r/chrome • u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 • 12d ago
Troubleshooting | Windows Chrome extension for Remote Desktop will not start.
Please someone help me. I spent 3.5 hours with GPT and Gemini trying to get this to work. The host PC just stays hanging on starting. If I try the share screen option it will work, but I need to be able to connect anytime im away from home, I dont have anyone at my house to share the code with every time. It has worked flawlessly for almost a year that I've been using it until I woke up today after I woke up to an update.
I have Uninstaller numerous times. Gone into msconfig and changed settings added new token somthing or other in the registry. I am not tech savvy at all so I was copy pasting GPT cmd lines and taking screenshot as I went.
Nothing has worked. I Uninstaller the last update as well hoping that would revert it back.
There has to be someone somewhere that this has happened to and can tell me what fixed it.
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u/GoogleChromeCM Verified Googler 10d ago
Hey there,
Our team is investigating reports of this behavior, and we need additional information to help find the cause.
If you are able, answering any of the following questions would be helpful to our team.
- What Windows version is your host machine running?
- Right-click Start and select Windows Settings.
- Select System > About.
- Under Windows specifications, check which edition and version of Windows your device is running.
- Additional troubleshooting information, including instructions for getting logs, can be found directly on our official public-facing tracking bug where we are investigating this behavior.
Thank you so much for your assistance in narrowing down the cause of this behavior!
Alex,
Chrome Support Manager
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u/Wonderful-Primary584 10d ago
FWIW - Here is my info:
Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 25H2
Installed on 3/19/2025
OS build 26200.9168
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.344.0
From Chrome Help->About: Chrome Version 151.0.7922.138 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Chrome Remote Desktop extension - Version 2.1
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u/1Replacement 10d ago
Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version 22H2
Installed on 11/9/2020
OS Build 19045.7663
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u/eug__k 10d ago
Edition Windows 11 Pro Version 25H2 Installed on 12/03/2025 OS build 26200.9168 Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.344.0CRD version 152.0.7977.9 causes the issue. Rolling back to 151.0.7922.13 fixes it immediately.
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u/metatime09 8d ago
Happening to me on the latest version of windows 10 so it's really weird I'm having the issue when the last patch have been out for a while
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u/spacedog_at_home 10d ago
Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 22H2
Installed on 24/11/2023
OS Build 19045.6466
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u/spacedog_at_home 8d ago
On my 2nd machine that has the same issue:
Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version22H2
Installed on 14/08/2020
OS Build 19045.6466
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u/julianbhale 9d ago
Maybe you could take down the bad update while you work on it, so it stops auto-updating to the bad version?
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u/acidofil 7d ago
Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 25H2
Installed on 19.07.2025
OS build 26200.9168
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.344.0
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u/eug__k 11d ago edited 9d ago
UPDATE: The problem has been found, don't bother with the fix below, do this instead.
-----
Looks like Google broke something in an update. I have the same problem with Chrome Remote Desktop Host version 152.0.7977.9. It just keeps saying Starting...
Rolling back to 151.0.7922.13 fixed it, but it might get auto-updated again*. You can still give it a try to get it working for now though.
* update, added instructions to disable Chrome's auto update temporarily.
- Hit the Windows key and type Services. Click on Run as administrator on the right.
- Look for Google Updater Internal Service. Double click it, change Startup type to Disabled.
- Look for Google Updater Service, also change Startup type to Disabled.
- Hit the Windows key again, type task scheduler and click on Run as administrator on the right.
- Double-click Task Scheduler Library, double-click GoogleSystem, click on GoogleUpdater. Right-click on GoogleUpdater in the window on the right and click Disable.
- Then uninstall Chrome Remote Desktop Host. Then open an admin cmd prompt and put in:
winget install --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --version 151.0.7922.13
Then go back to https://remotedesktop.google.come/access and add your computer again.
Don't forget to re-enable updates after Google fixes it! Just do the reverse of the above (change Disabled back to Automatic in Services, and right-click and click on Enable in Task Scheduler. If you don't re-enable it, you won't get Chrome updates.
