Is Google Chrome Showing a Frustrating Gray Screen? Here’s the Ultimate Fix You Need!

Why Did Chrome Browser Suddenly Go Blank? Discover the Simple Trick to Restore It Instantly!

Have you recently opened Google Chrome only to be met with a blank gray, white, or black screen? You see nothing. No buttons, no web pages, just an empty window. This can be a frustrating experience, especially when you need to get things done online. You are not alone in this; a recent update to Google Chrome has caused this problem for some users.

The good news is you do not need to take drastic steps like uninstalling and reinstalling the browser. The problem is usually connected to something called hardware acceleration. Think of your computer as having two types of power. It has its main power for everyday tasks and extra graphics power for things like watching videos or playing games. The latest Chrome update, version 139, seems to have created a communication problem with this extra graphics power, leading to the blank screen.

By making a couple of small adjustments, you can fix this issue and get your browser working perfectly again. This guide will walk you through the solution step-by-step. The fix is only for users on Windows computers.

A Simple Guide to Fix the Gray Screen

Follow these instructions carefully to resolve the blank screen problem. You will be telling Chrome to start differently for a moment so you can change a setting, and then you will change it back.

Step 1: Find your Google Chrome shortcut.

This is the icon you usually click to open the browser. It is likely on your desktop or in your Start Menu. Right-click on this shortcut icon.

Step 2: Go to Properties.

A menu will appear after you right-click. Choose the “Properties” option at the bottom of this menu.

Step 3: Modify the Target field.

In the Properties window, you will see a field labeled “Target.” This box contains the location of the Chrome program. Click inside this box and go to the very end of the text. Press the spacebar once, and then type the following command exactly as it appears here: –disable-gpu. The full Target line should look something like this: “C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” –disable-gpu

Step 4: Apply the change.

Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save this new instruction. This command temporarily tells Chrome not to use your computer’s extra graphics power, which is what is causing the conflict.

Step 5: Open Chrome and go to Flags.

Double-click the shortcut you just edited. Chrome should now open correctly, showing you the user interface. In the address bar at the top, type the following and press Enter: chrome://flags/#use-angle. This will take you to a special settings page. “Flags” are experimental features in Chrome.

Step 6: Change the ANGLE setting.

You will see a highlighted option called “Choose ANGLE graphics backend.” The error is often caused by this setting being on something other than the default. Click the dropdown menu next to it and set the value to Default.

Step 7: Remove the command from the shortcut.

Now that you have fixed the setting inside Chrome, you can remove the temporary instruction. Right-click on your Chrome shortcut again and go back into “Properties.” Delete the –disable-gpu text you added earlier. Click “Apply” and “OK.”

Step 8: Relaunch Chrome.

Close your browser completely and open it again using the normal shortcut. The gray screen issue should now be resolved, and Chrome will run normally, using your computer’s hardware efficiently again.

This problem seems to have started with Chrome versions 139.0.7258.66 and 139.0.7258.67, which were released in early August 2025. A bug report was filed, indicating that the issue was known but had not been patched before the update was widely distributed. By following the steps above, you directly address the conflict the update created between Chrome and your system’s graphics processing.