How do you remove Safari 6 on Mac OS X 10.7.4

Question

I understand there was a uninstaller for Safari 6 beta (is that available anywhere?) but it seems no longer available in the Apple Dev Center, and I am on Safari 6 release version.

I need to remove this and revet back to 5.1.7.

Answer 1

To downgrade Safari 6 on OS X Lion (10.7.4) to Safari 5.1.7:

1. Use Time Machine to have a fresh backup!

2. Get Pacifist.

3. Get Safari 5.1.7 for Lion here (apple.com) or here (mirror).

   $ md5 Downloads/Safari5.1.7LionManual.dmg
   MD5 (Safari5.1.7LionManual.dmg) = 504bdd1629f660084725d9883629f58e (same for both download links)
   

4. Quit Safari if running.

5. Install Safari 5.1.7 using Pacifist. Select "Open Package", choose the 5.1.7 dmg from step 2. Click on the "Contents of Safari5.1.7LionManual.pkg", Click "Install" on the toolbar, Choose "Yes" or "Replace" when asked (select the box for all continuous questions).

6. Open a new Finder window and press Command ⌘+Shift ⇧+G (Or menu "Go" -> "Go to Folder...").

7. Paste /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ in the goto field.

8. Rename the "SafariServices.framework" folder to "SafariServices.framework.disabled" (You will be asked for your admin password).

9. Use Finder go to again for /System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari/ folder.

10. Rename the "Safari.framework" folder to "Safari.framework.disabled".

11. Rename the "WebInspector.framework" folder to "WebInspector.framework.disabled".

    The last one (WebInspector.framework) and possibly the first one (SafariServices.framework) don't really need to be disabled; Safari 5.1.7 will start anyway (at least for me), but since they weren't there before 6.0, I disabled them, too.

12. Launch Safari.

13. If you're happy with your newly downgraded Safari, you might safely delete those .disabled folders/frameworks. They will be reinstalled if you ever choose to install Safari 6 again. Look for the disabled frameworks (e.g. "SafariServices.framework.disabled") and move them to the Trash. You will be asked for your admin user's password again.

    If it doesn't work for some reason, you can re-install Safari 6 from Software Update.

14. Run Disk Utility and Repair Disk Permissions.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, I am now on Mountain Lion, so I can't confirm this works myself, but some searching found some options for you:

1. If you have a backup from before you installed Safari 6, use that to revert.

2. The Safari installer places a backup of the old Safari in /Library/Application Support/Apple named .SafariArchive.tar.gz. Note that since the name starts with a dot, it's not visible in Finder. Doing an ls -a, or setting Finder to display hidden files via defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE followed by restarting Finder will let you see the file.

   Once you've unpacked it take a backup, as you'll have to copy the older Safari's various support files into place. The unpacked file will have many folders that overlap with files on your Mac's root folder. To delete the Safari.app (TAKE A BACKUP, FOR REALS), you'll have to go into a Terminal, navigate to /Applications and run sudo rm -rf Safari.app/. Copy the unpacked files into place, and you're golden.

Answer 3

The uninstaller(s) for the Safari betas are indeed available presently in the developer downloads section. You can get the version there for whatever version you had installed. If you do not have an OS X Developer account yet you can register under http://developer.apple.com/ for free.

If you used the currently shipping version, there is no uninstaller. Using the uninstaller for a different version would probably yield undesired results.

Answer 4

Don't try the following if you do not understand what this is about!

For me the command-sequence was:

1. Open Terminal as an admin
2. Become Root ($ sudo bash)
3. Check if the backup exists by entering the command ls '/Library/Application Support/.AppleSafariArchive.tar.gz' (including the quotes)
4. Do Not continue, if the archive doesn't show up.
5. Execute the following command: cd /;tar czf Safari6.tar.gz 'Library/Widgets/Web Clip.wdgt' System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari System/Library/SyncServices/AutoRegistration/Clients/com.apple.safari System/Library/SyncServices/AutoRegistration/Schemas/com.apple.Safari.syncschema Applications/Safari.app;rm -fr 'Library/Widgets/Web Clip.wdgt' System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari System/Library/SyncServices/AutoRegistration/Clients/com.apple.safari System/Library/SyncServices/AutoRegistration/Schemas/com.apple.Safari.syncschema Applications/._Safari.app Applications/Safari.app;tar xzf '/Library/Application Support/.AppleSafariArchive.tar.gz'

I moved the archive out of Library/Application\ Support to save Safari 5 from Apple.

Answer 5

if you want to revert to Safari 5.1.7 this link should allow you to download the version directly.

I am not sure how to remove all traces or 'remaining parts' of Safari 6, but the link above is the manual installer DMG for Safari 5.1.7 for OS X Lion.

Have not tried it, although the link is from Softpedia.

Answer 6

Just to add I used the safari 6 developer preview 2 for lion uninstaller with the v6 final release and it appears to work "well enough" for users wanting a roll back - after the reboot courtesy of the uninstaller v5.1.7 is back in place, working correctly and Software Update is wanting to install v6 again.

The challenge is in finding it (Apple Developer Download looks like it was a good source, but its not appearing under Crash Wrangler like the screenshot above anymore - probably removed...) - most copies on the internet (which aren't supposed to be there anyways) have been taken down, I found it a couple of places still doing a search on the file name and the first return had it (although it was non user friendly site - pop up windows etc.) and also via a search on "Safari 6 uninstaller" and results about 26 returns down the way, some steve guy's website.