How-To

How to Fix Google Chrome Not Autofilling Passwords

By Adam Davidson

Updated January 11, 2024

Having to manually enter passwords in Chrome? Here’s what to try if you’re having problems with Google Chrome not autofilling passwords.

Strong passwords have never been more critical. Hackers have ever more sophisticated ways to try to crack your accounts, from phishing attacks to brute force methods. Using a strong password that is hard to crack is vital. However, strong passwords can also be challenging to remember. Google Chrome allows you to save passwords when you enter them on websites. This means that the next time you log in to a site or account, the saved password will autofill without you having to remember it. However, you may find that autofill isn’t working as expected. Here are a few things to try if you’re having problems with Google Chrome not auto-filling passwords.

Consider Using a Password Manager Instead

Allowing Chrome to autofill your passwords is a valuable way of ensuring that you can use strong passwords for your accounts without having to remember the long strings of characters, numbers, and symbols. However, if Chrome autofill isn’t working as expected, consider using a password manager instead, which can store your passwords regardless of your browser.

That said, you might want to avoid adding another layer of complexity by switching to a password management app. If that’s the case, let’s try fixing things when Google Chrome is not autofilling your passwords as expected.

Check the Autofill Settings

Chrome is most likely not autofilling passwords because you have the setting turned off. When you enter a password for a website, you usually get the option to save the password for that site and the choice never to remember passwords for that site. If you don’t have autofill turned on or you’ve selected “never” for the site you want to log in to, autofill won’t work. The good news is that you can change the settings in Chrome, although the method is a little different on desktop and mobile.

How to Change Autofill Settings on Desktop

If you’re using Chrome on your computer, you can change the autofill settings in just a few clicks.

1. Open Chrome and tap the Three Dots icon in the top right of the window.
   
2. Select Settings.
   
3. In the left-hand menu, select Autofill and Passwords.
   
4. Click Google Password Manager.
   
5. Select Settings.
   
6. Ensure Offer to Save Passwords is on.
   
7. Scroll down to Declined Sites and Apps.
8. If there are any sites on the list that you now wish to use Autofill on, click the X at the end of the row to remove the site from the declined list.
   

How to Change Autofill Settings on Mobile

If you’re using Chrome on your phone, you can also change the autofill settings on your device.

1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Tap the Three Dots icon.
   
3. Select Password Manager.
   
4. Tap Settings.
   
5. Ensure Offer to Save Passwords is on.
   
6. Tap Done.
7. Under Never Saved, you’ll see all the sites that don’t automatically save your passwords.
8. To remove a site from this list, tap the site’s name.
9. Tap Edit.
   
10. Select Delete.
    

Check Your Sync Settings

Google Chrome Sync is a helpful feature that lets you share data between devices signed in to the same account. You should be able to use this feature to autofill passwords saved on one device when signing in on another. You can choose what data syncs between devices.

How to Change Sync Settings on Desktop

If you’re using Chrome on a desktop, you can change the sync options through the Chrome settings.

1. Open Chrome and click the Three Dots icon.
   
2. Click Settings.
   
3. Ensure you are on the You and Google tab.
   
4. Click Sync and Google Services.
   
5. Click Manage What You Sync.
   
6. To ensure that your passwords autofill correctly, ensure Passwords is toggled on.
   
7. Your saved passwords should now be available to autofill wherever you’re signed in to the same Google account.

How to Change Sync Settings on Mobile

You can also change your sync settings in the Google Chrome mobile app.

1. Launch the Chrome app.
2. Tap the Three Dots icon.
   
3. Select Settings.
   
4. Tap Sync.
   
5. Make sure that Passwords is toggled on.
   
6. You should now be able to access your saved passwords across all your devices.

Update Chrome

If you think your autofill and sync settings are correct, but Chrome is still not autofilling passwords, try updating Chrome. Your problem may have been fixed in an update, and autofill will work as expected in the latest version of Chrome.

1. Open Chrome and tap the Three Dots icon.
   
2. Select Settings.
   
3. Tap About Chrome at the bottom of the left-hand menu.
   
4. You’ll see information on whether Chrome is up to date.
   
5. If an update is available, Chrome will start updating.
   
6. When it’s finished, click Relaunch to apply the update.
   

Disable Extensions

Another possible reason that autofilling passwords isn’t working on Chrome is that one of your Chrome extensions is interfering with it. You can try disabling extensions and seeing if the problem persists. If autofilling works with all of your extensions disabled, you can enable them one at a time to find which extension is causing the issues.

1. Open Chrome and tap the Three Dots icon.
   
2. Hover over Extensions and tap Manage Extensions.
   
3. Toggle all your extensions off.
   
4. Try autofilling a password again to see if it works.
5. If it does, enable one extension at a time, testing whether autofilling your passwords works after enabling each one.
6. You should be able to determine which extension is causing the issues. You can then disable or remove that extension.

Clear Your Cache

Clearing your cache is another potential way to fix problems with Chrome not autofilling passwords. You can clear your cache on desktop as well as mobile.

How to Clear the Chrome Cache on Desktop

If you’re using Chrome on your computer, you can clear the cache through the Chrome settings.

1. Open Chrome and tap the Three Dots icon.
   
2. Select Settings.
   
3. Click Privacy and Security in the left-hand menu.
   
4. Under Privacy and Security, click Clear Browsing Data.
   
5. Select All Time from the Time Range drop-down.
   
6. Ensure that Cookies and Other Site Data and Cached Images and Files are checked.
   
7. Click Clear Data.

How to Clear the Chrome Cache on Mobile

You can also clear your cache using Chrome on your mobile.

1. Launch the Chrome app.
2. Tap the Three Dots icon.
   
3. Select Settings.
   
4. Tap Privacy & Security.
   
5. Select Clear Browsing Data.
   
6. Ensure that the Time Range is set to All Time and that Cookies and Other Site Data and Cached Images and Files are checked.
   
7. Tap Clear Browsing Data.
   

Try a New Chrome Profile

If you can’t get Chrome to autofill passwords in your current Chrome profile, you can try creating a new profile to see if that solves your problems.

1. Open Chrome and click on your Profile icon.
   
2. Click Add.
   
3. Click the Sign In button and follow the instructions to set up your new profile.
   
4. Once your profile is set up, sign in to the new profile and see if you can save and autofill passwords.

Get Your Fill

If you’ve been having problems with Google Chrome not autofilling passwords, one of the fixes above should help. If you find any other valuable ways to get autofill back up and running, please let us know in the comments.