Google Chrome now features an aggressive “Energy Saver” mode designed to prolong battery life on laptops. When your battery level drops below 20% (or whenever your laptop is unplugged, depending on your settings), Chrome automatically begins throttling its own performance. It dramatically reduces image capture frame rates, limits background tab activity, and intentionally degrades the smoothness of scrolling and video playback.
While useful if you are stranded at an airport without a charger, this artificial throttling is disastrous if you are trying to give a presentation, participate in a high-quality video call, or play a browser-based game while running on battery power. The sudden drop in browser performance can make your entire computer feel sluggish. You can force Chrome to prioritize performance over battery life at all times.
How to Turn Off Energy Saver in Google Chrome
You can disable the performance throttling directly from Chrome’s Performance settings menu.
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner of the window.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Performance.
- Look for the section titled Power in the main window.
- Locate the toggle switch labelled Energy Saver.
- Click the toggle switch to turn it completely Off (the switch will turn grey).
By disabling this feature, Google Chrome will operate at its maximum possible speed and fluidity regardless of whether your laptop is plugged into the wall or running on its last 5% of battery life. You will experience zero artificial lag or degraded frame rates.