Downgrading Google Chrome

In this article, we will discuss how to downgrade Google Chrome to a previous version. This might be necessary for various reasons, such as compatibility issues with certain websites or extensions, or simply a personal preference for an older version.

Please note that downgrading your browser may expose you to security vulnerabilities that have been patched in more recent versions. Always ensure you understand the risks before proceeding.

Checking the Available Versions

Before we start the downgrade process, it’s important to check which versions of Google Chrome are available. This can be done using the apt-cache policy command in the terminal. The command should be followed by the package name, which in this case is google-chrome-stable. The command is as follows:

apt-cache policy google-chrome-stable

This command will display the installed version of Google Chrome and the candidate versions available in the repository.

Downloading the Older Version

If the version you wish to downgrade to is not available in the repository, you will need to download the .deb file directly from Google’s Download Servers.

To do this, navigate to the Google Chrome Releases page and find the version you want to install. Once you’ve found it, copy the full version string. This will be used in the next step.

Installing the Older Version

Now that you have the version string of the older version of Google Chrome, you can use it to download and install that version. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

VERSION_STRING="85.0.4183.121-1" # Replace this value with the one you copied earlier
wget "https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/pool/main/g/google-chrome-stable/google-chrome-stable_${VERSION_STRING}_amd64.deb"
sudo dpkg -i "google-chrome-stable_${VERSION_STRING}_amd64.deb"
rm "google-chrome-stable_${VERSION_STRING}_amd64.deb"

In these commands, VERSION_STRING is a variable that should be replaced with the version string you copied from the Google Chrome Releases page. The wget command is used to download the .deb file for that version. sudo dpkg -i is then used to install the downloaded .deb file. Finally, the rm command is used to remove the .deb file after installation.

Preventing Automatic Updates

After downgrading Google Chrome, you will likely want to prevent it from being automatically updated to a newer version. This can be done using the apt-mark hold command as follows:

sudo apt-mark hold google-chrome-stable

This command tells the package manager to hold the current version of Google Chrome and not to update it.

Conclusion

Downgrading Google Chrome involves checking the available versions, downloading the older version, installing it, and then preventing automatic updates. While this process may seem complex, it can be accomplished with a few commands in the terminal. However, always remember that using an older version of a browser can expose you to security risks. Always ensure you understand these risks before proceeding.