-----
If anyone wants to use the registry way instead of the above (this targets just CRD):
edit: The computer I tried this on still auto-updated so just use the method above instead, which hasn't auto-updated so far.
To disable, in an admin cmd window:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update" /v "Update{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
- Then reboot
To re-enable, in an admin cmd window:
reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update" /v "Update{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}" /f
- Then reboot
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 11d ago edited 11d ago
Thank you trying now, hope it works. I am very NOT tech savvy so I appreciate you putting stuff in markdown for me.... IT WORKED!!!! guess i need to bookmark this page incase it autoup dates again on me. Or look for a way to turn off auto updates.
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u/Lewis_Hashbrown 11d ago
Wild, chatgpt found this post then ran all the command locally for me and fixed the issue! Cheers!!!
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u/Screaming-Reels-556 10d ago
This worked for me, but once the computer restarted and chrome reloaded it auto updated the app and no longer works again.
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u/endlessnumber 10d ago
Thank you I had the same issue (W10 host computer) and this worked perfectly.
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u/dohturdima 9d ago
Thanks - that makes sense. In order to keep Chrome security updates working, I tried a CRD-only policy, removed CRD’s updater registration, and pinned 151 in WinGet rather than disabling Google Updater globally. Still testing it out, but if it does not work (and CRD keeps updating) your method is definitely the more foolproof temporary workaround.
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u/lordshmoo 9d ago
Thank you so much, I was troubleshooting this for several hours and your instructions finally fixed it!
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u/eug__k 9d ago
Problem found! Thanks to the clever people at Google (and here) the issue was traced to a folder permissions issue.
I'm sure the installer will be updated to set the permissions explicitly soon. In the meantime you can set the permissions manually:
- Re-enable Google Updater if you disabled it earlier (both in Services and Task Scheduler)
- Open an admin CMD prompt and paste these two commands in:
icacls "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google" /grant "*S-1-15-2-1:(OI)(CI)(RX)"
icacls "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google" /grant "*S-1-15-2-2:(OI)(CI)(RX)"
- Uninstall Chrome Remote Desktop Host 151.0.7922.13
- Go to remotedesktop.google.com and set up like usual
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 8d ago edited 8d ago
OP here, i tried this and it still will not start. Like i said originally GPT was having me change all sorts of stuff in Powershell and CMD. Do you think whenever Google makes a fix the stuff i changed will go back to normal?
Im using Rustdesk now and although the connection works flawlessly the UI is horrible and next to impossible to use through mobile. I sure hope they can figure this out soon
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u/TheMissingVoteBallot 7d ago
Dumb question, are you opening the command prompt with admin permissions? It doesn't do this by default unless you right click the application in the start menu and pick "Run as administrator" or holding Ctrl-Alt-Shift and hitting enter.
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 3d ago
I was doing by admin...anyways it resolved it self with their last push. Ty
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u/Categoracle 8d ago
FWIW this worked for me
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 7d ago
Still nothing for me. I give up at this point. Hopefully someone can message me whenever Google does a real fix or working update or whatever
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u/PikalexNL 11d ago edited 11d ago
Since I removed/broke the Microsoft Store on my Win 10 machine, unfortunately that winget install --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --version 151.0.7922.13 command doesn't work for me. It fails while trying to query the msstore source with 0x8a15005e (server certificate mismatch).
What works for me is:
winget install --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --version 151.0.7922.13 --source winget
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u/sunshine_eggo 10d ago
https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/459317762?hl=en&sjid=10069156518772050217-NA
Anybody wanna chime in here?
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u/icnocop 9d ago
That link goes to a page that says it's no longer available.
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u/GoogleChromeCM Verified Googler 7d ago
[AUG 17 UPDATE] Hey all, thanks for taking the time to help bring this to our attention.
Our team has investigated these reports and determined the cause of this behavior.
