How to downgrade to older versions of Chrome?

“As of August 2022, Google’s Chrome is the leading internet browser in the world with a global market share of 65.52 percent. In other words, more than six in ten people use Chrome to browse the internet.”, as per the Oberlo Browser Market Share Report.

Chrome remains the undisputed market leader in internet browsers, making it an essential browser for testing any website before public release. If a site does not work perfectly on Chrome, it has no chance of succeeding globally or regionally. 

• When we mention “work perfectly on Chrome”, we don’t mean a specific version of Chrome.
• The site must work flawlessly on both new and old versions of Chrome.
• This is because most users are not too conscientious about upgrading to the latest version; often, they keep using the version they already have.
• Consequently, websites must be tested for compatibility with Chrome across its many versions.

While it’s certainly not possible or feasible to test on all 107 versions (some of them are not even in use), you still need to test the site on older browser versions to ensure acceptable levels of compatibility. This article will detail how to downgrade or download older Chrome versions for more extensive website testing. However, the efficacy and ease of both methods are noticeably different – as their descriptions will reveal. 

Method 1: Uninstall & Download Older Chrome Versions

Because of security concerns, Google does not provide an official repository of older versions. You can, however, use tools like FileHippo, Chromium Cypress and SlimJet to download older versions. 

Follow the steps below:

• Uninstall Google Chrome by following the instructions here.
• Wipe all remaining Chrome data from your device following the instructions here.
• Download the desired older Chrome version from one of the above-mentioned tools. 
• Follow the on-screen instructions to install Chrome. 
• Turn off Chrome auto-updates by following the instructions here. 

And you’re good to go! You now know how to downgrade Chrome versions, ones that are ready to use for testing. Simply repeat the above process to download your test scenarios requiring every Chrome version. 

• It is also possible for testers to roll back to the three latest major releases of Chrome Browser by managing Chrome updates on Windows.
• You can follow the instructions to roll back to even earlier versions. But the process requires a non-trivial amount of effort, which includes, among other things, opening Command Prompt.

As the above description shows, these methods require significant time, effort, and manpower investments. If you have to test your site on 15 different Chrome versions, you must repeat the steps above 15 times before you have all the Chrome versions you need for testing. 

However, the following method below allows testers to run a website on different versions of Chrome (desktop and mobile) without a single download.

Method 2: Access older Chrome versions on a Cloud-based Platform

 A real device cloud from BrowserStack provides the optimal way to access older Chrome versions with the least possible time and effort. Instead of downloading older versions of Chrome, sign up for free, log in, and choose from Chrome versions 18 to 98. 

• Each Chrome version can be installed on thousands of real devices – desktop or mobile, iOS & Android, Mac and Windows & more.
• Unlike the first method, BrowserStack enables millions of testers and QA teams to check for cross-browser compatibility quickly in a remote setting.

Simply follow the steps below to check website compatibility with older (and newer Chrome versions):

• Create a FREE account on BrowserStack. If you already have an account, log in.
• Choose Live from the products list at the top of the screen.

Once the Live dashboard shows up, click the Windows or Mac option on the left.

• In this case, we’ll choose Windows to proceed with the test. Once we click Windows, a list of available browsers will be available on the dashboard.
• Click on 61 more under the list of Chrome browsers to see the complete list.

Choose the Chrome version to test on. In this case, we’ll choose version 71. Simply click on 71, and the Chrome version will open on a real Windows desktop

• Now, type the URL for the site under test, and check its compatibility with Chrome version 71 on a real Windows desktop.
• If you’d like to switch to a different Chrome version, click on the Switch Browser option in the left-hand menu. It will take you back to the list of browsers and browser versions we saw earlier.

More than just Cross-Browser Testing

Unlike Method 1 to download older version of Chrome, using BrowserStack gives you much more than just the ability to test websites on multiple Chrome versions. 

A few other features you can leverage when using the BrowserStack infrastructure  are:

• On-demand access to 3000+ real browsers & devices. 
• Tools to debug apps & websites instantly using device logs, browser console and network logs, crash logs, video recordings, and screenshots for every test.
• Local Testing for testing on internal dev and staging environments. Creates a secure, persistent tunnel between your local development/staging environments and the BrowserStack Cloud.
• Parallel testing to accelerate by running tests simultaneously across mobile devices – reducing test execution time by more than 10x.
• Integrations with tools and frameworks to facilitate automated testing, CI/CD alignment, app distribution, and more. 
• Accessibility testing to ensure accessibility for disabled or otherwise challenged users.
• Speed testing to check website speed on popular mobile devices across manufacturers and platforms. 
• Uncompromising security & privacy as BrowserStack is SOC2 Type 2 and GDPR compliant.
• It also ensures pristine devices for each test. All browsing data is destroyed with every logout.

Test on BrowserStack

Wrapping Up

The methods above will sufficiently answer the question, “How to use old chrome versions?” Testing on older Chrome versions is flawless and straightforward with the above-mentioned methods. But one trumps the other in terms of convenience, speed, and accuracy.

By running your websites through real device-browser-OS combinations, there are very few bugs you wouldn’t be able to detect. Execute website tests in real user conditions, and detect, diagnose, analyze and eliminate bugs before your users see them.