Chrome on my desktop has been syncing fine with my HP Android tablet since I got the tablet in the winter of 2013/14.  Chrome Stable on my tablet stopped syncing late last summer I think.  After trying several suggestions by one of your techs on the Google Forum, she suggested that I download Chrome Beta and try that.  Beta was working fine until just before the holidays when it started cutting out (see my post).  Then, over the holidays it stopped cutting out but it stopped syncing with my desktop too.

Hey! I'm sorry things don't seem to be working. Can you attach screenshots of chrome://sync-internals and chrome://signin-internals for all your Chrome installs, and we'll go from there.

Please check my older post on the Google Forum about this.  The woman who
helped me back then asked me to send a lot of screen shots.  If what you
need isn't among them then let me know and I will try to send you what you
need.

Keep in mind that I am not very computer savvy, and even less when it comes
to my tablet. Also, I only use my tablet from 3pm-7pm PST on weekdays after
I leave my desktop.

Who should I thank for helping me?  You didn't include your name.

Mark Montembeau

So to get to chrome://sync-internals and chrome://signin-internals it works just like typing in any other url like www.google.com into the omnibox. These urls look a little different because they're not part of the web, but instead Chrome has special logic to handle these pages locally.

I've glanced over the following and have not seen anything similar to what I'm asking for
* https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topicsearch/Montembeau
* https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/FsKbK0GBGjY
* https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/rIU3HMP8KmA
* https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/YlXzh5bmXhY

Make sure to include screenshots from both your desktop and your tablet. And my name is Sky :)

Hi Sky,

Thanks for giving me your name!  So do you want me to type in these
chrome://sync-internals
and chrome://signin-internals into both my desk top AND tablet, or just my
tablet?  Tonight after I leave my desktop I will try what you said on my
tablet (if that's what you want) and then send it to you tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.  Question:  My HP Android tablet is real old.  My
daughter bought it for me several years ago when it was being clearanced by
Best Buy.  Could my old tablet be the problem?

Mark

Yes, both desktop and tablet. And for tablet make sure to get both Stable and Beta. Sorry this is a bunch of work, but it'll be a great starting point.

In general, I don't think your Android device being particularly old should be causing problems like these. As long as you're able to get the most recent version of Chrome from the Play Store, everything here should just work. I suppose as your OS gets older it may stop getting security updates and your risk from malware increases. You can include chrome://version on your tablet and we can see what version of Android you're running. But I'm fairly skeptical that this is what's going on.

Hi Sky,

Below are my tablet screenshots, and attached are my desktop screen shots.
Hope this is what you wanted to look at:

I look forward to your reply.

Mark

[image: Inline image 1]
[image: Inline image 1]
[image: Inline image 1]
[image: Inline image 1]

[image: Inline image 1]

Hey, I'm sorry to tell you this, but the attaching did not work. Can you try again?

It looks like you've been replying via email, can you instead navigate to https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=692225 and use the "Attach a file" mechanism below the main reply text box?

Hi Sky,

Hope I did this right.  Let me know if there's another problem.  No I will try to figure out how to send it to you.

Mark

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Hi Sky,

OK, l wasn't sure how to send this other page to you so let me know if you
got it.

Mark

So I see a screenshot of chrome://version, that worked great. Now we just need chrome://signin-internals and chrome://sync-internals. I see you had them open for your screen shot, but I actually need to see the contents of them. So if you could make them the current tab, take a screen shot, and attach them. And remember it'd be best to have them for each of desktop, tablet stable, and tablet beta.

Also, your Android OS version is Jelly Bean, which is old, but still represents some large fraction of active Android devices out there, and hopefully chrome and chrome sync should continue to work on it. Looks like your Chrome version is M57 Beta, which is the latest and greatest, so you're getting new app updates, which is good.

I sent it all to you.  Chrome Version, Beta Sync, Beta Sign In, Stable
Sync, Stable Sign In, Desktop Sync, and Desktop Sign in.

Do I have to save/send one at a time?  I see on that page that only the
last one I sent is visible.

Also, you said:  . "I see you had them open for your screen shot, but I
actually need to see the contents of them."

That is the only way I know how.  Last night while using my tablet the only
way I could figure out how to save the screenshots was to put them in
Drive.  This morning on my Desktop, I couldn't figure out how to put the
desktop screenshots in Drive, but I figured out how to copy them onto
Word.  I am not clear now what you mean by seeing the contents because I
thought that's what I sent you.

I'm sorry.  This is getting real confusing.

Mark

No, you shouldn't need to send them one at a time. But you do need to keep clicking "Attach another file". You don't want to choose a file and then override that same chosen file with a different file.

Alternatively you can email me directly at skym@chromium.org

OK, I'll try it again...

