Chromebook slow or frozen: how to fix it

Your Chromebook takes a long time to do things, or a page or the whole screen has stopped responding. These fixes start with the quickest and safest and only reach a reset at the end.

Before you start

A Chromebook mostly runs inside the Chrome browser, so tabs, extensions and apps are the usual cause of slowness. Allow about 10 minutes. Nothing here erases your files, except the final reset, which is explained in a separate guide with its own warning.

Try these fixes in order

Fix 1: Deal with the stuck page or app

1. Wait about a minute. A busy page may recover by itself.
2. If one page is stuck, close its tab, or press Ctrl + Shift + R to reload it from scratch (a hard refresh).
3. Close tabs, windows and apps you are not using. Each open tab uses memory.

Fix 2: Use the Task Manager

Chrome has its own Task Manager that shows what is using the Chromebook's power.

1. Press Shift + Esc. A small Task Manager window opens with a list of tabs, apps and extensions.
2. Look at the memory and CPU (processor workload) columns. Select the item that uses the most.
3. Select End process. That tab or app closes, so unsaved work in it is lost.

Fix 3: Restart the Chromebook

1. If the screen responds, select the time at the bottom right, then select the Power icon.
2. If the screen does not respond at all, hold the Power button until the Chromebook turns off.
3. Wait 10 seconds, then press Power to start it again.

Fix 4: Check for updates

Google lists installing available updates as the first step for a slow Chromebook. Follow How to update ChromeOS. An update finishes only after you restart.

Fix 5: Turn off extensions and remove recent additions

1. In Chrome, select the three-dot menu at the top right.
2. Choose More tools, then Extensions. Menu wording can vary between Chrome versions.
3. Turn off the switch next to each extension you do not need. Start with ones you added recently.
4. Restart Chrome. If things improved, select Remove on the extension that caused it.

Also remove apps you no longer use. Open the launcher, right-click the app, and choose the uninstall option if it appears.

Fix 6: Run the built-in diagnostics

Google suggests running Diagnostics on the memory or the CPU. Open the launcher, type Diagnostics, and open the app. A failed hardware test is a reason to use the manufacturer's support page. If you cannot find the app, your version may not include it.

Fix 7: Free up storage

This takes a few minutes and is worth doing if the Files app shows little free space.

A nearly full Chromebook can slow down. Open the Files app and move large files, such as videos, to Google Drive or an external drive. Once you have checked the copies open, delete the local ones you no longer need.

If it still does not work

Google lists resetting the Chromebook as the next step if the problem continues. The last resort is a Powerwash, which erases the Chromebook's local data and returns it to its factory state.

Chromebooks also feel slower as they age. You can find when your model stops receiving updates in How to update ChromeOS.

Frequently asked questions