How to turn off smooth scrolling in Google Chrome

Martin Brinkmann
Mar 16, 2016
Updated • May 28, 2016
Google Chrome
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22

Google introduced several new features in Google Chrome Stable 49, among them smooth scrolling to improve the scrolling behavior in the web browser.

While that may work well or better for most users, some users have noticed lag when scrolling after upgrading their browser versions to 49.

The main issue here is that the Chrome preferences don't offer options to turn off the feature which leaves users with the two undesirable choices: enduring the scrolling behavior or going back to an earlier versions of the browser.

Turn off Smooth Scrolling in Chrome

chrome smooth scrolling

What some may not know is that Chrome ships with an option to turn off smooth scrolling as it is hidden from sight on the experimental flags page.

The page, which you can access by loading chrome://flags/ in the browser, displays experimental not-yet-ready features that Google is testing in the browser.

It is unclear why smooth scrolling would remain on the page even though it has been implemented for all users, and the most likely explanation for this is that Google will remove the flag eventually from the browser.

It is unknown if the company plans to add an option to the browser's UI preferences instead at this point in time.

To disable smooth scrolling, do the following:

  1. Load chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling in the browser's address bar and hit enter. This takes you directly to the preference on the flags page.
  2. Alternatively, open chrome://flags directly, hit F3, and search for smooth scrolling to find it this way.
  3. Click on the disable link to turn the feature off. A restart button is displayed at the bottom which you need to click on to complete the process.

You can enable the feature again at any time in the future by setting it to enable on the flags page and restarting the Chrome browser afterwards.

Fullscreen changes

f11 fullscreen

Google made another change to Chrome 49 which affects fullscreen mode. You can enter fullscreen mode by tapping on F11, and F11 again to exit it.

You could use the mouse previously to exit fullscreen mode as well but that is no longer possible in Chrome 49.

To re-enable the option to exit fullscreen mode with the mouse do the following

  1. Load chrome://flags/#simplified-fullscreen-ui in the Chrome browser.
  2. Set the preference to disabled.
  3. Restart the browser.

You can now use the F11 key or the mouse to exit fullscreen mode again in the Chrome web browser.

Summary
How to turn off smooth scrolling in Google Chrome
Article Name
How to turn off smooth scrolling in Google Chrome
Description
Find out how to turn off Smooth Scrolling in Google Chrome 49 if you experience issues with the new scrolling functionality in the browser.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. ​ said on October 14, 2020 at 12:32 pm
    Reply

    @Steven, what does this have to do with Microsoft? This is a Google issue; you need to punch Sundar Pichai in the face repeatedly (give him him a couple for me too 😒).

  2. Steven said on May 4, 2018 at 11:41 am
    Reply

    Just every other “solution,” this did absolutely nothing.

    Scrolling in dialog boxes, while trying to advance a list item 1-5 places, advances it 20-40 places EXCEPTIONALLY SMOOTHLY

    I mean, wow, it’s so smooth, I’m really impressed, I mean, how talented do these Microsoft programmers have to be to provide me with a feature that 1) I don’t want, 2) literally makes me ill, and 3) costs me a ton in lost productivity? Holy heck, they’re good.

    If anyone finds a REAL solution to this, you can find me punching Satya Nadella in the face repeatedly.

  3. Anonymous said on March 2, 2018 at 11:49 am
    Reply

    Thanks, I don’t like smooth scrolling

  4. Andrew Craig said on June 5, 2017 at 11:47 pm
    Reply

    If you want to do this in Mac OSX, it’s not controlled in Chrome. Do it in the OS. Open Terminal and paste the following one line of text then press Enter:
    defaults write -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled -bool false

    Close/re-open your programs to take effect.

    I just tried on OSX El Capitan and I understand it’s been like this since Mountain Lion.

  5. Anonymous said on April 8, 2017 at 8:27 pm
    Reply

    Smooth scrolling is nice!

  6. cartman said on January 3, 2017 at 8:35 pm
    Reply

    thank you, smooth scrolling is so damn annoying.

  7. Yks said on July 17, 2016 at 10:15 am
    Reply

    Thanks! To hell with smooth scrolling, yeehaw!

  8. Pim said on May 28, 2016 at 3:17 pm
    Reply

    Hi, i’ve just tried this in Chrome Stable 51, and it didn’t work as expected. Turns out the option has been changed to chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling

    Cheers!

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on May 28, 2016 at 4:07 pm
      Reply

      Thanks, I have corrected the link!

  9. Zach Aysan said on May 17, 2016 at 9:45 pm
    Reply

    Thanks so much. It’s so frustrating when scrolling is artificially slowed.

  10. SnappyIsBest said on May 12, 2016 at 3:26 pm
    Reply

    Thank you so much!

    I also added this extension:
    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pdf-viewer/oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm?utm_source=chrome-app-launcher-info-dialog
    An alternate PDF viewer, based on js.
    Having both smooth scroll and that made my whole chrome much more snappier.

  11. 13irth said on May 3, 2016 at 1:56 am
    Reply

    It was re-enabled and I didn’t really notice until recently. I was like “why does everything move so slowly…” e.e
    Chrome pls.

  12. SmoothScrollingSucks said on April 22, 2016 at 6:39 pm
    Reply

    This keeps getting re-enabled every time Chrome is updated on my machine.

    WHY?

  13. Pawprint said on March 25, 2016 at 1:39 am
    Reply

    You know what’s really sad? This has been a first-class configuration option in Internet Explorer for YEARS. Come on, Chrome, get with it!

  14. Nick said on March 22, 2016 at 1:52 am
    Reply

    Thank you! That shit was driving me mad. Now, my scrolling is back to a sane setting.

  15. Em said on March 18, 2016 at 4:29 am
    Reply

    THANK YOU!

  16. NP said on March 18, 2016 at 2:03 am
    Reply

    Can’t stand smooth scrolling, thank you for this article. Really disappointed it’s on by default and buried in flags instead of regular user settings

  17. Pierre said on March 17, 2016 at 1:34 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for smooth scrolling
    I knew it

  18. j said on March 17, 2016 at 12:28 pm
    Reply

    Thank you. I hate smooth scrolling.

  19. Vik said on March 17, 2016 at 3:12 am
    Reply

    Thanks! Hate smooth scrolling.

  20. pontus said on March 16, 2016 at 2:52 pm
    Reply

    I thought id had a stroke when chrome felt all different today. Turns out it was the smooth scrolling.. You saved me!

  21. MS + NSA = Love4Eva said on March 16, 2016 at 11:57 am
    Reply

    Not only lag, I’ve noticed much bigger CPU usage when i scroll a page with smooth scrolling enabled than when i have smooth scrolling disabled. YMMV

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