Can T Download Google Chrome On Mac

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Aug 15, 2018 Besides Safari, Google Chrome is probably the most widely-used browser for Mac users. And sometimes, when the Chrome keeps crashing, freezes or won't start, you are recommended to fix the problem by uninstalling and reinstalling the browser. Download & install Google Chrome Google Chrome is a fast, free web browser.

Google Chrome is the king of web browsers but if you’re here it’s probably because the king has gone a bit insane. Is Chrome running slow, crashing, freezing, or not even loading? Are web pages not loading anymore? Is your browser experience getting slower every day?

If you’re experiencing any of those Chrome problems, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to show you how to troubleshoot and resolve common Chrome problems that make you feel like Google hates Macs.

Some fixes will be easier than others but none require advanced knowledge.

Can T Download Google Chrome On Microsoft

If you’re ready to fix Chrome, let’s begin!

Is it your Mac or Chrome that is slow?

Chrome isn’t an independent entity, it’s a part of a whole Mac system. So before you deal with Chrome, make sure the problem isn’t in your macOS. A quick example — the outdated system caches causing your Chrome plugins to crash. Or is your Mac gasping for free space?

A clever path is to give your macOS a good cleanup, first. We like CleanMyMac X app for this purpose as it finds and cleans all redundant & conflicting files across all your folders. So, take 2 minutes to tidy up your Mac with CleanMyMac X, and let’s move further.


CleanMyMac is available for a free download here — this app is notarized by Apple, so no worries.

Common Chrome problems on Mac (and their fixes)

Mac battery draining fast

Chrome is known for its fast performance, which it gets by using your Mac’s CPU more than other browsers. But more CPU usage means more battery drain. If you use your laptop on the go, this can become a huge issue. What good is performance if your battery is completely drained and you can’t turn on your Mac?

If Mac battery life is important to you, then there’s a simple trick that should be a big help. Often there is a tab or an extension that is hogging your resources and burning through your battery life by itself.

Follow these steps to find the offending site or extension:

  1. Open Chrome and choose Window in the top menu.
  2. Click on Task Manager.
  3. In Task Manager, click the Memory Footprint column to sort them.

Now you can determine what sites and extensions use up the most memory in Chrome. You can still visit one of these sites but maybe don’t leave it open in a tab anymore. Also, remember that even sites that aren’t memory hogs can still be a battery drain if you have a lot of tabs open.

Close resource-hungry and unnecessary tabs and the time you get from a battery charge should start to improve.

Chrome is running slow

Does Chrome on your Mac feel like browsing through a swamp? If browser responsiveness is slowing, it’s time to drain the swamp.

Why is Google Chrome so slow? We mentioned earlier that Chrome is resource-heavy, especially on your CPU. Chrome is fast when your Mac has the resources available, but when they are limited, and Chrome is demanding more than your Mac can give – swamp time.

The tip from the previous section will help a lot, but if you’re still experiencing slowness, there are other fixes you can turn to.

Let’s start by focusing on the cache. Chrome loves storing lots of your web browsing data. At first, it can help speed things along, but soon Chrome’s pockets are being weighed down by cache, particularly if your Mac is low on space or memory.

To manually delete your Chrome cache on Mac:

  1. Open Chrome and choose Chrome in the top menu.
  2. Select Clear Browsing Data.
  3. Check the history, cache, cookies, and other types of browser data that you want to delete.
  4. Click 'Clear data.'

Again, there’s another method for clearing out your cache, cookies, browser history, autofill form data, and a whole lot more. You can use the free version of CleanMyMac X. There’s surely no easier way to manage not just the cache that’s slowing down Chrome, but also your privacy and security — if these things are important to you (they should be).

To delete Chrome cache and other browsing data with CleanMyMac X:

  1. Download the free edition of CleanMyMac X and launch the app.
  2. Go to the Privacy tab and select Chrome.
  3. Select what you want to clean.


Or you can even use CleanMyMac X’s System Junk cleanup tool that not only removes Chrome cache files but also gets rid of “temporary” files that clog up your system. So, hopefully, your browser will get a bit snappier.

Сhrome using significant energy on Mac

“Chrome using significant energy” may be a sign of general memory overload on your computer. Try opening your Activity Monitor and check off a few memory consumers.

  1. Open the Launchpad and type in Activity Monitor in the search bar.
  2. Now, sort by Energy and use the [x] button to quit a process.

Disable background synchronization

There’s another setting that may help you out. Sadly, it’s buried too deep in Chrome’s Preferences but according to many users, it should greatly reduce energy consumption by Chrome.

  1. Open Chrome and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy and security > Site Settings.
  3. Scroll down and click “Background sync.”
  4. Use the slider to disable the background sync.

What does it do? It stops the websites from communicating with your Mac (even after you’ve left that site). Was it enabled by default is a different question.

