Safari tab groups lost after macOS update 26.2

This happened to me as well. There is a way to fully restore your tab groups if you've backed up your Mac using Time Machine.

Navigate to this directory in Finder (cmd + shift + g):

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Safari/

This is where Safari stores its tab group metadata.

1. Quit Safari (and optionally disconnect from Wifi to prevent iCloud sync races)
2. Locate all files that have "Tabs" in the name and either delete them or, if you want to play it safe, move them to a different folder.
3. Enter Time Machine (you can launch it directly using Spotlight, just type "Time Machine")
4. Locate the first backup from before you updated your macOS 26.2
5. Select all the files with "Tabs" in the name
6. Restore the files
7. Re-launch Safari - you should see your tab groups back where they were before the OS update
8. If you turned off your Wifi, you can now turn it back on

Same with me, I upgraded to 26.2 on all of my devices, Mac and iPhone and lost all except 1 tabgroup which wasn't even up to date.

I rang Apple support who told me that all of my settings for iCloud and Safari were correct and that it should have sync'd. I pointed out that I'd had many of these tab groups for many months and that they had been sync'd across my devices.

Apple said that there is never going to be any guarantee that tab groups won't just disappear. I asked whether there is a way for users to sync their tab groups manually and Apple said no, there is not. So this means that tab groups are completely unreliable, you might be lucky, you might not.

I think this is disgraceful.

The same here, after Updating iPhone to IOS 26.2 the tab groups are gone there, as well on the iPad which is still on 18.7.3 … pretty surprising & annoying. Any idea, how to get the tab groups back?

It appears that Apple made sure you lose your tab groups one way or another. The fix still works, but after some time, my tab groups disappeared again. This is most likely due to a bad iCloud sync cycle. Needless to say, this is very frustrating and clearly a bug.

It appears that Apple made sure you lose your tab groups one way or another. The fix still works, but after some time, my tab groups disappeared again. This is most likely due to a bad iCloud sync cycle. Needless to say, this is very frustrating and clearly a bug.

I'm having the same issue. I've also installed iPad OS 26.2 and iOS 26.2 and my tab groups aren't showing up on my iPhone or iPad either.

I have exactly the same issue, iPhone and MacBook pro, after 26.2…