Google turned off uBlock in Chrome, but you can still enable it, here is how

Recently, Google completed the removal of Manifest V2-based extensions in Google Chrome, causing plenty of extensions to stop working and generating a tidal wave of frustrated customers. While the change affects all extensions that have not been upgraded to Manifest V3, the biggest noise is generated among uBlock Origin users, a popular content-blocking extension for modern browsers.

The good news is that despite the change, it is still possible to make uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions work in Chrome. They not only work but they can also be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. All you need is a few simple tricks. Here is how to restore uBlock Origin in Chrome.

Enable uBlock Origin in Chrome:

1. Go to chrome://extensions and find uBlock Origin in the list of installed extensions.
2. There you will see a message stating that the extension was turned off because it is no longer supported.
3. In the bottom-right corner of the extension card, there is a small grayed-out toggle. Click it to turn on uBlock Origin in Chrome.

   

4. Chrome will warn you not to enable extensions. Dismiss the warning.

   

Note that you can do the same in Edge. Microsoft's browser still lets you turn on the extension, even though MV2-based extensions are on their way out in Microsoft Edge as well.

Download and install uBlock Origin in Chrome:

This section is for those who do not have uBlock Origin installed. It also applies to other MV2-based extensions that Chrome no longer allows installing. Method 1:

1. Launch Chrome and click this link to the Chrome Web Store.
2. Find the "Add to Chrome" button—it should be inaccessible and grayed out.

   

3. Right-click the button and select "Inspect."
4. Chrome will open its developer tools on the "Elements" tab with div class="VfPpkd-dg12Hf-ppH1rf-sM5MNb" highlighted. Click a small arrow to the left of it to expand the section.

   

5. At the end of the button class section, find "disabled" and click it.
6. Change "disabled" to "enabled," and Chrome will turn the "Add to Chrome" button back on.

   

7. Click the button to download and install uBlock Origin in Google Chrome.

Note that Chrome will turn off uBlock Origin the next time you launch the browser. When this happens, go to extensions and turn it back on, as described in the previous section of this guide.

Method 2 is a bit more complicated as it requires manual installation. It is better suited for power users who want more control over their extensions or keep a certain release without updating to newer versions:

1. Go to the extension's official GitHub repository and download the latest extension release for Chromium. You can also download one of the previous versions if necessary.
2. Extract the downloaded archive wherever it is convenient.
3. Launch Chrome and go to chrome://extensions.
4. Toggle on Developer mode.

   

5. Click "Load unpacked."
6. Find the folder with the extracted uBlock Origin files and click "Select folder."

   

7. uBlock Origin will show up in the list of all extensions. Note that there will be an "Errors" button because the extension is Manifest V2-based, which is now deprecated.

   

Keep in mind that all those measures are only temporary. While there is no exact information on when exactly MV2 extensions will stop working with no way to bring them back, it will happen sooner or later. In such a case, switching to Firefox (it does not plan to ditch MV2-based extensions) or MV3 extensions like uBlock Origin Lite might be a better option.

Source

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