Not strictly a Microsoft problem, but Gmail keeps on freezing in Chrome in Windows 11

Question

Not strictly a Microsoft problem, but Gmail keeps on freezing in Chrome in Windows 11

Brett Gregory 115

This started about three months ago. Using Chrome browser, Gmail constantly freezes up for 30-45 seconds at a time, which you can imagine is maddening. This does not happen using Firefox, but I stopped using Firefox for other reasons (it hates video). Chrome throws up a panel to ask whether I want to wait or exit the page, so I wait, and 10-15 seconds later it throws it up again, so I wait. I then get a short window to type (or even scroll!) before it freezes again.

O'course, right now it won't do it because I want to screen shot the panel that it throws up. No other page does this, and I have two Chrome windows open on different screens, with usually about 7-10 pages open in each. Until 3 months ago it never used to freeze with even 20 windows open in each.

I turned off all extensions, but it still kept freezing.

I have had to open Notepad, compose the email there, and paste it into Gmail, to mitigate these freeze-outs, or just go over to Firefox, which means yet another resource hungry window open.

I do not recall if this started happening after a Windows update, or perhaps a Chrome update. I use Grammerly (free version) but it's not that causing it, as I have been signed out of it for the last week.

Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-11T08:46:52.1466667+00:00

Clearing cache never helps.

There are cookies and other site data from 711 sites.

There is browsing data from 311 sites, but I don't like losing that history as it can be very useful.
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-11T08:47:53.5233333+00:00

Finally got a screenshot
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-12T07:25:12.6566667+00:00

Screenshot wouldn't load as a png.

ng.

Answer accepted by question author

Hendrix-V 19,130 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Brett Gregory,

Given that the freezing only happens in Gmail (and not in other sites or browsers), it’s more likely related to how Chrome is handling that page rather than your stored data.

You can try the following targeted steps that won’t affect your browsing history or saved data:

1, Turn off hardware acceleration

Open Chrome > Settings > System
Disable “Use hardware acceleration when available”
Restart Chrome

2, Identify if a specific tab/process is hanging - when the freeze occurs:

Press Shift + Esc (Chrome Task Manager)
Look for Gmail or a tab using high CPU and end just that process

3, Test with a new Chrome profile

Create a new profile and sign into Gmail only.
If it works smoothly there, your main profile likely has a configuration issue.

If the behavior continues even in a new profile, it may be worth checking for upcoming Chrome or driver updates, as those can help improve stability.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-12T07:21:43.7033333+00:00

Thank you for your response Hendrix. Use graphics acceleration when available was already turned off a few weeks ago. Yes, I think it is the way the Chrome is handling Gmail. We'd be entitled to think that they are a good pairing though, eh? I keep Chrome up to date all the time.

I'll have to wait until the next freeze to test your second point, and won't go on to your 3rd point until after that. It does seem a little cumbersome to end and then restart the Gmail process though. I presume that "exit pages" option when the freeze msg finally comes up will close Gmail.
Hendrix-V 19,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-13T02:27:55.8266667+00:00

Hi Brett Gregory,

Thanks for updating. At this point, keep monitoring on Chrome behavior would be the best decision before making any changes. If the issue re-occurs, please try my next suggestion.

Let me know in the Comments section if you have any updates or further questions. Thanks for your time and effort.
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-29T01:57:48.3666667+00:00

What a strange situation. I opened the Chrome Task Manager (and left it open for several days), and turned off all extensions (again) and gradually enabled the various extensions one by one, and Gmail was always sitting at about 1-1.05 GB of memory (which means it does not freeze). sbs.com.au (a streaming platform) was sitting at 4 GB memory usage, even when idle, which I thought was a bit strange, so I reloaded it and it came down to not really registering memory usage.

At the same time, the Gmail usage dropped to 0.5-0.6GB usage (with only the sbs reload) with all extensions active, except MacAfee Web Advisor. When I activate the Web Advisor the memory used by Gmail spikes up to ~1 GB again, but then settles back to 0.5-0.6 GB again.

So the upshot of all that is that the freezing seems to be fixed without knowing what caused it. It would not have been sbs.com.au because that has almost never been used in the last few months (the period of freezing). I have also turned off all extensions and restarted them one by one a few times now, with no difference to freezing.

Just another example of me being the King of Weird (and not just with IT).

Thanks to those who have had some input to solving the problem.
Hendrix-V 19,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-29T08:07:50.8533333+00:00

Hi Brett Gregory,

Thank you for sharing the outcome. Based on what you observed, it sounds like the issue may have been related to a temporary browser state, tab interaction, or extension behavior rather than a persistent Gmail problem.

The encouraging part is that after restarting extensions and monitoring Chrome Task Manager, the freezing has not returned. In situations like this, Chrome can occasionally resolve an underlying tab or process issue during troubleshooting, making the original trigger difficult to identify afterward.

If the problem remains resolved, there is probably little value in making further changes. However, if it returns in the future, keeping Chrome Task Manager open and noting which tab or process shows unusual CPU or memory activity may help pinpoint the cause more quickly.

I'm glad Gmail appears to be behaving normally again and thank you for posting your findings. If there is anything else I can assist you with, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section.

In addition, if you found my answer helpful, I’d really appreciate it if you could click "Accept Answer" and kindly give it an upvote.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-11T08:46:52.1466667+00:00

Clearing cache never helps.

