Fix 'WebGL Not Supported' in Chrome & Edge (Run the WebGL Test)

Confirm the issue in 10 seconds

If 3D content shows a blank canvas or you see "WebGL not supported," confirm it before changing settings. Run the WebGL Test at the top of this page. You should see a spinning cube and a "Hardware acceleration: enabled" line. If the cube is missing, stay on the page while you try the fixes below and re-run the test after each change.

Typical symptoms:

• 3D maps in Google Maps fail to load
• Browser games on itch.io, Roblox, or Krunker stay on a black screen
• Data viz dashboards show empty charts

Fix 1: Turn on hardware acceleration

Hardware acceleration is the gatekeeper for WebGL. Make sure it is enabled, then restart the browser.

Chrome / Edge:

1. Go to Settings > System and performance
2. Toggle Use hardware acceleration when available to On
3. Click Restart

Firefox:

1. Go to Settings > General > Performance
2. Check Use recommended performance settings and Use hardware acceleration when available
3. Restart Firefox

Safari on macOS: WebGL is on by default. If you enabled the Develop menu, make sure Develop > Disable WebGL is unchecked.

After the restart, re-run the WebGL Test. If you still see a failure, keep going.

Fix 2: Update your graphics driver (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Out-of-date drivers are the most common reason Chrome or Edge block WebGL.

• Windows:

  • Download the latest driver for your GPU: NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel.
  • Install, reboot, then rerun the WebGL Test.
  • If you cannot install drivers (work laptop), ask IT to approve the official package.

• macOS:

  • Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and apply pending updates. Apple ships GPU driver updates through macOS releases.

• Linux:

  • Update Mesa or NVIDIA packages from your distro. On Ubuntu, run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade. On Fedora, run sudo dnf upgrade.

Fix 3: Clear the browser blocklist and force the GPU (Chrome/Edge)

Sometimes Chrome flags integrated GPUs as unreliable and forces software rendering.

1. Open chrome://flags (or edge://flags)
2. Set Override software rendering list to Enabled
3. Set WebGL Draft Extensions to Enabled
4. Click Relaunch

After relaunch, check chrome://gpu and confirm Graphics Feature Status shows "Hardware accelerated" for WebGL, then rerun the WebGL Test.

Fix 4: Disable extensions that block WebGL

Privacy and anti-fingerprinting extensions often block WebGL contexts.

• Turn off extensions such as Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin (hard mode), NoScript, or DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
• If the WebGL Test passes with extensions off, add the affected site to the extension's allowlist instead of staying fully disabled.

Fix 5: Check Firefox advanced settings

1. Type about:config
2. Search webgl.disabled and make sure it is false
3. Search webgl.force-enabled and set to true if your GPU is unfairly blocked
4. Restart Firefox and rerun the WebGL Test

Fix 6: Resolve laptop and power saving limits

On laptops, power saving modes can downshift the GPU and block acceleration.

• Plug into AC power and switch Windows to Best performance in Settings > System > Power.
• On dual-GPU laptops (NVIDIA Optimus), open NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings and set your browser to High-performance GPU.
• On macOS with dual GPUs, keep the laptop plugged in and disable Automatic graphics switching under Battery settings.

Fix 7: Avoid virtual machine limitations

Virtual machines often expose a basic virtual GPU that fails WebGL 2.0. Test on the host OS. If you must stay in a VM, enable 3D acceleration in your hypervisor settings and install guest additions.

Fix 8: Reset corrupted GPU cache (Chrome/Edge)

1. Close the browser
2. Delete the GPUCache folder in your browser profile (Windows path example: %LOCALAPPDATA%\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default\\GPUCache)
3. Reopen the browser and rerun the WebGL Test

Verify the fix

Return to the WebGL Test. A passing result should show a spinning object and "Hardware acceleration: enabled". If the cube still fails to render, note the error line in the test output and move to the next step.

Still failing? Check these edge cases

• Old hardware: GPUs older than Intel HD 3000 or pre-2012 AMD/NVIDIA cards may only support WebGL 1.0. The test will say "WebGL 2.0 unavailable"; many sites still run on WebGL 1.0, so try the site anyway.
• Enterprise lockdown: Managed Chrome or Edge profiles can disable WebGL via policy. Check chrome://policy for WebGLEnabled. If it is set to false, only your admin can change it.
• Remote desktops: WebGL is often blocked in remote desktop sessions. Test locally.