Discover how to restore Chrome tabs after a crash, restart, or accidental closure with simple tools and shortcuts.
Learn Chrome’s built-in recovery features, including session restore, keyboard shortcuts, and syncing tabs across devices.
Unlock preventive strategies like Startup Restore and sync to keep your browsing workflow safe and accessible.
Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers worldwide, powering millions every day. Users open multiple tabs simultaneously to make their workflow smoother on Chrome. Therefore, accidentally closing the browser and losing all the tabs feels more frustrating than it seems.
Fortunately, Chrome has several recovery methods that can help users recover the tabs they have accidentally closed. From keyboard shortcuts to session restore settings, the following are the top methods for restoring tabs on Chrome. The best part is that Chrome allows users to recover most tabs instantly.
To begin the recovery process, users should use Chrome’s built-in recovery tools. These tools help users get back the disappeared tabs after a crash, restart, or accidental closure:
Keyboard Shortcuts
On Windows or ChromeOS, press Ctrl + Shift + T.
On Mac, press Cmd + Shift + T.
Every time you press the prompted buttons, it will restore one recently closed tab or an entirely closed window. This is the fastest way to reopen lost pages.
If you have accidentally closed a tab, Chrome's history can help you recover it. Follow the steps below to get back the closed tabs from Chrome history:
Open Chrome
Click the three dots in the upper-right corner
From the menu, select History.
Check the Recently Closed section, where you will find all the closed tabs.
This method works best when multiple windows have been closed accidentally and you need to recover all of them.
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Chrome generally shows a restore option after a crash. It comes at the top of the browser. If that’s what happened to you and you need to recover the closed tabs instantly, click the Restore option. This will instantly reopen your last session.
If you don’t want to face the trouble every time, there’s a way to prompt Chrome to restore all the tabs from the previous sessions automatically. Follow the given steps for a quick recovery:
Go to Settings
Click on On Startup.
Select Continue where you left off.
Enable this option to automatically restore all tabs from your previous session when Chrome is launched.
Once enabled, Chrome will automatically restore all the tabs from the previous session whenever you relaunch it. Therefore, whether you have closed the browser accidentally or it crashed, there won’t be any issues in recovering the tabs.
The methods above enable users to recover closed tabs quickly, but understanding and utilizing them strategically ensures minimal data loss.
If you need the lost tabs faster, keyboard shortcuts will work the best. Similarly, if you are looking for a complete session restoration, going for the History will offer the fastest recovery. Alternatively, for a full session recovery, enabling Startup Restore will also work.
If your device witnesses unexpected crashes, you can minimize the disruption by enabling Startup Restore. With this feature enabled, users will regain all their tabs as soon as they launch the browser the next time. If the feature is enabled, even if you have forced closed your Chrome, you can recover everything with minimal loss.
If you are a user who opens dozens of tabs at a time, relying only on keyboard shortcuts won’t work. Again, the startup setting will bring the solution. The startup setting will create a more reliable way to recover everything.
Sometimes restarting the browser does not present the restore option. In such cases, users should combine manual and automated methods to safeguard essential tabs.
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Chrome recovery tools ensure that the accidental loss of tabs does not hinder user productivity. From instant fixes, such as keyboard shortcuts, to preventive strategies like Startup Restore, Chrome offers flexible options for all users.
However, it is worth noting that no single method is entirely error-proof. Therefore, it’s better to combine manual processes with automated recovery strategies to create a proper solution.
Can I restore Chrome tabs after a crash?
Ans: Yes, you can. Chrome is massively popular in the professional world, and it offers different methods like Startup Restore to recover an entire session. Additionally, the restore prompt also comes sometimes after a crash.
Does Chrome automatically reopen tabs after restart?
Ans: It does, but that’s not a default setting. Instead, users have to go to Chrome’s Setting and turn on ‘Continue where you left off’ from the Startup Restore section to get back the tabs automatically after a crash.
Can I recover Chrome tabs on another device?
Ans: Yes, you can access Chrome’s history on another device. For that, you have to turn on Chrome Sync that you can access via History.
Is there a shortcut to restore closed tabs?
Ans: Using keyboard shortcuts is among the fastest methods to restore a single tab that you have probably closed accidentally. Press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows, and Cmd + Shift + T on Mac to get back closed tabs instantly.
What’s the best way to prevent losing tabs?
Ans: There are multiple ways, but the best one includes enabling Chrome Sync, and startup restore. These help users to recover an entire session.