Chrome sync depends on one thing: being signed in to the same Google Account, with sync turned on, on both devices (Solution 1). If you see 'Sync is paused', nothing new goes up or comes down until you sign in again - Solution 2 fixes that, and it is the most common case of all. If bookmarks arrive but passwords do not, the passwords box is almost always unticked in the list of what to sync (Solution 3). On a shared computer, check you are on the right Chrome profile before anything else (Solution 4). If the browser is set to clear cookies on exit, it signs your account out every time, and Solution 5 shows how to stop that.
What causes this problem
- Sync was never turned on: being signed in to your Google Account in Chrome is not the same as syncing.
- Sync paused after signing out of a Google site or clearing cookies, which signs the browser out too.
- Passwords unticked in the list of what to sync, while bookmarks and history stay ticked.
- Different Chrome profiles in use on the same computer, each with its own account and its own data.
- A setting that clears cookies when the browser closes, which drops the account session on every launch.
- A sync passphrase set in the past and forgotten, which holds passwords back even when everything else is right.
- Know which Google email you want as the main one. It has to be the same on every device.
- Have that account's password handy, plus the device that receives your two-step verification codes.
- Note which device has the correct bookmarks and passwords today: that is the one the data will come from.
- If the computer is shared, work out which Chrome profile you mean - the name or picture appears in the top-right corner, next to the three dots.
- Export your bookmarks first, from the bookmark manager, as a safety net.
Solutions, in the order to try them
1Turn sync on with the same account on both devices
Being signed in to a Google website does not turn sync on. You have to sign in inside Chrome itself and switch sync on explicitly, on each device. Only from then on do one device's bookmarks and passwords appear on the other, and the first load can take a few minutes.
- On the computer, click your picture or the profile icon in the top-right corner of Chrome.
- If no account is there, click Turn on sync and sign in with your Google email.
- Confirm when Chrome asks whether you want to sync. That confirmation is the step most people skip.
- On the phone, open Chrome, tap the three dots, go to Settings and tap your name at the top to turn sync on with the same email.
- Wait a few minutes and open the bookmark manager on both devices to check the lists match.
2Clear the sync paused message
This is the most common case and the worst explained. Sync goes paused when the browser loses your account session, which happens when you sign out of any Google site, when you clear cookies, or after you change the account password. While it is paused, Chrome keeps showing the old data, but nothing new goes up or comes down - which is why it looks as though only some things sync.
- Click the profile icon in the top-right corner: the sync paused message appears right there.
- Click Turn on again or Sign in and log in with the same account.
- If two-step verification is requested, complete it on your phone and come back to the Chrome screen.
- If the warning returns on its own within minutes, go to Solution 5: the cause is usually automatic cookie clearing.
- On the phone the warning shows as a banner at the top of Chrome's Settings, with the same button to sign back in.
3Tick passwords in the list of what gets synced
Chrome lets you pick item by item what travels between devices. It is common to have bookmarks and history ticked and passwords not, which produces the classic symptom: bookmarks arrive, passwords do not. Check that list on both devices, because the choice is made separately on each one.
- Open Chrome's Settings and go into your account section, where the sync controls live.
- Find the option that lets you choose what to sync and switch from syncing everything to the detailed list.
- Confirm that Passwords and Bookmarks are on. Turn on Settings and Autofill too, if you want addresses and payment methods.
- Switch back to sync everything if you prefer the simpler setup.
- Repeat the check on the other device and wait a few minutes.
4Check you are on the right Chrome profile
Chrome supports several profiles on the same computer, each with its own bookmarks, passwords and account. Anyone with a personal and a work account ends up saving a bookmark in one profile and looking for it in the other. The symptom is a bookmark that 'disappears' on one computer and exists on another.
- Click the profile icon in the top-right corner and look at the list of open profiles.
- Check the email shown under the name: that is what decides where the bookmarks and passwords come from.
- If you are on the wrong profile, open the right one from that same list. Each profile opens in its own window.
- If you are in an Incognito window, note that it syncs nothing by design - close it and use a normal window.
- To avoid mixing them up, give the profiles clear names and pick a different picture for each.
5Stop the browser clearing cookies on exit
If Chrome is set to delete cookies when you quit, it deletes your account session too, and sync goes back to paused every time you open the browser. The same happens with cleaning extensions and with programs that clean the browser automatically.
- Open Chrome's Settings and go to the privacy and security section, to the cookies and site data item.
- Untick the option that deletes cookies and site data when you close all windows.
- If you would rather keep the cleaning, look on the same screen for the list of sites that can always use cookies and add the Google addresses.
- Disable browser cleaning extensions for a day and see whether sync stops dropping.
- Sign back in using Solution 2, then close and reopen Chrome to confirm it now stays signed in.
6Remember or reset the sync passphrase
If at some point you turned on the sync passphrase (an extra password of your own that encrypts the data), Chrome needs it on every new device before it releases the passwords. Without it, no passwords appear, even with everything else correct. Careful: that passphrase cannot be recovered, and the only way out is resetting sync, which wipes the data stored on the server.
- If a device asks for the sync passphrase, type the one you set in the past and sync carries on normally.
- If you cannot remember it, there is no recovery: you will have to reset sync from your Google Account page, in the Chrome data area.
- Before resetting, export the bookmarks and passwords from the device that holds the correct data, so nothing is lost.
- After resetting, turn sync on again from the device with the right data and let it upload everything first.
- Only then turn sync on across the other devices.
7Update Chrome and check the device date and time
Very old browser versions lose access to account services, and a wrong clock breaks the security validation of the connection, which shows up as an unexplained sign-in error. Both are quick to check and rule out a whole category of failure.
- On the computer, click the three dots, go into Help and open the About Google Chrome screen: the update is fetched automatically there.
- Let the browser restart if it asks.
- On the phone, update Chrome from the device's app store.
- Check that the device's date, time and time zone are set to automatic.
- Try signing in again once that is corrected.
8Force a fresh sync by turning it off and on
When everything looks right but one device stays out of date, turning sync off and back on makes Chrome redo the comparison with the server from scratch. It is safe: turning sync off does not delete the bookmarks and passwords already on the device, and it still lets you choose whether to clear the local copy.
- Open Chrome's Settings, go into your account section and choose to turn sync off.
- When asked, choose to keep the data on the device if it is the one with the correct bookmarks and passwords.
- Close and reopen Chrome, and turn sync on again with the same account.
- Wait a few minutes with the browser open and online: the first load is not instant.
- Check the bookmark manager and the password manager to see whether the lists now match across devices.
Applies to
| System | Status |
|---|---|
| Chrome on Windows, macOS and Linux | Confirmed |
| Chrome on Android and iPhone | Confirmed |
| Google Workspace, work or school accounts | An administrator can switch password sync off by policy, and the option then appears unavailable |
Menu names can change slightly between versions. If a step above does not match what you see on screen, the official support page from the manufacturer has the most current wording for your version.
Frequently asked questions
Last checked: Oct 29, 2026 · We review this guide whenever the manufacturer changes the process.