Auto Refresh Plus Help and Troubleshooting

Most problems with timed refreshing come from a few Chrome settings and site behaviours. Here is how to fix each one.

Auto refresh is not working

Work through these checks in order. Most problems are solved by the first two.

1. 1Make sure the timer is running on the right tab. Open the tab, click the Auto Refresh Plus icon and check that START has been pressed. Each tab has its own timer.
2. 2Check the number. Enter whole seconds, for example 60 for one minute. A blank or zero value cannot start.
3. 3Update Chrome and the extension. Open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode at the top right and click Update, or simply restart Chrome.
4. 4Turn the extension off and on again from chrome://extensions, then start the timer again.
5. 5Try a different website. If the timer works elsewhere, the site itself may be blocking or redirecting reloads (see below).

Some pages send you somewhere else when they reload, for example to a login page or a queue. The timer then runs on that new page. Signing in again, or using a page that does not redirect, fixes it.

Refresh stops in background tabs

Chrome's Memory Saver unloads tabs you have not used for a while to free up memory. An unloaded tab runs nothing, so its timer stops until you click the tab again. To keep a site running:

1. 1Open Chrome Settings and choose Performance.
2. 2Under “Always keep these sites active”, click Add.
3. 3Enter the website’s address and save.

On a laptop, Energy Saver can also slow down background tabs while on battery. Plug in, or turn Energy Saver off from the same Performance page. A computer going to sleep pauses everything, including the timer.

The page asks to resend form data

If you reached a page by submitting a form, such as a search with filters or a checkout step, reloading it means sending that form again. Chrome asks “Confirm Form Resubmission” and waits, so the timer seems stuck.

The fix is to refresh a page with a normal address instead. Often you can open the same results through a link, or copy the address bar into a new tab and start the timer there. Avoid auto refreshing checkout and payment pages entirely.

The page reloads but nothing changes

If you can see the page reload but the information stays the same, the site is probably showing a saved copy. Some sites cache pages for a minute or more, so a reload shows the same version until the cache expires. Others only update part of the page with their own scripts, and that part may lag behind. Try a longer interval and compare: if a manual reload with Ctrl+Shift+R (Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac) shows newer data, the site is caching. Also check that you are on the page that actually changes, for example the product page rather than a list that only updates every few hours.

Refreshing logs me out or shows a captcha

Some sites treat frequent reloads as unusual traffic. They may ask you to solve a captcha, sign in again or wait. Make the interval longer, and keep short intervals to the few minutes when something is actually expected to change. If a site keeps signing you out even with a long interval, it may have a fixed session limit; our guide on keeping a session alive explains the difference.

Does it slow down Chrome or use a lot of battery?

The extension itself is tiny: a popup and a timer. The cost comes from the page you reload, because every reload downloads and draws it again. A heavy page reloaded every few seconds uses noticeably more data, processor time and battery than the same page reloaded every few minutes. If your laptop runs warm, lengthen the interval or close timers you no longer need.

How do I stop it?

Open the tab, click the Auto Refresh Plus icon and press STOP. Closing the tab also stops its timer. If you want to stop everything at once, turn the extension off from chrome://extensions.

What permissions does it need and why?

Chrome lists every permission the extension uses on the Chrome Web Store listing and asks you to approve them when you install it.

Refreshing a page runs entirely in your browser. New installs show a consent prompt first: anonymous usage data is collected only if you choose “Accept,” and the extension works the same either way. Users who installed before the prompt was introduced are treated as having accepted and can opt out by uninstalling. The full details are in our privacy policy.

Still stuck?

The guides go deeper on specific situations: setting things up in Chrome or in Edge, Brave and Opera, choosing a safe interval, and staying logged in. If none of them help, contact us through the details on the about page, or go back to the Auto Refresh Plus home page.