Extensions stopped working in the Chrome browser

10 Mar 2013 - Dave

A few Chrome browser extensions stopped working recently.  A couple still worked but most did not.  I use Google Chrome often enough that it’s a problem.  Clicking on the extension buttons in Chrome’s toolbar only showed an empty pop-up balloon.

There are a few browser extensions that are important to me and surfing the web without them sucks.

• LastPass – LastPass is a password manager that makes web browsing easier and more secure.
• Xmarks Bookmark Sync – Backup and sync your bookmarks, passwords and open tabs across computers and different browsers.
• Rapportive – Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox.
• Adblock Plus – Enjoy surfing the web without obtrusive ads cluttering your screen!
• Flashblock for Chrome – Flashblock is an extension for the Google Chrome that blocks all Flash content from loading. It then leaves placeholders on the webpage that allow you to click to download and then view the Flash content.

Googling for help had lots of tips but they didn’t work for me.

• Tried disabling the extension and then re-enabling from the Chrome Extensions page (Tools > Extensions).  That didn’t work.  Tried disabling all extensions and re-enabling one at a time didn’t work either.
• Tried restarting Chrome and Windows in various combinations.
• Tried clearing browser data (Tools > Clear browser date… or Ctrl-Shift-Del).

Uninstalling and re-installing Google Chrome fixed the broken extensions problem.

• Before uninstalling Chrome I made a backup list of extensions by selecting them all on the Extensions page and pasting the list to a text file.
• I thought about deleting the hidden Chrome profile data but held off.  That proved unnecessary anyway.
• When Chrome started after the re-install all the extensions were still there and worked!

YMMV!