Chrome keeps freezing

Your browser is not just slow as a snail but keeps freezing? A spinning circle appears for a while? This is ordinary trouble with web browsers after continued use. And it may relate to the problem with the browser cache.

We've already told you how to remove the Chrome cache, so just go to the previous section and choose the way that works best for you: manual or easy one. Hopefully, this will help you to get rid of the spinning beach ball and fix the freezing issue.

Other ideas to try:

  • Close all tabs
  • Restore settings (Settings > Advanced > Reset settings)
  • Log out from all your Google accounts and log in back again.
  • Try browsing in an incognito window and see if that helps.
  • Reinstall Chrome from scratch

Some services, like Dropbox, Alfred, and notably, Google Drive are constantly self-updating in the background. As in the previous step, you can use Activity Monitor and force-quit these processes.

Google Chrome is not responding

However, if your browser is not responding at all and you can't open the menu to clear the cache, browsing history, or delete extensions, try to force quit Chrome and then launch it again.

There are a few possible ways to force quit Google Chrome. Here is our comprehensive guide 'How to force quit Mac applications' that offers five different ways to deal with unresponsive apps. Pick your favorite one.

There are is a number of background plugins operating invisibly on every Mac. They could be various helpers, updaters, and everything else that supports the main application. For example, Chrome itself has an updater app that constantly communicates with the server. So, once again, go to your Activity Monitor and scan through your open processes. Try quitting anything Google-related there.

Another idea to try is to free up your RAM (random access memory) in the Terminal. This should unfreeze your Chrome, at least temporarily.

  1. Open your Terminal app (you can find it via the Launchpad search).
  2. Now, paste in sudo purge into the Terminal window.
  3. Hit Enter

See if Chrome is feeling better now.

Google Chrome keeps crashing

Chrome freezing is one thing but crashing? That’s a much bigger issue as it’s a sign that something is broken. But what do we do with things that are broken around here? We fix them!

Probably the most common cause of crashes is a byproduct of one of Chrome’s strengths – its constant stream of exciting extensions. They make our browser experience more enjoyable and productive, but occasionally one of these extensions will be corrupted or introduce a bug that causes Chrome to crash.

Here’s what you should do to find a problematic Chrome extension.

  1. Update your browser

    2. Make sure Chrome is updated to the latest version. A new update could very well include the fix that will stop Chrome crashing.

  2. Run a Safety check

    3. The latest version of Google Chrome has a feature called Safety check. Go to Chrome Settings and select “Safety check” from the menu on the left. Press “Check now.” The browser will run a quick check to determine whether Google Chrome is up-to-date and protected from threats.

  3. Turn off browser extensions

    4. If that didn’t work or everything was already up-to-date, you can manually turn off your extensions and turn them back on, one at a time. This way, if the crashing goes away until a certain extension is turned back on – that’s when you’ve probably found the problem.

To manually disable and remove Chrome extensions:

  • Open Chrome and go to Window > Extensions.
  • Disable a few extensions or click Remove to completely delete them.
  • Relaunch Chrome.


Spend some time using Chrome without extensions and then slowly turn each one back on until your crashing returns. When you think you have the culprit, simply click the Trash can next to that extension in Settings > Extensions.

An even easier way to manage your extensions is with CleanMyMac X. You get more control over all your extensions, even those from other browsers, and disabling and removing them is as easy as can be.

To disable Chrome extensions the simple way:

  • Click on the Extensions tab in CleanMyMac.
  • Click on Chrome Extensions and disable as you like.

Chrome won’t open

Here’s the list of hacks you can try if you want to repair Chrome. When Chrome won’t open, the easiest is to restart your Mac. But that could be a bit disruptive. So here you are, some alternatives:

  • Press and hold Command + Q — this will quit Chrome.
  • Press Option + Command + Esc — opens a Force Quit pane.
  • Uninstall Chrome and download it again.

If that doesn’t help, there’s a possibility that the problem is Google folder permissions.

Web pages not loading in Chrome

How Come I Can't Download Google Chrome On Mac

“Aw snap!”

This is Chrome’s custom message for when a web page fails to load. If you get this cheeky little message or any other loading error, chances are you’re going to fail to see the funny side.

The reasons for Chrome not loading pages can be wide-ranging and hard to pinpoint, but we’ve collected a checklist of fixes for you to work through.

  • Check your internet connection.
  • Update Chrome.
  • Restart your Mac.
  • Remove Chrome extensions (for steps see 'Google Chrome keeps crashing' section).
  • Disable or relaunch hardware acceleration

Hardware acceleration is supposed to speed up your Chrome at the cost of your Mac's hardware resources. But quite often this feature crashes things.
Hardware acceleration is found here:
Chrome > Settings > Advanced > System

If you’re still unable to load web pages, a reset or reinstall of Chrome may be needed. We cover that very fix in the next section.

