Pressing F5 is a well-known shortcut for refreshing a web browser, website, or webpage on Windows platforms, but using this shortcut on a Mac produces a different result.
Instead of using F5, Command+R (or cmd+r) is the shortcut youâll want to use to perform a refresh on Mac platforms. Of course, this applies to the majority of Mac web browsers, too.
đ Note: If you find that Command+R isn't refreshing a page, it could be due to conflicting shortcuts. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts to make sure the shortcut is assigned correctly.
Sometimes, a standard refresh isnât enough to fix a web page that isnât displaying correctly or shows outdated information. In this case, youâll want to try a hard refresh.
A hard refresh forces the web browser to clear its local copy of the webpage (cache) and download the latest version from the site server.
To perform a hard refresh, youâll need to modify the standard Command+R input, but the key combination will be a bit different depending on which browser you use.
Safari and Opera: Press Command+Option+R
Chrome, Firefox, and Edge: Press Shift+Command+R
You can also perform a hard refresh by holding the Shift key and clicking the refresh button on your browser.