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Have you been working on your project all day long only to accidentally close the Chrome tab you really need? We understand that losing track of your work is never a pleasant experience.
In this article, we’ll explain how to restore your tabs so you can return to work in a matter of seconds. Whether you’re an iPhone, iPad, or Android user, we’ve got you covered.
How to Restore All Tabs in Google Chrome
Chrome has been an all-time favorite browser app for many people, and chances are – for you too.
Searching for information on this browsing app has become an essential part of our daily lives. However, accidents happen even to the best of us. You might have accidentally closed an important tab. Or maybe Chrome crashed on you for no apparent reason.
The good thing is that Google Chrome keeps your browsing history, so you can quickly restore any closed tab anytime.
Here is how to restore all tabs in Chrome on a desktop:
- Open Google Chrome and click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner.
- Click on “History.”
- Click on the “X Tabs” option.
- Click on “Restore Pages.”
Your pages will open back to where you previously left off.
General advice: Enable the “Continue where you left off” feature. This will reopen all tabs you had running in your previous session. This way, your tabs will be safe from potential browser crashes.
You can find this option under Chrome Menu (three vertical dots at the top right) > Settings > On startup > Continue where you left off.
How to Restore All Tabs in Google Chrome on iPhone
Maybe you were looking for a recipe on your iPhone, but you got distracted by a link your friend texted you. Before you know it, your recipe is gone before you even got the time to take a screenshot.
But no worries, you can simply restore this and all other tabs you accidentally closed on your iPhone. Just follow these simple steps:
Restore Recently Closed Tabs in Google Chrome on iPhone
- Launch Chrome on your iPhone.
- Click on the three horizontal dots in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will open the options menu.
- Find the “Recent Tabs” option in the list.
- Tap on “Show full history.”
- You’ll see a list of all the recent sites you visited. Just tap on the one you were looking for, and Chrome will open it. By default, Chrome will open it in a new tab.
Restore Tabs Through History in Google Chrome on iPhone
But what happens if you want to restore a tab you closed a week ago or even before that? In that case, you won’t be able to find your tab in the “Recent tabs” section.
This is when you check your history. Fortunately, this is a relatively straightforward process.
- Launch Chrome on your iPhone.
- Click on the three horizontal dots in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will open the options menu.
- Look for the “History” option.
- Just scroll down until you find the website you want to see.
- You can access the website by tapping on it.
Tip: If you want to find a website you visited seven days ago but you’ve browsed the internet a lot since then, you can delete the history for the past six days. This will speed up the process of restoring your tab.
How to Restore All Tabs in Google Chrome on iPad
If you’ve struggled to restore lost tabs in Google Chrome on your iPad, you’ve come to the right place. Chrome tracks all your browsing history on your iPad (or across all devices you use your Google account under), making it relatively easy to recover your accidentally closed tabs.
- Launch Google Chrome on your iPad.
- Open the menu. It’s the three horizontal lines in the upper right-hand corner of the browser interface.
- Tap on “Recent Tabs.”
- You’ll now see a list of all tabs you opened recently. Just look for the one you need and tap on it.
Chrome will now open that website in a new tab.
How to Restore All Tabs in Google Chrome on Android
Restoring your lost tabs in Google Chrome on your Android device is a pretty straightforward process.
If you’re looking for tabs you only recently closed, follow the steps below. If you’re looking for a website you visited a long time ago, follow the next method.
Restoring Recently Closed Tabs in Google Chrome on Android
It really just takes three steps to restore your recently closed tabs in Chrome:
- Launch Chrome on your Android device.
- Look for the three vertical dots to open the Chrome menu. It’s in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
- Look for the “Recent Tabs” option from the drop-down menu.
- Now you’ll see a list of all tabs you recently had opened. Just look for the one you need and tap on it.
Note: You will only be able to see the five most recent tabs here. If your tab is not on the list, click “Show full history.”
Restoring Tabs Through History in Google Chrome on Android
Maybe you’re looking for a website you visited a week ago. In that case, your fastest option would be browsing your Chrome history on your Android device.
- Launch Chrome on your phone.
- Tap on the menu for more options. It’s the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
- Look for the “History” option and tap on it.
- Now you’ll be able to see your browsing history by day. Just scroll down to the date when you had your tab open and look for it there.
- Tap on the tab to have it opened again.
Tip: If you remember some of the keywords your tab contained, you can save yourself some time and search for the tab under History.
How to Restore All Tabs in Google Chrome Incognito
Unfortunately, there’s no way to restore your tabs in incognito mode without using third-party software.
After all, incognito mode is made for a specific purpose: to not save your browser history. That’s why it wouldn’t make sense for Chrome to let you restore tabs in this mode.
However, there’s a way around this. You’ll have to install a Chrome extension that was specifically made to restore Incognito mode tabs. The software is called “Off the Record History,” and you can download it here.
- After installing the extension, click on the “Extensions” icon and open “Manage extensions.”
- Click on “Details,” then toggle the “Allow in incognito” button, so it’s enabled.
With this extension, you’ll see your recently closed tabs and your complete history for an incognito browsing session.
Note: To restore your incognito tabs, you first need to have this extension working. So you won’t be able to use it to restore the opened tabs before you had the extension installed.
Additional FAQs
Here are more answers to the questions we’ve been asked about restoring web pages in Chrome.
What’s the Keyboard Shortcut to Restore Tabs in Chrome?
The simplest way to restore a tab you accidentally closed is through shortcuts. If you’re a Mac user, use the following shortcut to restore your Chrome tabs:
Command + Shift + T
If you’re a Windows user, use the following shortcut:
Control + Shift + T
How Do I Recover Chrome Tabs After a Crash
You can repeat the process until you find the tab you want to open. However, we only recommend using shortcuts for restoring a tab you recently closed.
A Better Browsing Experience
Chances are you browse for more than a couple dozen pages on Chrome daily. For this reason, it’s important that your browsing experience runs smoothly. And if an issue occurs, being able to solve it is essential. Now you don’t have to worry about losing track by accidentally closing a tab or having your Chrome crash on you.
We’ve provided you with detailed steps on how to restore a tab in Chrome. Our advice for reopening recently closed tabs would be to use the shortcuts. They are the simplest, fastest way to go. But it’s good to know you have more options available if a shortcut doesn’t work.
What option do you usually use to restore tabs? Have you lost tabs due to Chrome crashing before? Share your experience in the comments below.