Chrome update failed

Chrome won’t update? Some users have experienced the frustration of Chrome refusing to update on a Mac. The first step would just be patience, but if days have passed and you’re still not getting anywhere, a reset or reinstall of Chrome may be in order.

To reset Chrome manually:

  • Launch Chrome and go to Preferences
  • Scroll to the bottom and click on Advanced Settings.
  • Scroll to the bottom and click on Reset Settings.
  • Read the pop-up and Reset.
  • Relaunch Chrome and try to update.

Note: Resetting Chrome will not remove your bookmarks, history, and saved passwords. A manual reset can be a bit scary, but as a workaround, you can use CleanMyMac X to reset Chrome without losing any data.

Reset Chrome with CleanMyMac X's free tool:

  • Open CleanMyMac X
  • Go to Uninstaller tab and find Google Chrome in the list
  • Click Application Reset in the dropdown menu next to the Chrome icon.

If the browser is still not updating, download the latest installation file from the web and reinstall Chrome.

More tips to troubleshoot Chrome

Your Chrome browser should now be running great, but wait; there’s more! To improve your future browsing experience we’re sharing some of our favorite Chrome settings. Try these out and fall in love with Chrome even more.

Enable Prefetch

Want your web pages to load even faster? Go to Settings > Privacy and security. Here, select 'Cookies and other site data.' Toggle on 'Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.' This enables 'page prefetch' and makes Google Chrome load pages faster. Now the system will store the page and automatically load it the next time you visit the website.

Use shortcuts in Chrome browser

You’d be amazed at how much faster you can surf the web and get things done by learning just a few key shortcuts.

For example:

Command + t = new tab
Command + h = hide Chrome
Command + r = reload web page

Find the full list of commands at the official Google Chrome Support page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Chrome keep freezing?

Usually, this is caused be caused by outdated browser caches. Open Chrome’s Preferences to delete recent browser data.

Why does Chrome use so much memory?

Chrome is in a constant back and forth with Google’s servers to process your data. You can help it by optimizing memory usage on your Mac. Use the Mac tune-up app, CleanMyMac X, to free up RAM and you disable heavy memory consumers.

How can I speed up my browsing experience?

As a first step, try removing all the unnecessary extensions in Chrome. Also, try to not use more than 2 memory-heavy services, like DropBox or Google Drive at a time.

That’s it. Hopefully, these fixes have made your web surfing better than it’s ever been. It just goes to show that even drastic problems like Chrome crashing can be solved with a little know-how and helpful apps like CleanMyMac X.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

These might also interest you:

So you are unhappy because the Google Chrome web browser won’t open or launch. This article explains how you can troubleshoot when Google Chrome won’t open after successfully installing on your Mac. More specifically the problem is that Google Chrome seems to be unresponsive and won’t start at all when trying to open the Chrome App. Do not worry, you are not alone. It seems that many macOS users are having this problem. Here is what to do:

See also: “App Is Damaged and Can’t Be Opened. You Should Move It To The Trash”

How to fix when Chrome won’t open

1-It is possible that Chrome is already running. You may want to check if Chrome is already open. Here is how you can check this:

  1. Press the Option, Command, and Esc (Escape) keys together or you can click Force Quit from the Apple menu (upper-left corner of your screen).
  2. Do you see Google Chrome there in the list
  3. If you do, select it and then click Force Quit, and try re-opening Chrome. if you do not see Google Chrome in the Force Quit window, then see the step below.

2-Restart your Mac. (see also: How To Use Spotlight On Your Mac)

Cannot Download Google Chrome Mac

3-If you do not see Google Chrome in the Force Quit menu (see tip#1), follow the steps below:

  1. Go to the Finder of your Mac.
  2. From the “Go” menu select “Go to Folder”
  3. Enter this:
  4. ~/Library/Application Support
  5. And click Go
  6. This will open a folder
  7. Find the ‘Google’ named folder
  8. Right click the folder and click Get Info
  9. Click Sharing & Permissions to open the section
  10. Click to Lock icon (bottom right corner) to unlock it. You need to be an admin and then enter your password.
  11. Find the user who is having the Chrome opening problem and click its Privilege
  12. Change Privilege from ‘Read Only’ to ‘Read & Write’.
  13. Now click the Settings icon and select ‘Apply to enclosed items..’
  14. Click Ok and try restarting the Chrome app.

4– If nothing helps you, you may want to try removing Google Chrome and then downloading and reinstalling. It is possible that your Google Chrome browser files may be corrupted and that is why it is now working. To uninstall Chrome, open Finder and click Applications. Then drag Google Chrome to the Trash. And then like the step number #3, select Finder and, from the Menu bar, click Go and then Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome and click Go. A new window will open. Select all the folders, and drag them to the Trash. This completely removes Google Chrome. Now you can go head and download and install again.

Can't Download Chrome On Mac

See also: How To Use Terminal On Your Mac