Why Does My Browser Show “Search Google or Type a URL” and How Can I Fix It?

[ronmurphy]

Whenever I open my browser, it just shows “search google or type a url” instead of loading my homepage. Is this a setting issue, browser bug, or something else? How do I restore normal behavior?

 

[Oscar]

Your browser shows “Search Google or type a URL” because the address bar works as both a search box and a URL bar, letting you either search keywords or enter a website address. It’s normal behavior, not an error. You can’t fully remove it, but you can change the default search engine, set your homepage, or turn off address-bar search suggestions in browser settings to reduce or customize how it appears.

 

[Rocco]

This message is a placeholder in the "Omnibox" (address bar) of your browser. It's a prompt informing you that you can visit a direct website or conduct a search; it's not a bug.

How to "Fix" It's

• Disregard it: As soon as you begin typing, it vanishes.
• To visit a location: Enter the complete address, such as google.com.
• To look for: Enter your query (such as today's weather)

You can turn off "Autocomplete searches and URLs" in your browser's Sync and Google if you want to completely eliminate search recommendations.

 

[megamind]

That message is actually the default new tab behavior for most modern browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Brave. Instead of loading a homepage automatically, they show a blank new tab with the “search google or type a URL” prompt. It’s not a bug usually it happens after a browser update or reset. You can change it back by checking your startup settings.

 

[ArthurMex]

I had the same issue after updating Chrome. In my case, the homepage setting was turned off. Go to Settings → On startup, and make sure “Open a specific set of pages” is selected. Once you add your homepage URL there, the browser should stop showing search google or type a url and load your site instead.

 

[TaylorTravels]

Are you opening a new tab or reopening the browser window? That matters. New tabs almost always show “search google or type a url”, while the homepage loads only when the browser starts. If you want a custom page on new tabs, you’ll need a browser extension most browsers don’t support that natively anymore.

 

[Lisa]

Another thing to check is whether your browser profile got reset. This can happen if the browser crashes or if malware messes with settings. Try reviewing:

• Startup pages
• Default search engine
• Extensions you recently installed

Sometimes removing a suspicious extension fixes the issue completely.

 

[rebeccareed]

If you’re using Edge or Chrome, this behavior is intentional. Google and Microsoft want the address bar to double as a search box, which is why search google or type a url appears. There’s nothing “broken” unless your homepage never loads when opening the browser itself.

 

[captainghost]

Quick fix summary:

1. Open browser settings
2. Go to On startup
3. Select Open a specific set of pages
4. Add your preferred homepage
5. Restart the browser

After doing this, my browser stopped showing search google or type a url on startup and worked normally again.

 

[Ragnar Lothbrok]

If none of that works, try resetting browser settings (not uninstalling). I had a similar issue that wouldn’t go away until I did a reset. Just make sure to sync your bookmarks first.

 

[Felipe]

“Search Google or type a URL” is the default message in your browser’s address bar, meaning you can either search the web or enter a website address. It’s not an error and doesn’t need fixing, but you can change the default search engine in your browser settings if you prefer another option.