Chrome extensions are not necessarily updated the moment a new version of an installed extension is published on the Chrome Web Store.

Google rolls out updates to Chrome, other company products and also extensions in waves. While it is sometimes possible to initiate an update manually, Chrome does not come with functionality to do so.

I encountered this issue recently with the popular uBlock Origin extension. Chrome showed version 1.16.18, the Chrome Web Store version 1.17.0.

The question that came out of this was simple: how do I force the update of Chrome extensions so that I don't have to wait until Google delivers the update to the browser?

Even after 24 hours, Chrome was still listing the older version of the extension as installed even though a newer version was available for more than 24 hours.

A quick search on the Internet returned suggestions and tips that did not work. Most suggested to enable Developer Mode on chrome://extensions and hit the "update" button frantically.

Doing so did not work on my end and I have the impression that update will only update locally installed extensions and not remotely installed ones (correct me if I'm wrong on this). Anyway, the update button did not work which meant that I had to find another solution.

I could have removed the Chrome extension to install the new one. The Chrome Web Store displays "added to Chrome" instead of the "add to Chrome" option and there is no other option to install an extension anew if it is already installed.

While uninstalling and reinstalling works, as it will install the latest version of the extension in Chrome, doing so may impact personalization and other things.

Update Chrome extensions manually

The main idea that I had was to download the Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store to install the update manually. It is a simple process that worked well whenever I did it.

Here is what you need to do:

Download the Chrome extension Get CRX. It unlocks download options on the Chrome Web Store so that you can download the extension CRX packages to the local system. Open the Store page of the extension that you want to update. Right-click on a blank region on the page and select "Get CRX of this extension". A download window opens and you can download the updated extension file to the local system. Open chrome://extensions in the address bar. Enable "Developer Mode". Drag and drop the downloaded extension to the window to install it. You need to wait with the "drop" part until you get the "drop to install" overlay on the page. Proceed with the installation and update as usual.

Chrome will install the new version of the extension so that it is updated in the web browser. Please note that the method works only if the Chrome Web Store lists the new version already.

Summary Article Name How to update Chrome extensions manually Description Chrome not updating extensions even though a new version is available? Find out how to enforce the update of outdated browser extensions in Chrome. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo

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