7 Ways to Fix Slow Chrome Issues

Fix Slow Chrome Issues

Internet browsing is more essential than ever, so here are 7 ways you can fix slow Chrome Issues. Chrome is one of the fastest browsers in the market. However, sometimes it seems that Chrome works for no apparent reason. Whether its pages are taking longer than usual to load, or are lagging while browsing, there may be a problem with your browser.

Read: How to Manage Bookmarks in Chrome Browser Computer?

How to Fix Slow Chrome Issues

In this article, we’ll go through seven fixes you can try to speed up Google Chrome when it’s running slow.

1. Test Your Laptop and Internet Connection

First of all, you will want to make sure that your laptop has no problem by running another browser on your system. If a browser other than Chrome works fine, then the problem is most likely with Chrome or your Internet connection. To make sure your Internet connection isn’t slowing down your browser, run other browsers on a different system connected to the same Internet connection.

If these browsers are slow on other systems, you may have a problem with your internet. If so, try restarting the router to see if it improves performance. You can always run a speed test to check your connection speed. If it seems like all other browsers are working normally on other systems, there is a problem with your Chrome that needs further investigation.

2. Check Default Search Engine in Chrome

Google is the default search engine in the address bar of Google Chrome. The search bar also allows you to use other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia.

Shifting to these search engines in Chrome’s address bar can sometimes result in reduced performance. Therefore, before making any further improvements, make sure that Google is set as the default search engine.

Follow the steps below to check your default search engine.

  • Click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
  • Go to Settings.
  • Find Search Engines on the left.
  • Click Manage Search Engines.

You can edit, remove or set any search engine as your default here. Make sure Google is set as the default search engine.

3. Close Unused Tabs

Usually, researching the Internet or checking different sources for an assignment requires opening a lot of tabs at once. Even if you are not using tabs, Chrome consumes the same number of system resources. With too many unnecessary tabs open, you might be wasting resources unintentionally.

Open Resource Monitor on a Windows device or Activity Monitor on a Mac, and close the tabs one by one to see if that improves performance. Make a habit of bookmarking pages instead of keeping them open all the time. Even though closing tabs doesn’t help Chrome run faster, it can help save some battery life on your device.

4. Clear Cache and Browsing History

Clearing the cache and Chrome history can also be a useful solution. Chrome stores temporary browsing information which piles up after some time. This unused data reduces the performance of your browser.

However, clearing the cache also removes any saved usernames and passwords. To keep this data intact, you can uncheck the Passwords and another sign-in data box in the Advanced setting of Clear browsing history before clearing the data.

Follow the steps below to clear browsing data.

  • Click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the Chrome browser.
  • Head to History.
  • Click Clear browsing data.
  • Set a time limit for deleting the data.
  • Check all the boxes except Password and other sign-in data and Auto-fill form data.
  • Click on Clear Data.
  • Once you clear your browsing history, restart your browser to see if it improves performance.

5. Update Chrome

If you keep automatic Chrome updates turned off, make sure you have the latest version of Chrome. Even though updating Chrome has no direct impact on its performance, your browser may be more vulnerable to malware attacks.

If a malicious website loads your browser with malware, you will notice a decrease in browser performance. So always keep Chrome updated.

Here’s how to check if Chrome is updated.

  • Click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
  • Go to Help > About Google Chrome.

If Chrome is already updated, you will see a message; Google Chrome is up-to-date”. Otherwise, be sure to update Chrome to the latest version.

 6. Check Your Extensions

Adding extensions to Chrome improves productivity, but overloading them can have the opposite effect. Like keeping tabs open in Chrome, active extensions use up system resources which can slow down performance.

 Shortlist extensions according to their daily use, and remove the ones you rarely use. If performance doesn’t improve after removing the extension, try turning the active extensions on and off one by one.

Disabling a particular extension can speed up Chrome browsing. If so, be sure to remove that extension permanently (as long as you can live without it).

 7. Disable Hardware Acceleration

When hardware acceleration is on, high-processing-demanding tasks, such as playing video games, use the graphics processing unit for computation to reduce the workload on the CPU. As a result, the CPU can run basic and essential tasks while the GPU handles the higher processing demands.

While this improves CPU performance in most cases, it can also slow down your browser and drain the battery faster. So, turn it off from the Chrome browser, and you will see the difference in Chrome browsing performance.

Here’s how to disable hardware acceleration from Chrome.

  • Click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
  • go to Settings.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Advanced options.
  • In Advanced options, go to System Settings.
  • Turn off the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.

Conclusion – Fix Slow Chrome Issues

Try each of the fixes we looked at to improve Google Chrome’s performance on your device. If none of the above fixes work, there may be another problem with your system. Try scanning it for any malware as a last try.

If the slow Chrome browsing issue persists, consider switching to another browser like Microsoft Edge and Firefox.