that either of these options will only be available when a new version of iOS/iPadOS is available. 
4. Enter your device’s passcode to continue. 

Update macOS on any Mac

1. Click the Apple logo at the top right corner of the menu bar. 
2. Select the System Settings… option. 
3. Click the General option in the sidebar and then select the Software Update option located on the right side. Alternatively, if an update is available, you’ll see a Software Update Available notification under your Name/Apple ID at the top of the right sidebar. 
4. Click the Update Now button located beside the Updates Available menu. 
   
5. Then click the Agree button after you’ve read the terms to update macOS to the latest version.
6. Enter your Mac’s password and then click the OK button.

7. Reset All Settings on iPhone or iPad

Sometimes, we misconfigure settings by mistake. We aren’t aware of what we’ve changed, and it might be the reason Reader View isn’t working in the Safari browser. Luckily, you can Reset All Settings to their default configurations and this might help fix Reader View not working in Safari on iPhone or iPad. 

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone/iPad and head to the General option. 
2. Here, scroll down and select the Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad option. 
3. On the next page, tap the Reset option. 
4. Then select the Reset All Settings option. 
5. Enter the device passcode to confirm your selection. 
6. Tap the Reset All Settings option in the pop-up to confirm your selection. 

8. Contact Apple Support

One or the other step mentioned in this guide should be able to help fix Reader View/Mode not working on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. However, if the issue hasn’t been resolved yet, you should consider contacting Apple Support. They might know more about the issue and might be able to help fix Reader View not working. 

In case you’re aware of any other effective methods to fix Reader View not working in Safari, please let us know in the comments below. It will help others who are facing a similar problem. Lastly, if you have any doubts, leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.