Can’t authorize something with a Safari round-trip? Change your default browser temporarily

Some Mac apps require a round-trip through Safari to authorize activities using a web-based login. For instance, a recent update to Quicken for macOS supports a more secure login method offered by Citi for banking and credit cards. Quicken prompts you to approve the new connection and then opens a window in your browser.

For whatever reason in my case, Safari refused to oblige: it opened the window and let me log in, but it didn’t allow whatever activity Citi wanted to perform. Only a partially loaded page appeared.

After trying some troubleshooting, I realized the easiest course of action was to switch browsers. Quicken lacks an option–like many apps–to choose a preferred browser. Instead, it relies on the default setting in macOS.

Change the default browser and open the authentication page like this:

Go to  > System Settings > Desktop & Dock in macOS 13 Ventura or later or go to  > System Preferences > General in macOS 12 Monterey or earlier.

Choose another browser from “Default web browser.”

In the app that needs to log in, now click the sequence to open a browser tab. Your new default browser is used.

When you’ve finished authentication, change your default browser back to Safari.

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