Google Chrome can feel painfully slow on a Windows 11 device, especially with multiple tabs open. To resolve this, Windows 11 introduced an Efficiency Mode that functions like a smart energy saver. While it may reduce CPU power for light usage, that can backfire if you’re a heavy Chrome user. By disabling the Efficiency Mode in Chrome, you can regain your lost browsing speeds.
Why Windows 11’s Efficiency Mode Slows Down Chrome
Since its 22H2 version, Windows 11 has automatically enabled an “Efficiency Mode,” with various browsers to save battery power. What it does is to put the browser background processes at a lower priority.
Keep multiple tabs open in Chrome and launch Task Manager using Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Here, you can view a green leaf icon that indicates the “process group is in Efficiency Mode to limit resources used by the process.” This icon is often visible multiple times indicating separate Chrome groups.
With Efficiency Mode enabled, you’re expected to save laptop battery power, reduce heat, and enjoy quieter operation. That works well for light browsing, but for users who often have multiple tabs open, the effect backfires.
The thing is, each script and background process, when suppressed, can affect your browsing. Even a few video tabs, Instagram feeds, or web apps like Google Docs can take their toll with:
- Heavy CPU spikes due to suppressed background processes
- Laptop fans spinning faster
- Painfully slow scrolling on certain tabs
- Delays in tab switching
If you’re a desktop user, the Efficiency Mode proves even less useful because there is no “battery.” Yet, you have to deal with a noisy fan and poor browsing experience.
Disable Efficiency Mode for Chrome in Windows 11
The most common way to remove Efficiency Mode in Windows is by right-clicking on individual processes and selecting Efficiency Mode. However, you cannot do it when there is a green leaf icon because the text will be greyed out.
In any case, toggling off the process one at a time has no real benefit. It will immediately reapply, since Google Chrome accepts Efficiency Mode by default.
Having said this, there is a neat little command-line hack that allows you to permanently disable efficiency mode in Windows. Right-click on the Chrome browser icon and select Properties.
Go to Shortcut tab, and insert the cursor inside Target field, and go all the way to the right, including quotes. After that, insert space, and enter the following text:
--disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcessClick Apply → OK, and close the Properties window.
Now all you have to do is relaunch Google Chrome from the new shortcut. You can see that the green leaf icon, indicating an active Efficiency Mode, is no longer visible next to Chrome processes.
Disabling Efficiency Mode lets Chrome run more smoothly. You might notice the fan noise quietly dissipating, and if there is any whizzing sound, it becomes less noticeable. All your individual Chrome tabs and scripts get the time they deserve, without being throttled. This improves tab responsiveness, and improves browsing.
You can pin this modified Chrome icon to your taskbar for future browsing on the Windows laptop. If you have multiple Chrome profiles saved on your device, you will have to modify the shortcut target for every one.
Why is Google Chrome Slow in Windows 11
Like any browser, Chrome, with its multiple tabs open, can be resource hungry, pushing the browser to delayed switches. Additionally, there are problems due to accumulated cache and corrupted site data. We have compiled a number of solutions to speed up Chrome browser despite these challenges. If you don’t use Chrome, there are other methods which improve the speed on any web browser.
