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Solved: How do I restore PWA on Google Chrome for Android

Problem

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are web-based applications that can be installed directly from the browser and offer the same features and user experience as native apps, but with a smaller size. However, one drawback of PWA is that they are not automatically restored when you sign in to a new device with your Google account, unlike apps from the Play Store. You have to manually create each PWA again, which can be tedious and time-consuming. Fortunately, Google has recently introduced a way to restore PWA on Chrome Android, and we will show you how to do it in this guide.

Solution: Install Chrome Canary

If you use Progressive Web Apps (PWA) on Chrome Android, you might want to restore them when you switch to a new device. This feature is currently being tested in Chrome Canary v121, which lets you review and restore the web apps of your choice when you install Chrome on your new device, as long as you sign in with the same Google account on both devices.

It is not clear yet if you can restore the PWA later if you miss or skip the Chrome prompt during the initial setup. The feature is still in the experimental stage and it may take some time before it reaches the stable version of Chrome.

If you want to try it out, you need to install Chrome Canary from the Play Store and enable the following flag:

  1. Download and install Chrome Canary from the Play Store.
  2. Type chrome://flags in the address bar.
  3. Search for the Enable the PWA Restore UI flag.
  4. Set it to Enabled.
  5. Tap Relaunch.
  6. Chrome will restart with the feature enabled.

Enable the PWA Restore UI in Chrome Canary to restore PWA on Google Chrome for Android

Conclusion

With this feature, you can easily restore your Progressive Web Apps (PWA) on Chrome Android when you use a different device with the same Google account. This will save you time and hassle of manually creating each PWA again. This feature is still in the testing phase and it will eventually be available in the stable version of Chrome without the need to enable any flag. You will be able to access it from the Chrome settings menu in the future.

Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook

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