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You are here: Home / Tips and Tricks / Chrome Won’t Open On Mac, Fix

Chrome Won’t Open On Mac, Fix

Last updated on October 20, 2019 By Serhat Kurt 45 Comments

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)

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”Finder Go To
  3. Enter this:
  4. ~/Library/Application SupportGo to Folder
  5. And click Go
  6. This will open a folder
  7. Find the ‘Google’ named folder
  8. Right click the folder and click Get InfoFolder 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. Google Chrome Changing Permissions
  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..’Google Folder
  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.

See also: How To Use Terminal On Your Mac

Filed Under: Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Chrome

Comments

  1. Nouri says

    October 9, 2020 at 2:38 am

    THANK YOU!!!! YOU SOLVED MY PROBLEM!!!!

    Reply
  2. Arlette says

    August 20, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    Hola! Como se escribe el primer símbolo? Abro la carpeta…pero hasta ahí no más llego…no sé usar este teclado😭

    Reply
  3. James says

    August 6, 2020 at 4:21 am

    Hi,
    Same problem but your steps are not resolving the issue.
    Google Chrome can not be opened.
    I dragged Google chrome to trash, wanting to uninstall and reinstall, but the trash will not allow me to delete Google chrome as it says it is in use.
    I tried Command+Option+Escape but it shows the application is not in use.
    I followed your steps Number 3 & 4: it still won’t allow me to delete. I even drag the folder for Google drive to trash as well as Google Chrome.
    The trash allowed me to delete Google Drive but not Google Chrome!It insists google chrome is still in use.
    Any suggestions how to completly stop google chrome from working so that I may uninstall and then re-install?

    Reply
    • Melina says

      October 15, 2020 at 1:03 pm

      I had the same problem. The trash won’t allow me to delete Google Chrome. Si, I tried reinstall without uninstall and it worked!

      Reply
  4. luis says

    August 6, 2020 at 1:55 am

    Me funcionò el proceso, gracias por compartir, Saludos

    Reply
  5. Haritosh says

    August 3, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    amazing! worked like a charm. Wonder how people were solving small but pesky problems like this before without internet. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jason Morrey says

    July 31, 2020 at 9:15 am

    Wonderful – Worked perfectly – weirdly my iMac hadn’t put any user profiles into the permissions, only system – easy fix. thanks

    Reply
  7. Leanne says

    July 27, 2020 at 4:30 am

    Thanks so much.
    I downloaded it and then the icon would just appear in my toolbar and just as quickly disappear.
    Followed the instructions here, and it worked like a charm.

    Reply
  8. storiesigviewer.com says

    July 23, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    Uninstalling and reinstalling Chrome can fix a myriad of problems, including ones with your search engine, Flash, pop-ups, updates, or others that can prevent Chrome from opening.

    Reply
  9. Frankie says

    July 23, 2020 at 3:16 pm

    Yay!! Thank You!! This was so helpful! The normal person wouldn’t know to go in and change the permission!

    Reply
  10. Jose says

    July 20, 2020 at 7:24 am

    Genial. Funciona todo ok
    Thank you!!

    Reply
  11. satish sarode says

    July 19, 2020 at 11:17 am

    Thank you very much. it works

    Reply
  12. Vinoo says

    July 5, 2020 at 4:12 am

    It works! Thank you.
    No words can describe my relief. I have been trying to get Chrome working for weeks now. It was a permission issue !

    Reply
  13. Angel Ap says

    June 30, 2020 at 2:12 am

    It helped! Chrome was not oppenig after many reinstalls and that ended it.

    Reply
  14. Trevor says

    June 24, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    Brilliant,Thanks for your help.I think I had a corrupted file so I trashed it and installed a new version, works perfectly.

    Reply
  15. Cristina says

    June 14, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    It works!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!

    Reply
  16. JB says

    June 5, 2020 at 2:29 pm

    Did not work for me. My system updated Google Chrome on June 2, 2020. I can’t delete the app and install again because it keeps telling me it’s open. Yet I have tried three different ways to “force quit”! This is beyond frustrating.

    Reply
    • Jo says

      August 9, 2020 at 12:07 am

      This is me too, I cannot remove the app as it keeps saying its open even though I have forced quit several times. Would love to know if you have fixed the problem?

      Reply
  17. Joel says

    May 31, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    OMG it works! Thank you so much !

    Reply
  18. Diana says

    May 30, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  19. Hank Hotchkiss says

    May 10, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    Worked for me! Thank you.

    Reply
  20. Johanesburg says

    May 1, 2020 at 4:59 am

    This worked! I’ve been struggling for weeks! Thank you!

    Reply
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