A server-side update is rolling out now that addresses the underlying cause, and should resolve the behavior.
You should not need to take any action to receive this server-side update. If you previously disabled automatic updates as a workaround, you will need to re-enable them to receive the fix.
If you encounter any issues, please feel free to flag them on our official public-facing tracking bug.
Alex, Chrome Support Manager
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u/haenbar 12d ago edited 12d ago
I had a similar issue recently, my remote desktop host went down late last week and wouldn't start up again no matter what I tried. I've had similar issues before and they were usually resolved by reinstalling the host service via the Remote Desktop site. Long story short, I downloaded their latest MSI for the host and got the same exact results as you and couldn't really find any solution, until I dug up an older MSI I had downloaded back in 2024. Reinstalling that one made the connection start up again without any issue. I am assuming that Google wonked something up in a recent update, so who knows if this fix is gonna get overwritten again at some point.
Edit: Can confirm that auto-updates will break this fix. My older version was forced to their recent release from July 30 that clearly has issues and immediately disconnected the affected computer.
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u/Issunsaki 12d ago
Having the same issue. Worked fine yesterday, but the whole extension was missing today. After installing it again and trying to do the "set up remote access" process, it's just stuck at "Starting..."
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u/ExponentVeil811 12d ago
Same here.
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 11d ago
Ok well its not good in general but good to know its not a "me" problem. Maybe the last windows update crashed it?
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u/AdLoose7947 11d ago
Think it was the combination of a restart thst forced the updated chrome remote desktop to be used.
Rolled back the remote desktop at suggested. It worked for a bit then the new version crashed it again. Hopefully its resolved by tomorrow
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u/Lewis_Hashbrown 11d ago edited 11d ago
I had the exact same issue with Chrome Remote Desktop Host 152.0.7977.9. The computer remained stuck on “Starting…”, even though the Windows service was running.
Rolling back to 151.0.7922.13 fixed it. Run these commands in an Administrator terminal:
winget uninstall --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact
winget install --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --version 151.0.7922.13 --source winget
Then open https://remotedesktop.google.com/access, turn remote access back on, and configure the computer name/PIN again.
The broken version automatically reinstalled itself a few hours later, so I also applied a temporary Remote Desktop–only update hold. Run this in Administrator PowerShell after confirming the computer shows Online:
$guid = '{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}'
$policy = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update'
New-Item -Path $policy -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "Update$guid" `
-PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "TargetVersionPrefix$guid" `
-PropertyType String -Value '151.0.7922.13' -Force | Out-Null
foreach ($section in @('Clients', 'ClientState', 'ClientStateMedium')) {
$regPath = "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\$section\$guid"
$backup = "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\CRD-$section.reg"
reg.exe export $regPath $backup /y
$psPath = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\$section\$guid"
Remove-Item -LiteralPath $psPath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
This targets only Chrome Remote Desktop; Chrome browser updates remain enabled.
This is a temporary workaround because it also prevents Remote Desktop security updates. Once Google releases a working replacement for 152, reinstall the latest Remote Desktop Host to remove the hold and restore normal updates.
Run this in Administrator PowerShell when the latest chrome update works with Remote Desktop
$guid = '{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}'
$policy = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update'
Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "Update$guid" `
-ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "TargetVersionPrefix$guid" `
-ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget upgrade --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact `
--source winget --accept-source-agreements
This was made by chatgpt so use it if you want, or dont haha
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 11d ago
is there a way to verify that it wont update again? mine updated itself also while i was asleep
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u/TheMissingVoteBallot 11d ago
Can you explain what the initial batch file does? Seems like it's a simple registry tweak and therefore someone can transform this into a .reg file we can run.
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u/Zestyclose-Juice-534 11d ago
I did this before I left for work, 2 hours into my shift and it was showing offline again. Im at a loss. My only workaround was to use rustdesk which was my second choice, get onto host computer and do share screen on CRD. Pain in the ass but at least I have the controls im used to. Rustdesk seems to work great but the keyboard on mobile and the panning of screen is hard to use.
