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How to Update Google Chrome

Chrome normally updates itself in the background. If you haven’t closed it in a while, an update may be waiting for a relaunch. Here is how to check and finish the update on every device, using the steps in Google’s own help page.

Is my Chrome up to date? On a computer, open Chrome and select More (the three dots at the top right) > Help > About Google Chrome. Chrome checks for updates on that page. If you see Relaunch, an update is ready. If there is no Relaunch button, you already have the latest version.

To see the newest versions Google has released, check the Chrome Releases blog.

Update Chrome on Windows, Mac or Linux

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, select More (three dots) > Help > About Google Chrome.
  3. Select Relaunch. If you can’t find Relaunch, you’re on the latest version.

Chrome saves your open tabs and windows and reopens them when it restarts. Incognito windows do not reopen. If you don’t want to restart right now, select Not now and the update applies the next time you restart Chrome.

  • Windows: close all Chrome windows and tabs, then open Chrome again to apply the update.
  • Mac: if Chrome is in your Applications folder, you can turn on updates for every user of the Mac. On the About Google Chrome page, click Automatically update Chrome for all users.
  • Linux: use your package manager. When you install Chrome, it is added to your package manager, so Chrome updates arrive with your other system updates (Google’s install guide).
  • Chromebook: Chrome updates with the operating system. Update your Chromebook’s operating system to update Chrome.

Update Chrome on Android

Chrome updates automatically based on your Play Store settings. To check by hand:

  1. Open the Play Store app.
  2. At the top right, tap your profile icon.
  3. Tap Manage apps & device.
  4. Under “Updates available,” find Chrome and tap Update.

You can also open Chrome on Google Play directly.

Update Chrome on iPhone and iPad

Chrome updates automatically based on your App Store settings. To check by hand:

  1. Open the App Store.
  2. At the top right, tap your profile icon.
  3. Scroll to “Available Updates” and look for Chrome.
  4. If Chrome is listed, tap Update. Enter your Apple ID password if asked.

Don’t have Chrome yet? Get it from the App Store.

If Chrome won’t update

A failed update usually shows a message such as “Update failed”, “Update server not available”, “Update check failed to start” or “Download failed”. Google suggests these fixes in Fix Chrome update problems and failed updates:

  • Restart your computer, then try the update again.
  • Check your antivirus, firewall or parental control software. Make sure it isn’t blocking software updates, and that tools.google.com and dl.google.com aren’t blocked.
  • Install Chrome again. Reinstall Chrome from Google’s site. On Windows, if the normal installer keeps failing, use the offline (standalone) installer. On a Mac, Google suggests downloading Google Software Update again and reinstalling.
  • “Updates are disabled by administrator” means your computer is managed by a school or company. Ask the person who manages it.
  • Windows says your version is no longer supported even though your PC meets the requirements: Chrome may be set to run in Compatibility Mode, which Chrome doesn’t support. Right-click the Chrome icon, choose Properties > Compatibility, and uncheck “Run this program in compatibility mode for.”
  • Check for unwanted software. Programs you don’t remember installing can stop Chrome from updating.

My device can’t get the latest Chrome

Each new version of Chrome needs a minimum operating system. If your computer, phone or tablet is older than that, Chrome stops getting updates and the steps above won’t find one. Google’s page on failed updates, linked above, lists the older systems Chrome no longer works on, including Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and older versions of macOS, and the current minimums are in its Chrome system requirements.

The fix is to update the operating system if your device can take a newer one, or to move to a newer device. For phones and tablets, the current minimum Android and iOS versions are listed at the top of Google’s update page for each (choose Android or iPhone & iPad on that page).

Release channels

Google publishes Chrome in five channels: Stable, Extended Stable, Beta, Dev and Canary. Almost everyone should use Stable. Extended Stable gets feature updates less often but still gets security fixes, for organizations that want a slower release pace. Beta and Dev give an early preview of what is coming to Stable, and Canary is a future version still in development that Google says is unstable for everyday use. See Google’s release channels guide, or our page on Chrome Beta, Dev and Canary.

For IT admins

On managed computers, administrators control updates with policies. On Windows, Google Update policies are set through Group Policy, as described in Manage Chrome updates (Windows). The full list of Chrome policies is at chromeenterprise.google/policies. To see which policies apply to a browser, open chrome://policy in Chrome.