Top 3 Ways to Save Tabs and Restore Lost Tabs Before Closing Chrome

The great thing about the mobile version of Chrome is that you can keep tabs open for a few days without worrying about them being deleted unless you close them manually. Even updating the phone won’t kill any open tabs. The same is not true for Chrome on the desktop. It tends to lose tabs. In this post, we will share ways to save your tabs before closing Chrome and how to restore them if you lose them.

An automatic Windows update is all it takes to make you scream. Sometimes, even restarting or accidentally closing the Chrome browser will kill your open tabs on PC. Very frustrating. Ahh!!! Fortunately, you can recover such tabs.

Let’s see several ways to save tabs when closing Chrome so that you do not lose them on exit.

How to Save Tabs When Exiting Chrome

Here are three methods to save Chrome tabs from dying on PC when you close the browser or accidentally close it.

1. Use Chrome’s Built-in Feature to Automatically Reopen Tabs

Google Chrome comes with a native feature to automatically open recently used tabs. You need to enable the ‘Continue where you left off’ setting under Startup settings in Chrome. Note that it will only work the first time you open Chrome again. Also, if you’ve already lost tabs, enabling this setting won’t be able to recover them. However, keep it active so that you don’t experience the same trauma again.

To enable this feature, follow these steps:

Stage 1: Open Chrome Settings by clicking on the three-dot icon at the top.

Step 2: Scroll down in Settings and you will reach the At Startup section. Check the box next to Continue where you left off.

Now every time you reopen Chrome, your last open tabs will open automatically.

2. Mark All Tabs

We all know how to bookmark a single tab. But how about bookmarking multiple tabs? If you don’t trust the above feature, the same concept can be used to save your tabs for later use. The downside is that you will have to do this manually.

Right click on the tab strip at the top to mark all open tabs. Select Bookmark all open tabs from the menu. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Shift + D (Windows) or Command + Shift + D (macOS) to bookmark all open tabs.

To organize bookmarks effectively, give the folder an easily identifiable name such as its purpose, type or date. Click Save.

Keep the folder in the bookmarks bar for quick access. When you want to open all tabs later, right-click the folder and select Open all tabs. In case you accidentally delete bookmarks for a while, learn how to recover them.

3. Use Third-Party Extensions

If you’re comfortable using Chrome extensions, they do a pretty good job of saving your chosen open tabs for later use. Some extensions even allow you to record your entire session. Such extensions save your tabs not only for a reboot or a crash, but also for you to delete them manually. Some of the extensions are Workona, Toby etc. We recommend you to try Workona because it automatically saves sessions and you can retrieve multiple previous sessions with it.

How to Get Back Lost Chrome Tabs

If you lose Chrome tabs due to a sudden browser crash, the following three tips will help you restore them.

1. Check List of Recently Closed Tabs

If you don’t want the tabs to open automatically, but want to restore them, another native feature of Chrome can help. This method will help you restore Google Chrome tabs after reboot, shutdown or even crash.

Usually, you should see the Restore tabs button when your Chrome crashes. If you can’t see it, don’t worry. Click the three-dot icon at the top in Chrome and hover your mouse over History. Here you will see options that say 2 tabs or 4 tabs or something similar specifying the number of tabs open in the previous session. Click on the session you want to restore.

Pro Tip: Use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Shift + T (Windows) or Command + Shift + T (macOS) to restore recently closed tabs. Keep pressing until you run out of tabs to get it. Check out other useful Chrome keyboard shortcuts.

2. Check Chrome History

In case Chrome doesn’t show you the list of recently opened tabs, you will need to check your history.

Now the problem is that history doesn’t separate your last open tabs and browsing history. So, to get open tabs, you need to do the hard work and review your history. Use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + H (Windows) or Command + H (macOS) to open History in Chrome.

Pro Tip: Use the search in History to find your tabs.

When you find your links, click on them to open them. Doing so will open the link in the same tab and you will lose your position in History. But if you don’t want to lose your location in History, right-click the link and select Open in new tab. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + click (Windows) or Command + Click (macOS) to open links in a new tab.

3. Control from Mobile Phone

If you’re signed in to Chrome with a Google account and have Chrome sync enabled, you can get your lost tabs back.

Open Chrome on Android or iOS. Make sure you are using the same email account registered in Chrome on PC. Tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Recent Tabs. Here you will find a list of open tabs on other devices. Check your PC. Open tabs on your mobile and send to your computer using Send to device.

All Not Lost

Losing all tabs can annoy anyone, especially if you have a lot of them. We hope we were able to help you get your lost tabs back and save your tabs so you don’t lose them in the future. Do you know an alternative method to save tabs? Let us know in the comments below.

Next: Keep your tabs separate from different Chrome users. Wondering how to do this? Use the Chrome profiles feature. Learn what Chrome profiles are and how to use them at the next link.