Fix: WebGL Hit A Snag Error in Chrome: 5 Easy Solutions

Why does your Google Chrome browser show the “Rats! WebGL hit a snag” error? There can be plenty of reasons behind that problem, but they are not that difficult to understand. As we all know, Google Chrome is a popular web browser and comes with various functional services. That also means, get ready for bugs and glitches. Luckily, a single update of your browser can save you from a lot of troubles. Other times, that may not be the case. No matter what, you can expect the best resolve on this post.

What Does a WebGL Hit A Snag Error Imply?

Not all the websites you try to visit will show you this error message. As a matter of fact, websites that contain JavaScript, will. Like, Facebook, YouTube, etc. that supports 2D and 3D videos will trigger this error. And yes, Google Maps included. The more you try to ignore the error message, the more it pops up, distracting you from all your works. Sometimes users also face this error while trying to play video games that contain high-quality graphics. It does not require any extra add-on or plugin to work on your computer. It only works on its own.

Or, when you are watching an online video on YouTube, you can also encounter this error. Whenever this issue occurs, it indicates one thing, your Chrome takes the burden of the work you are doing. Moreover, if you don’t provide more resources to the browser, this error wouldn’t budge.

To help you get rid of the Rats! WebGL Hit a Snag error, I have provided 100% working methods in this post.

How to Get Rid of the WebGL Hit A Snag Error?

Most of the time users have reported seeing this error in the Chrome browser only. However, in many other cases, this can also be a problem in your Mozilla Firefox browser. Once you encounter this error, you are likely to face this again and again until you get it over with. Every time your browser tries to access the WebGL, it will display the “Rats! WebGL hit a snag” error message.

Even reloading the site does not help. In that case, you will have to perform a solution method to get rid of this error. If not one, try them all to be sure.

1. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Chrome

The WebGL problem is mostly about hardware-accelerated graphics. By enabling or disabling the hardware component in Chrome, you can get rid of the error. Chrome tries to access your system’s GPU whenever it requires. Here I have mentioned some helpful instructions that will help you get rid of the error.

  1. Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the three vertical lines from the right-hand side
  2. The Menu will open up. Then you will have to visit the Settings tab. Alternatively, you can visit chrome://settings from a new tab.
  3. Scroll down in the settings menu and click on Show Advanced Settings
  4. Scroll down and find the “Use Hardware Acceleration whenever possible” box.
  5. Uncheck the box
  6. Then restart your browser

After performing these steps, you won’t see the Rats! WebGL Hit a Snag Error anymore. In more difficult cases, the error keeps on appearing. Then, you move on to the next method below.

2. Disable WebGL In Chrome

You can follow this process to remove the Rats! WebGL Hit a Snag Error. In Chrome. However, this may come with some glitches especially when you browse heavy websites.

  1. Open a new tab and enter chrome://flags
  2. This will redirect you to the Disable WebGL option
  3. And now you will have to enable this option
  4. Then restart your computer to save the changes.

3. Search for The Log Files

In case you are unable to get rid of the problem even by following the above steps, then you can follow this one. Start with checking out the log files to detect a potential issue with them.

  1. First, open a new tab and enter chrome://GPU
  2. You will find a heading named “Problems Detected”
  3. Check out the warnings that are highlighted with red underlines.
  4. These red files are malfunctioning and they have something to do with the WebGL libraries error
  5. You have to figure out these issues manually by following the on-screen instructions
  6. And then, fix the error message accordingly.

4. Reset Google Chrome Browser

Maybe due to some unintentional settings in your Chrome, you are encountering the Rats! WebGL Hit a Snag error. While you cannot pinpoint those settings, you can certainly reset your browser. Here I have mentioned the steps that will help you get rid of the WebGL error by resetting Chrome.

  1. Firstly, launch the browser
  2. Open the menu from the top-right corner of the browser and click on Customize and control Google Chrome
  3. A drop-down menu will open up
  4. Click on Settings from there
  5. Scroll through the options and find Reset
  6. Click on it

This will reset Chrome and make it new. After resetting, re-open the browser and open the same website again. The error will vanish. If it does not, then follow the other solutions listed below.

5. Update your Google Chrome

In case you have not updated your browser in a long time, then it will trigger many errors and glitches. Hence, keeping your browser up-to-date is really important.

  1. Launch Chrome
  2. From the right-top corner, click on More
  3. If you have not updated Chrome recently, the icon will show colors
  4. The green icon includes the pending updates are there for a few days
  5. Orange indicates that the update has been released a few more days ago
  6. And the red color indicates that the update has been pending for more than a week.
  7. From the More option, click on Update Google Chrome
  8. If you can’t find this button then you are already using the latest version of Chrome
  9. After that, relaunch Chrome

Updating Chrome resolves most of the common Chrome errors. The “Rats! WebGL hit a snag” error won’t bother you anymore after this method. When your browser is incompatible with the WebGL content, you encounter the error.

However, that does not mean, you have a problem in your Chrome. It also can be an issue with the WebGL code. That’s why you should check out other similar websites if you find the same error occurs out there or not.

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