How to disable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome

If Chrome is having problems displaying visual elements on the screen, then turning off hardware acceleration may fix the problem. Here's how.

Chrome hardware acceleration disabled
Chrome hardware acceleration disabled / Image: Mauro Huculak
  • To disable Chrome’s hardware acceleration, Google ChromeSettings > System and turn off the “Use hardware acceleration when available” toggle switch.
  • You can turn on the toggle switch to re-enable the feature at any time.

On Google Chrome, hardware acceleration is a feature that allows the browser to access the device’s graphics card to speed up certain processes, thus improving the overall user experience when surfing the internet on Windows 11, 10, macOS, or Linux.

However, depending on your device configuration, hardware acceleration can negatively affect your experience by preventing visual elements from displaying correctly on the screen.

Disabling hardware acceleration can fix this issue if menus and dialog boxes are not rendering as expected.

In this guide, I will teach you the steps to turn off hardware acceleration in Chrome. (If you use Microsoft Edge, you can disable access to the graphics card with these instructions.)

Disable hardware acceleration on Chrome

To turn off hardware acceleration in Google Chrome, use these steps:

  1. Open Chrome.

  2. Click the horizontal ellipsis menu button in the top-right corner and click on Settings.

  3. Click on System.

  4. Turn off the “Use hardware acceleration when available” toggle switch under the “System” section.

    Chrome disable hardware acceleration

  5. Click the Relaunch button.

Once you complete the steps, menus and visual elements should render correctly on Chrome.

Enable hardware acceleration on Chrome

To enable hardware acceleration on Google Chrome, use these steps:

  1. Open Google Chrome.

  2. Click the Settings and More (three-dotted) button on the top-right corner.

  3. Click on Settings.

  4. Click on System.

  5. Turn on the “Use graphics acceleration when available” toggle switch under the “System” section to enable hardware acceleration.

    Chrome enable hardware acceleration

  6. Click the Relaunch button.

After you complete the steps, the browser will offload some processes to the graphics card instead of using the processor exclusively.

Update July 15, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of (est. 2010). With over 21 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.

Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.

Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.

You can follow him on YouTube, Threads, BlueSky, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].