Looking at the signin-internals pages, both show that you're completely signed out. You need to sign back in. If you go to Chrome's in app settings, there should be a call to action to sign in. Looks like some step by step instructions for this can be found at https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/185277?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en&oco=1

Hi Sky,

Are you talking about signing in on my tablet or my desktop?  I can do my
desktop right now, or my tablet tonight.  Thanks for the link by the way.

Mark

Just on your tablet. Both Beta and Stable are in the same state. I cannot actually see anything in the .doc files from your desktop other than a title.

OK, I will try it tonight.  Please note though that I have seen that link
before but it's instructions din't match to what I was looking at on my
tablet.  Hopefully I can figure it out tonight, and I will get back to you
tomorrow.

Mark

Hi Sky,

OK I tried to sign in to Chrome Beta & Stable, but the link you sent me
didn't resemble anything on my tablet.  I believe Johnny (Google Forum)
asked me to do this a while back and I guess it didn't work back then.  I
say "I guess" because I thought I HAD signed in back then, because my
picture was visible on a few pages.  They still are.  Could it be possible
that I AM signed in, but my Chrome://signin-internals page says I am not?

Anyway, I am attaching several screenshots of my settings page so you can
see what I am seeing.  Hopefully they will help.

Mark

chrome://signin-internals is the truth, as far as Chrome is concerned. You may have one or many account associated with your Android device, but until you tell Chrome your intention, we cannot make any assumptions.

Copying the steps to this bug:

1. Open the Google Chrome app Chrome app. If you don’t yet have the Google Chrome app, download it from Google Play.
2. Tap More [three dot menu icon].
3. Tap Settings and then Sign in to Chrome.
4. Tap the account you want to use.
5. Tap Continue and then OK, Got it.

You've already done #1. For #2, I see the three dot menu icon in your screenshots, its in the upper right hand corner right below the current time. I'm a bit confused why the test "More" shows up in step #2, that is confusing. Hopefully steps 3-5 are straight forward enough. If you have problems following them, if you could describe where the steps go wrong, and include a screen shot of how far you got, and I can try to continue to assist.

Hi Sky,

Thank you for the quick reply.  I believe the only account I have on my
tablet is the same as what I use on my desktop.  Maybe I am
misunderstanding what you mean by account?  Besides Google Chrome (Beta &
Stable) which includes my Gmail, I also have Yahoo Mail.  I will attach a
page of what I use every evening on my tablet.

What do you mean by: (#1) "Open the Google Chrome app Chrome app"  and 'If
you don't have the Google Chrome app download it from Google Play"??  Why
do you say Chrome app Chrome app?  Is that just a typo?  And, if I am
currently using Chrome Beta and Stable on my tablet, shouldn't that mean
that I have already downloaded both Beta and Stable?  I think Johnny on the
Google Forum had already instructed me to do that as well.
Now for items #2 through #5:  I have the three vertical dots you mentioned,
but there is no mention of the word "More" to tap.  And, when I do tap the
three vertical dots there is nothing about "Settings" or "Sign In" or
"Account" or "Continue" or "OK, got it."  This is why I say nothing on my
tablet resembles the "Sign Into Chrome" instructions (for Android) that you
sent me.

I am totally confused Sky.

Mark

Sorry about the repeated "Chrome" in step #1, when copy/pasting the steps the icon became "Chrome". It was essentially a typo. You know how to open Chrome, so don't stress about step #1. Chrome Beta and Chrome Stable are completely separate on your phone, they don't talk to each other. If you sign in and fix it for one of them, you'll ultimate need to fix it for the other. But that's all getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

So, as you figured out, you want to tap on the three vertical dots, and a context menu should drop down. One of the options should be "Settings". Depending on your resolution, you many need to scroll the context menu down slightly first. Alternatively to scroll down, rotating your device to have more vertical space may avoid the need to scroll down. If you don't see a "Settings" item on the context menu that pops up, take a screen shot and I'll look at it.

OK, I left and got my tablet.

When I go to my tablet settings and tap on Chrome Beta I get a page that I
already sent you and it doesn't have the the three vertical dots.  I will
attach it again.  Now, on the Main Page screenshot I just sent you, when I
tap the Chrome Beta icon it does have the the three vertical dots.  When I
tap on that I do get a page that says "Settings," but there is nothing on
that page, even if I hold the tablet lengthwise, that says Sign In.  I am
attaching a screenshot of that too.

Mark

Hey, were you going to attach the screenshot after you tapped on the three vertical dots? Nothing has been attached recently.

Hi Sky,

I attached them to the last Email I sent you, and I just double checked to
make sure they were there.  They were.  Can you not look at them via a
Gmail attachment?  Let me know and I will try to upload them to that other
page you sent me.

Thanks for letting me know!

Mark

Instead of waiting for your GMail reply, here are the two screenshots I sent you esterday via a Gmail attachment.

