Google Chrome is updated every six weeks with major new versions and more frequently with security patches. Chrome downloads updates automatically, but it does not restart the browser to install them. Here’s how to check for and install updates right away.
- Click the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of Chrome on Windows, Mac, or Linux, hover your mouse cursor over “Help,” and select “About Google Chrome.” You can also enter chrome:/settings/help into Chrome’s address bar and press Enter.
- As soon as you open the About Google Chrome page, Chrome will check for updates and download them.
If Chrome has already downloaded and installed an update, the menu icon will change to an up arrow and one of three colors, depending on how long the update has been available:
- Green indicates that an update has been available for two days.
- Orange: A four-day update is now available.
- Red: A seven-day update is now available.
- After installing the update, or if it has been waiting for a few days, click “Relaunch” to complete the update process.
Caution: Always save anything you’re working on in any open tabs. After a relaunch, Chrome reopens the open tabs but does not save any of the data contained within them.
- Close the About Google Chrome tab if you’d rather wait for Chrome to restart and finish your work. The update will be installed the next time you close and reopen Chrome.
- When you relaunch Chrome and the update has finished installing, go back to chrome:/settings/help to ensure you’re using the most recent version of Chrome. If you’ve already installed the most recent updates, Chrome will display “Google Chrome is up to date.”
