How To Disable Hardware Acceleration In Google Chrome [2026 Guide]

I'm going to teach you how to disable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome. This feature offloads tasks to your graphics card and can improve performance, but it can also cause compatibility or stability problems on older hardware or certain software setups. If it's causing you headaches, follow these steps to turn it off.

If you want a broader walkthrough on graphics-related settings in Chrome, see how to enable or disable graphics acceleration with more context.

Open Chrome

First, open Google Chrome on your computer. Make sure it's up and running.

Go to the menu

Look at the top right corner of the window and find the three vertical dots. Those dots open essential browser functions, including the settings menu. Click the three dots to open the drop-down menu.

Open Settings

From the menu, select Settings. This opens a new tab where you can manage your Chrome preferences.

Find the System section

On the left-hand side of the Settings page, you will see sections like Privacy and security, Appearance, and Search engine. Focus on the System section near the bottom. Click System to bring up the relevant options.

Turn off the toggle

In System settings, find the option labeled Use hardware acceleration when available. By default, it might be turned on, which lets Chrome use graphics resources to speed up processes. If this is causing issues, click the toggle to disable it.

If you just need a concise refresher on these steps, you can turn off hardware acceleration in Chrome using the same quick method.

Relaunch Chrome

After switching the toggle off, you will see a prompt to relaunch Chrome for the change to take effect. Click the Relaunch button. Chrome will close and reopen your active tabs with hardware acceleration disabled.

What changes after this

Chrome will now rely on your CPU for rendering tasks. This can resolve graphics-related issues and improve stability on affected systems. If problems continue, you can revisit these settings and revert the change.

Final Thoughts

You’ve successfully disabled hardware acceleration in Google Chrome. This simple adjustment can fix display glitches, crashes, or other graphics-related problems tied to GPU rendering. If you are also refining your browser experience, you might want to disable Chrome’s AI features for a cleaner setup.