There are cookies and other site data from 711 sites.

There is browsing data from 311 sites, but I don't like losing that history as it can be very useful.
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-11T08:47:53.5233333+00:00

Finally got a screenshot
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-12T07:25:12.6566667+00:00

Screenshot wouldn't load as a png.

ng.
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-12T07:21:43.7033333+00:00

Thank you for your response Hendrix. Use graphics acceleration when available was already turned off a few weeks ago. Yes, I think it is the way the Chrome is handling Gmail. We'd be entitled to think that they are a good pairing though, eh? I keep Chrome up to date all the time.

I'll have to wait until the next freeze to test your second point, and won't go on to your 3rd point until after that. It does seem a little cumbersome to end and then restart the Gmail process though. I presume that "exit pages" option when the freeze msg finally comes up will close Gmail.
Hendrix-V 19,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-13T02:27:55.8266667+00:00

Hi Brett Gregory,

Thanks for updating. At this point, keep monitoring on Chrome behavior would be the best decision before making any changes. If the issue re-occurs, please try my next suggestion.

Let me know in the Comments section if you have any updates or further questions. Thanks for your time and effort.
Brett Gregory 115 Reputation points

2026-06-29T01:57:48.3666667+00:00

What a strange situation. I opened the Chrome Task Manager (and left it open for several days), and turned off all extensions (again) and gradually enabled the various extensions one by one, and Gmail was always sitting at about 1-1.05 GB of memory (which means it does not freeze). sbs.com.au (a streaming platform) was sitting at 4 GB memory usage, even when idle, which I thought was a bit strange, so I reloaded it and it came down to not really registering memory usage.

At the same time, the Gmail usage dropped to 0.5-0.6GB usage (with only the sbs reload) with all extensions active, except MacAfee Web Advisor. When I activate the Web Advisor the memory used by Gmail spikes up to ~1 GB again, but then settles back to 0.5-0.6 GB again.

So the upshot of all that is that the freezing seems to be fixed without knowing what caused it. It would not have been sbs.com.au because that has almost never been used in the last few months (the period of freezing). I have also turned off all extensions and restarted them one by one a few times now, with no difference to freezing.

Just another example of me being the King of Weird (and not just with IT).

Thanks to those who have had some input to solving the problem.
Hendrix-V 19,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-29T08:07:50.8533333+00:00

Hi Brett Gregory,

Thank you for sharing the outcome. Based on what you observed, it sounds like the issue may have been related to a temporary browser state, tab interaction, or extension behavior rather than a persistent Gmail problem.

The encouraging part is that after restarting extensions and monitoring Chrome Task Manager, the freezing has not returned. In situations like this, Chrome can occasionally resolve an underlying tab or process issue during troubleshooting, making the original trigger difficult to identify afterward.

If the problem remains resolved, there is probably little value in making further changes. However, if it returns in the future, keeping Chrome Task Manager open and noting which tab or process shows unusual CPU or memory activity may help pinpoint the cause more quickly.

I'm glad Gmail appears to be behaving normally again and thank you for posting your findings. If there is anything else I can assist you with, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section.

In addition, if you found my answer helpful, I’d really appreciate it if you could click "Accept Answer" and kindly give it an upvote.

Answer 1

Gmail freezing only in Chrome on Windows 11 is typically caused by browser issues (cache, cookies, add‑ons, or site settings) rather than Windows itself. Since extensions are already disabled, focus on Chrome’s site data, cookies, and pop‑up/ads behavior for Gmail.

Try the following steps in order:

Clear Chrome cache and cookies (especially for Gmail)

In Chrome, open Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data.
Select “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files”.
Time range: “All time”.
Clear data, then fully close and reopen Chrome.

Allow cookies and required pop‑ups for Gmail Freezes can occur if cookies or needed pop‑ups/redirects are blocked for Gmail.

In Chrome Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings:
- Under “Cookies and site data”, make sure sites can use cookies.
- If using “Block third‑party cookies”, add mail.google.com as an allowed site.
Still in Site settings:
- Open “Pop-ups and redirects” and allow pop‑ups for mail.google.com if it is blocked.
- Open “Ads” and ensure Gmail is not restricted there.

Try Incognito mode

Press Ctrl+Shift+N to open an Incognito window.
Sign in to Gmail and work for a while.
If it does not freeze in Incognito, the cause is almost always cached data, cookies, or a profile‑specific setting. In that case, creating a new Chrome profile and moving bookmarks over can permanently fix it.

Check for blocked third‑party cookies or content filters If third‑party cookies or tracking protection are heavily restricted, Gmail’s scripts can stall.

In Site settings → Cookies and site data, temporarily allow third‑party cookies and test Gmail.
If any security or privacy tools are installed at the OS level (AV web shield, DNS filter, etc.), temporarily disable their browser filtering and test.

Update Chrome and Windows

Ensure Chrome is fully up to date (Menu → Help → About Google Chrome).
Install all pending Windows Updates and restart.

Test another Chromium‑based browser If the issue persists, test Gmail in Microsoft Edge (which is also Chromium‑based). If Edge works fine while Chrome still freezes, the problem is almost certainly with the Chrome user profile; creating a fresh profile is recommended.

If none of these steps help and only Gmail is affected, continuing to use Firefox specifically for Gmail is a valid workaround until a Chrome or Gmail update resolves the underlying compatibility issue.

References: