How to disable Google Chrome auto update?

Question

Does anyone know how to disable Google Chrome for being automatic update itself, it cause my web application always change?

I have tried these methods:

Answer 1

Have spent a long time trying to disable updates (literally hours, reading forums and testing various (some exotic) solutions), and this was driving me crazy. But there what seems an infallible solution (see further down).

Even using the official Google page with the templates did NOTHING: https://support.google.com/installer/answer/146164?hl=en

I followed scrupulously the instructions of that page, the keys in the registry are all correct, but still going to the "About Google Chrome" when the program is opened, I can see the wheel going around and a few seconds later the update is forced and done.

I have tried using the standalone installer of Google, on a Windows 8.1 machine 64Bits - and yes all the keys are set to :

Dword: AutoUpdateCheckPeriodMinutes Value: 0
Dword: DisableAutoUpdateChecksCheckboxValue Value: 1
Dword: UpdateDefault Value: 0
Dword: Update{8A69D345-D564-463C-AFF1-A69D9E530F96} Value: 0
(this last one requires the service(s) to not be disabled - gupdate/gupdatem)

... both in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update AND HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Update since it is a 64-bit machine.

So the radical solution to prevent the auto-update, if that helps anyone, is to just purely sort the program responsible for the updates itself! (Just deleting it, OR saving a copy, OR renaming it OR even better just in case I one day need to do an update: Zip the content for future potential re-use).

Easy solution :
1- Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\ and find the folder "update".
2- There are a couple of options to choose from:

 A) first method: Rename the folder:

- Right click > Rename > from Update.bak to Update2.bak for example.
- Now launch Chrome: NO MORE UPDATES!! since it can not find the update program !! Finished.

 B) second method: Zip the folder:

- Zip the entire folder by making an archive. (Right click the "Update" folder > Send to Compressed (zip) folder)
- A window might ask you to backup/zip and place it on the desktop, click yes. (message: Windows cannot create the compressed folders here. Do you want to be placed on the desktop instead?)
- Move the newly created zip file to the original location. New window security might pop up > click continue. (message: You need administrator permission to copy this file). [This will be what to unzip if one day you decide to update Chrome - Just remember that when unzipped it will have the following structure: Update > Update > then all the content of the folder. Remember to move everything from inside the second update folder (copy paste) one level up so that is becoming: Update > then all the content of the folder].
- Now that you have a copy just delete the "Update" folder.
- Now launch Chrome: NO MORE UPDATES!! since it can not find the update program !! Finished.

Good luck and Enjoy.

Answer 2

Disable Chrome Version Auto Update - All-in-One Solution

With some of the answers here for disabling Google Chrome automatic updates, I've come up with a solution that uses specific group policy settings and also a PowerShell startup script to rename the GoogleUpdate.exe, disable the correlated services, and disable the correlated Task Scheduler tasks.

I'm posting as an answer in case someone else needs an all-in-one solution that can easily be expanded on (or toned down some) if needed and potentially save them some time.

PowerShell (Startup Script)

## -- Rename the Google Update executable file
$Chrome = "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe";
If(Test-Path($Chrome)){Rename-Item -Path $Chrome -NewName "Old_GoogleUpdate.exe.old" -Force};

$Chrome = "$env:ProgramFiles\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe";
If(Test-Path($Chrome)){Rename-Item -Path $Chrome -NewName "Old_GoogleUpdate.exe.old" -Force};

## -- Stop and disable the Google Update services that run to update Chrome
$GUpdateServices = (Get-Service | ?{$_.DisplayName -match "Google Update Service"}).Name;
$GUpdateServices | % {
    $status = (Get-Service -Name $_).Status;
    If($status -ne "Stopped"){Stop-Service $_ -Force};
    $sType  = (Get-Service -Name $_).StartType;
    If($sType -ne "Disabled"){Set-Service $_ -StartupType Disabled};
    };

## -- Disable Chrome Update Scheduled Tasks
$GUdateTasks = (Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath "\" -TaskName "*GoogleUpdateTask*");
$GUdateTasks | % {If($_.State -ne "Disabled"){Disable-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName}};

Group Policy Settings (Computer Configuration)

Be sure the Software Restriction policy blocks EXE file types at a minimum for these specific folder locations but the defaults should work fine if you leave as-is.

---

Additional Resources

• Set Chrome Browser policies on managed PCs

  • Be sure to check and confirm you have the latest Chrome policy templates to load into your policy definitions for group policy.

Answer 3

The simplest method on Windows 10 with recent versions of Chrome as of early 2020. No registry hack, Powershell or GPO required :

1. Open the Computer Management app with elevated rights: type it in the taskbar search, then click Run as administrator on the menu
2. Go to Service and Applications -> Services
3. Find Google Update Service (gupdate) and Google Update Service (gupdatem)
4. For both services, right-click, select Properties and set Startup type: to Disabled.

Tested and working on Google Chrome v 80, Win 10 / 1909 / 18363.592, as of March 2020.

Answer 4

TL;DR

Delete the folder C:\Program Files\Google\Update

---

Here is what I do to stop auto update of chrome. Since you want to disable auto update, you may be installing chrome using the offline installer. If not, then I recommend that you use that; it makes more sense for you anyway! Select the second option that says "Alternate installer for all user accounts", but you may also choose the other option. Anyway, this process should work for all kinds of installation of chrome.

1. Install chrome and go to about page with the internet connected. This is to trigger the update process.

2. Open task manager, go to Processes tab and look for the process named something like google updater. You may need to click on 'Show processes from all users' button if your uac is turned on

3. Right-click on google updater process name and select open file location. Once location is opened in the explorer, end the process

4. Delete the file corresponding to that ended process (by now it is located and selected in the explorer, as was done in step 3; for most this is C:\Program Files\Google\Update, but will be different if you had chosen to install for a single user)

5. open Scheduled tasks (by typing sched... in start perhaps)

6. Click on 'Task Scheduler Library` on the left and on the right side search for entries corresponding to google product updates. Disable or delete those tasks

You should be good to go! Auto update is not only disabled but killed forever.

P.S.: step 5 and 6 are simply for overkilling :-)

Answer 5

We automate the Chrome install and disable the auto update with Chef. When Chef tried to rename the entire Update directory, it failed with the "Access denied" error. Because Chef cannot click Yes when a security prompt comes up, the renaming of the entire Update directory does not work for us. We rename only the updater executable with

rename GoogleUpdate.exe GoogleUpdate_disabled.tmp

The entire Chef resource is

batch 'disable_chrome_update' do
  code <<-EOF
    cd "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Google\\Update"
    rename GoogleUpdate.exe GoogleUpdate_disabled.tmp
  EOF
  only_if {File.exists?("C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Google\\Update\\GoogleUpdate.exe")}
end

Answer 6

the best way to disable Google chrome auto update is as follows

• Go to oldversion dot com and download old version of google
• Use Advanced unsinstaller to completely uninstall current (Updated) version. This will also get rid of registry entries
• Download update freezer and create a shortcut on desktop
• Disable internet
• Restart PC
• With internet disabled, install old version of Chrome
• Ope Update Freezer and Disable Google auto update

You are done