Modern browsers like Chrome and Edge don’t offer direct settings to change Browser Timeout limits, which are generally governed by browser policies or network configurations. However, for specific use cases, you can still try workarounds that provide some control over timeout behavior.
If you frequently receive Connection has timed out errors in your browser when visiting a website, you might want to change Browser Timeout settings and see if that helps.
How to change Browser Timeout settings in Chrome and Edge
Since there is no way to do it permanently, advanced users can run the browser with specific command line flags to help override timeout-related behaviors.
Create a shortcut for Edge and Chrome on your desktop.
Next, right-click on the shortcut and switch to the Properties tab
Add the –disable-hang-monitor parameter at the end or after the EXE part.
For Chrome it will be:
chrome.exe --disable-hang-monitor
For Edge it will be:
msedge.exe --disable-hang-monitor
Save the changes, and launch the browser using the shortcut.
This flag disables timeout monitoring, which can help prevent interruptions during long-running requests.
You can also use these commands directly in a Terminal or create a shortcut with the flag added to the target path, as we did above.
Read: This site can’t be reached Chrome error
Can I increase the timeout for downloading large files in Chrome or Edge?
Unfortunately, browsers like Chrome and Edge don’t provide a direct setting to increase download timeout limits. If you experience timeouts during large downloads, the issue may lie with unstable network connections or server-side settings. You can use a dedicated Download manager (e.g., IDM or Free Download Manager) to handle large files more reliably. These tools allow you to resume downloads if interrupted and bypass the browser’s timeout limitations.
Are there browser extensions to manage or bypass timeout issues?
Yes, several browser extensions can help manage or bypass timeout issues. For example, extensions like Session Alive send periodic “heartbeat” requests to keep connections active during long-running processes. Similarly, tools like Tampermonkey allow users to write custom scripts to handle network requests and retry failed ones automatically.