Google has successfully resolved a significant issue affecting the Chrome Browser password manager, which left a substantial number of users unable to find or save passwords. The incident began on July 24, 2024, at 15:36 (US/Pacific) and was resolved on July 25, 2024, at 09:27 (US/Pacific), impacting users for 17 hours and 51 minutes.
The disruption affected the M127 version of Chrome Browser on the Windows platform, specifically targeting the password manager feature.
During the incident, approximately 2% of users, out of the 25% of the entire user base where the configuration change was implemented, experienced the issue. Affected users were unable to locate their passwords in Chrome’s password manager, although they could save new passwords, which remained invisible.
Chrome Browser Password Manager Disruption: What Happened?
Google’s preliminary analysis indicates that the root cause was a change in product behavior without the proper feature guard. Engineers mitigated the issue by deploying a fix, which is now fully rolled out.
In response to the incident, Google provided an interim workaround and advised users to restart their Chrome Browser to ensure the fix takes effect. “We apologize for the inconvenience this service disruption may have caused,” stated the official release addressing the issue. “Our engineering team identified the cause and worked diligently to deploy a fix for all users.”
The company announced that a full incident report (IR) will be completed in the coming days to provide a comprehensive root cause analysis. In the meantime, users experiencing ongoing issues are encouraged to contact Google Workspace Support.
Google Workspace’s status dashboard provided regular updates throughout the incident. On July 25, 2024, at 12:04 pm (UTC), Google summarized the problem, stating, “We are experiencing an issue with Chrome Browser where impacted users may be unable to find or save passwords in Chrome’s Password Manager. Our engineering team has identified the cause of the issue and is actively working on deploying a fix for all users.”
How to Fix Chrome Browser Password Manager Issue
The workaround suggested by Google involved launching Chrome with the “–enable-features=SkipUndecryptablePasswords” command line flag, a temporary measure to help users regain access to their passwords until the fix was fully implemented.
Users currently impacted by this issue can try the following workaround:
- Launch Chrome with the “–enable-features=SkipUndecryptablePasswords” command line flag.
- Locate the Chrome shortcut on your desktop. If you don’t have one:
- Go to “chrome://settings/manageProfile”.
- Enable “Create desktop shortcut” at the bottom.
- Fully exit Chrome.
- Right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties.
- In the Target field, add ” –enable-features=SkipUndecryptablePasswords” at the end of the existing text.
- Close the dialog with OK and launch Chrome using this modified shortcut.
As of July 25, 2024, at 16:27 (UTC), Google confirmed that the issue had been mitigated for all affected users. The company thanked users for their patience and assured them that they were monitoring the situation to ensure a smooth resolution.
For more detailed status updates and additional information on Google Workspace services, users can visit the Google Workspace Status Dashboard or reach out to Google Workspace Support through their help article.