Internet & Wi-Fi

Chrome startup pages and the Home button are separate settings

Choose what opens at startup without confusing it with the page behind the Home button.

Chrome opens one page when you launch it, yet the Home button takes you somewhere else. Those are separate settings. Changing one does not mean you have configured the other, and neither is the same as choosing a default search engine.

Choose the startup behavior

On a computer, open Chrome Settings → On startup. To open a known address, choose Open a specific page or set of pages, then Add a new page. Enter the address you actually want. “Use current pages” is a different option: review your open tabs before choosing it, or you may save more pages than intended.

For example, a person may want their work dashboard at startup and a reference page on the Home button. Add just the dashboard address to the startup list; inspect the saved entries and remove only unwanted entries in that list. This is not a request to delete bookmarks or browsing history.

Configure and check Home separately

Under Settings → Appearance, enable Show Home button and choose the New Tab page or a custom address. Test the button and verify the address bar. Check startup behavior during a convenient restart, after saving work; opening one more window may not demonstrate a fresh browser launch.

Use the intended Chrome profile. If a setting is managed or unavailable, check your organization's policy rather than trying to bypass it. An unexpected page alone does not establish its cause. No browser settings, user tabs or startup entries were changed for this article.

Sources & further reading

  1. Google — Startup and home page settings (German reference)

Sources support the technical explanations. Examples and suggested checks are editorial guidance.