Shopify Site Freezing on iPad / Safari

Question

I've come across an obscure (but serious) bug that seems to affect any and all Shopify stores when viewed on an iPad with the default Apple Safari browser.

Most "reported bugs" (eventually) turn out to be problems with code that was added or changed to modify or customize a theme. This happened to me just 2 weeks ago - and I was convinced that it had to be Shopify - but with much understanding and after lots of help from the Support Desk - I tracked it down to my own doing. (duh)

But the source of this problem that I have now found - indeed seems to be the Shopify Servers.

Easiest way to demonstrate this is with code directly from the Shopify site.

EXAMPLE 1

• Using an iPad (mine is an iPad Air / IOS 7.0.6) and Safari browser (Mozilla/5.0 Safari/9537.53) - go to http://shopify.com/blog.
  It actually takes or redirects me to www.shopify.com/blog#axzz2uBZhlV4g which I think is the most recent blog entry?

• Once you are on that page - you can refresh it (once or a hundred times) using the reload/refresh icon to right side of the address bar. Everything works fine.

• You can also refresh or reload the page by clicking on (touching) the text link "Ecommerce Blog" in small letters near the top left corner of the page itself. That works exactly the same.

• BUT - If you then go back and refresh the page with the icon in the address bar (after you have refreshed it at least once with the Ecommerce Blog link) - the page goes blank / doesn't load / and is dead in the water - until you shut that window down completely and start a new session. ????

I came across this while developing our own site (www.elightful.ca) that uses a considerable amount of javascript and elaborate CSS for customization. While doing testing this weekend (almost ready for site launch) - I kept getting hung up - but only with my iPad.

After 7 or 8 hours of backing out of theme changes and going to earlier and earlier versions of our site - the problem still persisted. Finally, I decided to start from ground zero and came up with example 2 below - recreating the problem with absolutely no modification or changes on my part.

EXAMPLE 2

• I set up a brand new test store with Shopify. Didn't make any changes whatsoever - not even to titles, options or adding products. Just using it in it's vergin state. I didn't even add a theme - only the default "launchpad" that comes installed with new shops. (though I have tested and recreated the problem with Radiance)

• Once again - using an iPad with Safari (as above) - go to http://cleanrefresh.myshopify.com. The password to enter/view is "whaunt" (as assigned by Shopify).

• Refresh / reload the the page twice - using the "Home" link in the nav bar - or - by clicking on the logo/heading (cleanrefresh).

• After that - any attempt to use the reload/refresh icon in the browser address bar will crash the page / site.

Does the same thing when I run Dolphin as my browser - but seems to work fine with Chrome. There are absolutely no issues on my development Windows desktop system - regardless of browser.

I expect a considerable number of our potential customers to be iPad/iPhone/IOS users and of course many will default to browsing with Safari.

Has anyone seen this before? Any comment or suggestions - before I email Shopify Support.

Thanks for your time - I know that I have been a bit wordy - but needed to explain and demo the problem with no possibility that it could be from something some code that I/we have done on our end.

Nick

( if it helps any - you can see an image / screendump for those without access to an iPad at imgbox.com/O9AAywfw )

Answer 1

It's a Safari issue, not a Shopify issue. You can replicate that on OSX, too, using Safari (so it is not limited to iOS). You can visit http://www.google.com/about/company/ hit the word "Company" in the header a couple times to refresh. After that the "refresh" icon in Safari's address bar will render a blank page.

Definitely something for the Safari team to take a look at, since it definitely isn't a Shopify thing.