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I cannot see any attachments when you reply via email. No email is actually sent to me, but rather the email is converted into a post on this bug, and it doesn't seem to preserve your attachments. Thanks for adding your screenshots directly, I can see them now!

Looking at the first of your screenshots, I want you to go back to that page, and then click on the screen where it says 'Mark Montembeau Setup in progress...', and then send me another screenshot.

Hi Sky,

Glad to hear you got the screenshots and I understand about attaching to my
GMail.  I will just upload them to that page you sent me.

Not sure if I can get away from my desk to get my tablet, so if I cant I
will do what you suggested tonight, and get back to you on Monday.

Mark

Good Morning Sky.  Hope you had a good weekend.  Here's the screenshot of the page I get when I tap my name on the settings page.  Notice that it says I am signed in to Google.

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You're right, it clearly seems to think you're signed in. This is odd, I cannot explain the discrepancy with signin-internals. I wonder what's going on here. Unfortunately, I'm not really knowledgeable enough signin on Android to speculate what could cause this. So let's just fix this for you.

1. Tap on the the 'Sign out of Chrome' row.
2. You should now see a pop up telling you that sync is going to stop working. It wasn't previously working for you, so whatever. Tap on the 'SIGN OUT' blue text.
3. You should be back to the Setting menu, with near the top of your screen there should be a 'Sign in to Chrome' row. Tap on that.
4. You should now see the account chooser page, the correct email will probably already be checked, but if it isn't, make sure to check it.
5. Tap on the 'CONTINUE' blue button.
6. Tap on the 'OK, GOT IT' blue button.
7. Sync should be working, fingers crossed. If it's not, send me updated sync-internals and signin-internals.

Or if any step isn't work, feel free to tell me about it, and screenshots always help.

Hi Sky,

OK and thanks for the new instructions.  I will try them and get back to
you either later today or tomorrow morning.

Mark

One more thing...  I forgot to ask you if, by signing out of Chrome, will I lose the bookmarks I still have on Chrome Beta if this doesn't work?  When I was instructed on the Google Forum to uninstall and reinstall Chrome Stable I lost ALL of my bookmarks, and now I hardly ever use Stable.  In other words, I don't want to lose what I have left.

Mark

When you uninstall Chrome, it deletes all your local data. So when you re-install it has nothing. Assuming you signin and sync, you get back all of the data that was previously synced. But if you've been using your device for a significant amount of time with sync broken/disabled, then clearly this causes data loss.

If you just sign out, we don't remove any of your local data. It's still all there. Now, there are some caveats that I don't believe apply here (On desktop there's a checkbox that allows you to delete the local profile/data, and if your account is part of a "managed domain", then we also delete the local data). As long as you read any popup during the sign out process, it should explain what's going to happen. In Step #2, I'm talking about a popup that should explain how you're not about to lose any data.

However, another caveat, if you sign in with a different account than you were previously signed in with, we detect this, and popup another warning. I don't think this will happen to you, since it seems like you only have one account. If for some bizarre reason this happens to you, it would be a pop up between steps #5 and #6. Just read it carefully and pick the option to keep your data (you'll probably want to check the second radio button before tapping 'CONTINUE').

If any step is concerning or doesn't make sense, feel free to take a screenshot and check back in.

OK it WORKED!!  YAY!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  After I followed your instructions it like reloaded itself, but it kept saying "Syncing To Montembeau@gmail.com" and I was afraid to check my bookmarks for fear it would stop syncing.  So I did a couple of other unrelated things, and when I came back to my tablet it was still saying the same "Syncing to...." under my name.  So I decided to take a look at my bookmarks anyway and my current desktop bookmarks are now appearing on my tablet.
Can I now assume that if I follow these same instructions on my tablet's Chrome Stable that Stable will sync all of my current bookmarks too?  I may want to uninstall one of them just to clear some space.
Either way, I am VERY happy to have my bookmarks syncing like they should AND THANK YOU SKY FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

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Happy to hear it's working! These same steps should work on your Stable install as well. Let me know if you run into any issues. Only having one Chrome install seems very reasonable to me.

'Syncing to <account name>' should be the steady state text, it should say that after you've downloaded all your data, including bookmarks. I would expect to see 'Setup in progress...' while the initial download is being performed.

Chrome Stable is working now too!  Which one do you recommend that I keep
now?  Chrome Stable or Chrome Beta?

Mark

Unless you have a reason to keep Beta, I would default to using Stable. It will have the fewest bugs and be the best all around product. And try to update itself less often. I use Stable on my personal devices.

Closing this bug as it seems everything is working.

OK on that.  I will uninstall Beta.  I liked Stable better anyway until it
stopped syncing months ago.

Thanks again for all your help Sky, and thanks also to Johnny at the google
Forum for directing me to you!

Mark