How to Resume a Paused Download in Chrome

Pausing a file in Chrome doesn't remove it from the download list. Chrome keeps the entry there so you can restart the transfer later, either from the download panel or the Downloads page.

If Resume is missing, or the file jumps back to zero, the server may not support continuing an interrupted transfer. Check the connection first, then start the download again from the source page.

In this guide, I have covered:

Resume a paused download from the download panel

You paused a file and now you want it moving again. The fastest place to find it is the download panel in the top-right corner of the Chrome window.

Chrome keeps paused files on that list, so you can pick the transfer back up without going back to the page you downloaded from.

1. Click the Download in progress button in the top-right corner of Chrome.
2. Point to the paused file’s name in the download panel.
3. Click Resume.

You’ll know it worked when the progress indicator starts moving and the status stops saying Paused. Google documents the same steps in its guide to downloading and pausing files in Chrome.

Continue the download from the Downloads page

Nothing about the paused file shows in the panel? Open the full Downloads page instead. It lists every file Chrome has downloaded or attempted, which makes it the better place to confirm the entry still exists.

1. Click the menu in the top-right corner of Chrome.
2. Select Downloads.
3. Point to the paused file’s name in the downloads list.
4. Click Resume beside the file entry.

You’ll know it worked when the entry switches to downloading or moves down to the completed list, depending on how much data is left. To review where Chrome saves files and what happens when a transfer finishes, see Manage Download Settings in Chrome on the Computer.

What to do when the Resume option is missing

The file is listed, but there’s no Resume link to click. That usually means Chrome cannot continue that particular transfer.

Chrome can restart an interrupted download on its own when the connection drops, but the web server has to support continuing from the point where it stopped. Plenty don’t. When that happens, the file has to start over from the beginning.

1. Load another page in Chrome to confirm the connection is working.
2. Open the Downloads page again and check whether the paused file still appears.
3. Return to the page that provided the download and start the download again if the entry has disappeared.
4. Check free disk space before pulling down a large file a second time.

If Chrome does offer Resume but the file jumps straight back to zero, the server is the limit. No Chrome setting can force a server to continue a file it will not resume.

If Chrome asks where to save each file, that preference is separate from the pause and resume controls. The save location sits on the same Downloads page, under the options for where files are stored.

Check why a download will not continue

A download that keeps stopping isn’t always a paused download. Chrome prints a status message under the file name, and that line tells you far more than the pause state does.

1. Open the Downloads page through the menu.
2. Point to the incomplete or failed download entry.
3. Read the status message shown under the file name.
4. Retry the download after fixing what the message describes.

If other pages stop loading at the same moment, the connection is the problem and the download is just a symptom. Work through the fixes for a site that can’t be reached or a server IP address that could not be found before you retry the file.

Google’s official Chrome download troubleshooting guide covers the common download errors and the checks that follow each one.

RELATED: Useful Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows, Linux, and Mac