Chrome freezing while scrolling on Android (FIX)

Chrome used to be plainly awful back in the days when the first Androids were presented. Nowadays, it’s much better and offers a more consistent browsing experience on handheld devices while being octane-powered by Google ecosystem advantages. However, some users report that Chrome for Android freezes when scrolling and that this started happening without any apparent reason.

Learn how to fix this in no time by following the steps we listed below.

Table of contents:

1. Clear data from Google Chrome for Android
2. Uninstall updates from Chrome
3. Lower the animation scaling
4. Use an older version of Chrome
5. Stick to an alternative browser for the time being

Chrome won’t scroll down on Android

You can stop Chrome from freezing on Android by clearing local data from the app, granting all permissions, or uninstalling updates from Chrome.

If that doesn’t work, you can roll back to an older version of Chrome on your device. Also, consider switching to an alternative browser. At least until Google sorts things out.

1. Clear data from Google Chrome for Android

The first thing to do is simply restart your device. That should improve the phone’s performance in case lags and freezing is a system-wide problem and not something that applies only to Google Chrome.

If that doesn’t help, you can clear local data from Google Chrome to speed it up. Here’s how to clear data from Google Chrome on Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Apps.
3. Expand all apps and open Google Chrome.
4. Tap Storage.
5. Select Manage storage.
6. Tap Clear all data and confirm when prompted.
7. Open Chrome and grant all necessary permissions.

2. Uninstall updates from Chrome

Unless you’re on some custom Android ROM without Google services, Google Chrome will be on your phone. It’s the way Android works and Google likes to integrate as many of its services. Consequently, this means that you can’t remove Google Chrome completely from your Android. Therefore, reinstallation, in the classic sense of the word, is a no-go. What you can do is uninstall updates and restore the app to its factory settings.

Here’s how to uninstall updates from Chrome:

1. Navigate to Settings > Apps > All apps > Google Chrome again.
2. Tap on the 3-dots menu and tap Uninstall updates.
3. Restart your device and check for improvements. Google Chrome will auto-update but it should work better this time around.

If this doesn’t help and Chrome on Android still freezes when scrolling, make sure to try other steps.

3. Lower the animation scaling

This solution applies if the issue is concerning other apps and services, as well. If you run into freezing when scrolling in other apps besides Chrome, you can try to speed things up a bit.

What you can do is access developer options and lower the animation scaling to improve the speed of your phone. Fewer animations equal a faster and better-performing phone. This is important if your device is a bit outdated and not on the strong side specs-wise. Although, the aesthetic side of the user experience will definitely suffer.

Here’s how to disable Animation scaling on Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap About phone.
3. Select Software information.
4. Tap on the Build number 7 times to enable the Developer options mode.
5. Open Developer options from System.
6. Locate the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator duration scale.
7. All options are set to 1 (the default value). What you need to do is reduce them to a lesser value or outright turn them off, if possible.

4. Use an older version of Chrome

The next thing you can try is to roll back Google Chrome for Android to an older version. That can be done with an APK and we strongly suggest it whenever the current version of an app has issues. You can learn everything there is to know about this maneuver in the article we wrote about it.

Since we are talking about a system app, you won’t be able to sideload an APK version older than the factory version. So, make sure to install an older version but don’t time travel too far. Stick to more recent versions.

What you want to do is as follows:

1. Uninstall updates from Google Chrome as explained above.
2. Navigate to APK Mirror and download an older version of Google Chrome. You can see the latest Chrome version codename or number in Play Store.
3. Run the APK and allow installation from third-party sources when prompted. Install the app and check for improvements.

You can also uninstall updates from Android System WebView, but we can’t say this will help with certainty.

5. Stick to an alternative browser for the time being

Finally, if Chrome for Android still freezes when scrolling through web pages, we recommend switching to an alternative browser. There are many browsers that can do just fine as temporary replacements. You don’t even have to move from Chrome since there are always Chrome Dev (Play Store) and Chrome Beta (Play Store) versions.

Don’t forget to report the problem to Google and make sure that your device is up to date. With that, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and feel free to share alternative solutions or post questions. You can do that in the comments section below. You can also follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in January 2022. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.