Reset Chrome settings to their defaults
Chrome's reset restores the settings that extensions or apps most often change without asking — the default search engine, homepage, startup and pinned tabs, content settings, and cookies and site data — and it disables all extensions. Your saved bookmarks, history and passwords are not deleted or changed.
Reviewed 9 Nov 2026
Who it suits
- Your homepage, search engine or startup pages changed without you choosing it
- An extension changed Chrome's behaviour and you cannot undo it setting by setting
- Chrome itself still opens and its Settings page works
Who it doesn’t suit
- Chrome will not start at all — the reset needs Chrome open, so a different repair comes first
- You want to erase your history or passwords — the reset deliberately does not touch those
- You suspect malicious software on the whole computer; a settings reset only covers Chrome's settings
Start guided mode or read all 5 steps below — guided mode is never mandatory.
Before you start
Preparation
- Write down your current homepage and startup pages if you like them — the reset returns them to the defaults.
- Expect to sign in to websites again afterwards, because cookies and site data are cleared.
- Know that extensions will be switched off, not removed — you will switch the ones you trust back on, one at a time.
▲ Caution — possible effects
- The reset changes the default search engine, homepage and startup tabs, the new tab page, pinned tabs, content settings, and cookies and site data back to defaults — on every device where you are signed in with this Chrome profile, per Google.
- All extensions and themes are disabled; extensions are not uninstalled.
- Bookmarks, history and saved passwords are not deleted or changed.
- It is not a complete factory wipe: Google notes that some settings, such as fonts or accessibility, are not deleted by this reset.
⬢ Stop if…
- Stop before resetting if you are signed in somewhere you cannot afford to lose access to — for example an account whose password or recovery method you no longer have. Sort that out first, because site data will be cleared.
- Stop if software you never installed changed Chrome and the problems go beyond settings. A reset will not remove malicious software from the computer itself.
Original sources
- Reset Chrome settings to default — Google Chrome Help (Official documentation — accessed 9 Nov 2026)
Steps
Note what you want to keep
Write down your current homepage and startup pages if you like them, because the reset returns them to the defaults. Bookmarks, history and saved passwords stay untouched, so nothing needs backing up there.
Open the reset screen
In Chrome, open the three-dot menu → Settings → Reset settings → 'Restore settings to their original defaults', exactly as Google's help lays out.
Read the confirmation, then confirm
Chrome shows a confirmation explaining what will change. Click 'Reset settings'. The restored settings apply to this profile on all devices where you are signed in.
Caution: Confirming resets the settings and clears cookies and site data, and the reset cannot be undone. If there is anything you want to restore later, note it first (step 1).
Check the settings that caused trouble
Look at your search engine, homepage and startup pages — they should be back to the defaults. Open a site you use and sign in again, since cookies and site data were cleared.
Re-enable extensions one at a time
Open chrome://extensions — every extension is now off. Turn them back on one at a time, using Chrome normally after each. If the problem returns after enabling one particular extension, that extension is the likely cause: remove it and leave the rest on.
How to check success
Finishing the steps is not the same as fixing the problem. You are done if these practical checks pass:
- Check: Are the search engine, homepage and startup pages back to the defaults you expected?
- Check: Has the unwanted change — for example a replaced homepage — stopped happening?
- Check: Can you sign back in to your usual websites?
If it fails
- If the same unwanted changes come back even while every extension is off, the cause is probably software outside Chrome. Google suggests creating a new Chrome profile as a further step; beyond that, the computer itself needs a proper malware check, which this method does not cover.
Evidence, review and results
- Source
- Official documentation
- Testing
- Not team-tested
- Reports
- No reviewed results yet — be the first to record yours.
An official source means the maker documents this procedure — it does not mean our team has run it, and one person’s success is not a guarantee for everyone. Public counts appear only when reviewed reports exist; none are published yet.
Record your result
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Your result is saved in My Attempts on this device only. Download a copy to keep it safe:
Report an error in this method
About this method
Change note: First published version. Where one team did the writing, reviewing and (when done) testing, the same name appears in each role — we say so rather than invent separate people.