How to Restart Google Chrome

Restarting Google Chrome helps you fix minor issues and enable some extensions in the browser. It’s easy to close and reopen Chrome on your desktop and mobile devices, and we’ll show you how.

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Restart Google Chrome with an address bar command

On desktop and Android phones, Chrome offers a dedicated command to stop and restart the browser. Unfortunately, this command does not work in Chrome on iPhone and iPad.

To use it, select the address bar in Chrome and type the following command. Then press Enter:

Warning: Save your unsaved work in the browser because running the command closes all your open tabs.

chrome://restart

Chrome will close and then reopen immediately. If you want to restore your closed tabs, see the last section of this guide.

Restart Google Chrome the traditional way

Traditionally, you close Chrome like you would any other app installed on your desktop or mobile device. Then relaunch it.

Close and reopen Chrome on Windows, Linux, and Chromebook

For quit then reopen Chrome on your Windows, Linux or Chromebook computer click the “X” icon in the upper right corner of Chrome. This closes the browser.

To launch Chrome now, search for “Chrome” in your app drawer and select it. This reopens the browser.

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Close and reopen Chrome on Mac

To quit Chrome on Mac, in the top left corner of Chrome, click Chrome > Quit Google Chrome. Then, relaunch Chrome by opening Spotlight (using Command + Spacebar), typing “Chrome” and selecting “Chrome” from the search results.

Close and reopen Chrome on iPhone X or later and iPad

For close the Chrome app on your iPhone X or later or iPad, swipe up from the bottom of your phone screen. Find Chrome in the list of apps and swipe it up. Then reopen Chrome by tapping on it on your home screen.

Close and reopen Chrome on iPhone SE, iPhone 8 or earlier

If you’re using an iPhone SE, iPhone 8, or earlier iPhone, double-press the Home button to show your recent apps. Find Chrome here and swipe over to close it.

Next, tap Chrome on your home screen to launch the browser.

Close and reopen Chrome on Android

On Android, at the bottom of your phone screen, tap or tap the recent apps button. Find Chrome in the list and swipe it up to close it.

Next, find Chrome in your app drawer and tap it to reopen it.

Restore tabs when restarting Chrome

On your mobile, Chrome automatically restores your tabs when you relaunch the browser. But, on desktops this does not happen by default and it can just open your home page.

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To manually restore closed tabs in Chrome to the desktop, then when Chrome relaunch, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the browser.

In the menu that opens, select History > X Tabs > Restore Window. Here, “X” is the number of tabs you had open.

Chrome will restore all of your tabs to a new window. And you are ready.

Make sure to keep Chrome updated on your devices so it annoys you less.

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