The built-in checker is fine until it silently turns itself off, or until you need more than spelling. Both cases, handled below, with Google's documentation as the source.
The steps are documented on Google's help page. One choice deserves attention: Basic vs Enhanced. Basic compares words against a dictionary on your device. Enhanced gives better suggestions, and to do that it sends the text you type to Google: Google's page says so plainly. Pick Enhanced knowingly, or keep Basic and accept weaker suggestions.
"Chrome spell check keeps turning itself off" is a recurring thread on Google's own forums, often after an update. The checks that actually resolve it, in order:
Chrome's spell check flags misspelled words. It does not fix grammar, punctuation, or phrasing, and when it silently turns off, it does nothing at all. If what you actually want is the sentence made correct, that is a different tool's job.
A spell checker catches "recieve". It will not catch "we have fix the issue", a missing question mark, or a sentence that reads wrong to a client. If your writing goes to other people, email, support, LinkedIn, you need correction, not just spelling. That is the line between Chrome's built-in tool and a real checker, and it is worth knowing before you rely on red underlines. For email specifically, here is how a one-click polish handles the full sentence.
Open Chrome's menu, go to Settings, then Languages, and under Spell check turn on "Check for spelling errors when you type text on web pages". Make sure the toggle next to your language is on too. Google documents the steps on its help page.
Basic checks words against a dictionary on your device. Enhanced sends the text you type to Google for better suggestions, as Google's help page states. That is a privacy trade-off worth making consciously. Here is how Prose handles the same question, mode by mode.
Users report it on Google's forums after updates. The usual fixes: re-check the setting under Languages, verify the per-language toggle, test in an Incognito window (if it works there, an extension is interfering), and clear the browser cache.
No. It flags misspelled words. It does not fix grammar, punctuation, or phrasing. For that you need a checker that handles the full sentence: here is how to choose one.
Last updated: August 17, 2026. Chrome's settings and behavior change with versions; if a step above no longer matches, tell us.
Spelling is the start.
Fix the whole sentence.
Spelling and grammar, in one right-click.
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