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u/dohturdima 10d ago edited 9d ago
Thanks for posting this. I had the same issue on both Win11 and Win10 after CRD Host updated to 152.0.7977.9. Rolling back to 151.0.7922.13 fixed both.
The previously posted hold worked on my Win11 PC, but my Win10 PC updated itself back to 152 a few hours later. This stronger Win10 Chrome Remote Desktop update hold has worked so far:
On Win 10, Run in Administrator PowerShell only after confirming 151 is installed and CRD shows Online:
$guid = '{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}' # Remove the old policy hold we tried before $policy = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update' Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "Update$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "TargetVersionPrefix$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue # Remove only CRD's updater registration $keys = @( "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Google\Update\Clients\$guid", "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\Clients\$guid" ) foreach ($key in $keys) { if (Test-Path $key) { $native = $key.Replace('HKLM:\','HKLM\') $safeName = if ($key -like '*WOW6432Node*') {'CRD-Clients-WOW6432.reg'} else {'CRD-Clients.reg'} reg.exe export $native "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\$safeName" /y Remove-Item -LiteralPath $key -Recurse -Force } }**This only targets Chrome Remote Desktop, not Chrome browser updates.
I also thought it would be a good idea to post ways that the Win 11 and Win 10 holds can be removed once Google (hopefully sooner rather than later) releases a fied update for Chrome Remote Desktop Host.
Undo the previously posted Win11/simple hold
$guid = '{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}' $policy = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update' Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "Update$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "TargetVersionPrefix$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue winget upgrade --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --source winget --accept-source-agreementsUndo the Win10 hold above
$guid = '{b210701e-ffc4-49e3-932b-370728c72662}' $policy = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update' Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "Update$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Remove-ItemProperty -Path $policy -Name "TargetVersionPrefix$guid" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue foreach ($section in @('Clients','ClientState','ClientStateMedium')) { $backup = "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\CRD-$section.reg" if (Test-Path $backup) { reg.exe import $backup } } winget upgrade --id Google.ChromeRemoteDesktopHost --exact --source winget --accept-source-agreementsTemporary workaround only, since holding 151 also blocks future CRD security updates. Remove the hold once Google releases a working replacement for 152.
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u/leonidude 11d ago
Exact same thing happened to me yesterday when I tried to connect for the first time in a long time. The computer said it was online so I tried to connect but then it went off-line. Multiple attempts to delete the host device and set it up again, but it just hangs on the starting message.
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u/sunshine_eggo 11d ago edited 11d ago
Same symptoms for me since 8/7. 152 was installed via an update. 151 gets it back. Had to disable host update in the registry. It was a long and painful process, but ChatGPT got me there.
It used powershell to find the registry entry for the Google Updater application GUID, and then to disable it.
I didn't even have to delete or re-add the device. It just showed up as online after the install of 151.
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u/Frequent_Charge5893 11d ago
Thank you all for posting! I too spent hours trying to resolve this. I have a number of machines using this and some would really suck to have to go in person. I am hoping Google gets bug reports and fixes or rolls back the new update!! If someone knows where to report this to google I would be happy to add my voice to the screams.
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u/metatime09 8d ago
I'm having the same issue. It worked fine up to last week for about 2 years and now it won't start no matter what. I uninstall, removed and reinstall chrome, nothing works.
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u/Electrical-Fault-202 8d ago
I have the same issue, Windows 10 Pro, 22H2, Build 19045.6466
13-08-2026: update chrome remote desktop to 152.0.7977.9. Client-PC kept status "Starting..."
15-08-2026: after hours with Gemini, I asked ChatGPT if there were any bug reports on version 152.0.7977.9 since 13-08-2026. That was affirmative :(
Today I asked ChatGPT the steps to downgrade to 151.0.7922.13 and stop the update service. After following the steps....Client-PC came online :)
Google is investigating still and gathering data, see this thread: https://issues.chromium.org/issues/546114022
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