Summary
- Numerous users across macOS, Android, and Windows are reporting sudden Chrome crashes upon launch or during use, where the browser unexpectedly closes without the typical “Aw, Snap” error.
- While reports have surfaced over the past month, they have significantly increased recently, with macOS users appearing to be most affected, though the issue is not exclusive to that platform.
- Google has yet to officially acknowledge the problem, and current workarounds include using Chrome on a different device or switching to an alternative browser like Edge, Firefox, or Safari, with potential tab restoration tips provided for desktop users experiencing mid-session crashes.
Google’s ownership of Chrome is not the only thing that is potentially breaking — the browser itself is breaking too. Not in the ownership sense, but more in the literal sense of functionality breaking.
The browser is currently experiencing instability on a range of surfaces, causing it to either shut down immediately upon launch, or randomly during use.
Related
Google Chrome: 13 top tips and tricks for the desktop browser
Become a Chrome expert with these simple but powerful tips
Reports and user complaints flooding Google’s support forum and Reddit can be traced back to roughly a month ago, but their frequency has significantly increased over the last week. User reports suggest that this isn’t an in-browser error where Chrome fails to respond and displays an “Aw, Snap” error. Instead, the browser simply vanishes without a trace.
As pointed out by the folks over at TechIssuesToday, many users report that the browser window briefly appears before vanishing without any error message. In our case, a Chrome instance vanished randomly while working on an article with no accompanying error message — something that doesn’t normally happen.
It was a bit weird because usually it [Chrome] would hang up first or show an error message after it crashed. But this one was just there one second, gone the next with no warning.
The root issue is currently unknown
Most of the user reports suggest that the issue is predominant on MacOS devices, but not exclusive to the operating system. Users have recently shared reports about Chrome crashing on Android and Windows too.
Reddit user ThicccNhatHanh suggested that the issue might be tied to certain ad-blockers interfering with Chrome, though we doubt that is actually the root cause. In our case, Chrome crashed on a page where we’d explicitly disabled most extensions, including ad-blockers.
Google is yet to officially acknowledge the issue, which could have been introduced in a recent update. In the meantime, if Chrome keeps crashing for you, try using the browser on a different surface. Alternatively, you might need to resort to an interim browser like Edge, Firefox, or Safari if you’re on macOS.
In case Chrome desktop crashes randomly during use, you should see the “Chrome didn’t shut down correctly” message, alongside an option to restore all lost tabs. If you don’t see the message, pressing Ctrl+Shft+T or Cmd+Shift+T should restore all tabs for you.
