Summary
- Chrome’s Manifest V3 transition is actively disabling Manifest V2 extensions, notably uBlock Origin, with users receiving “no longer supported” warnings.
- Despite the warnings and automatic disabling, users can temporarily re-enable affected extensions through Chrome’s management settings, providing a short-term workaround.
- This reprieve is temporary; Google’s push for V3 will eventually render V2 extensions unusable, signaling the eventual end of uBlock Origin’s full functionality and other affected extensions.
Google’s ongoing transition to Manifest V3 for Chrome extensions seems to have taken a more aggressive approach. For those unaware, Google has been transitioning from Manifest V2 to V3 since June last year, and it has since been disabling outdated V2 extensions.
Unfortunately, many popular ad-blockers rely on the V2 framework, with the more widely recognized ones, like uBlock Origin, currently undergoing a disruptive period.
Related
uBlock Origin ‘deprecation’ begins in Chrome Web Store
Users can manually install uBlock Origin Lite
For what it’s worth, extensions like uBlock Origin have been in the process of being phased out since October at least, with users having to rely on uBlock Origin Lite, which offers lighter ad-blocking functionality. Since October, however, a large majority of users have maintained access and have been able to continue using the original V2 uBlock Origin extension, but that changed recently.
As highlighted by multiple Reddit posts on subreddits like r/Chrome, r/Adblock, and r/Browsers, the transition has suddenly caused widespread disruption, with users being greeted by a “uBlock Origin was turned off” prompt. “This extension is no longer supported. Chrome recommends that you remove it,” reads the rest of the prompt.
uBlock Origin still lives on, at least for now
uBlock isn’t the only one affected. Similar issues have also surfaced with paywall bypassing extensions that rely on Manifest V2 as well. Regardless, even after the warning, the extensions themselves somehow remain fully functional.
As highlighted by Android Authority, heading to the ‘Manage extensions’ setting on Chrome, and manually re-enabling the affected extension restores full functionality. I can confirm this to be the case with uBlock Origin and a different V2 extension. Users on Reddit, too, have reported success with the method. It’s worth noting, though, that the writing is on the wall, and the brief reprieve is only temporary. uBlock Origin’s V2 version will cease to function one day.
“For a short time after the extensions are disabled, users will still be able to turn their Manifest V2 extensions back on, but over time, this toggle will go away as well,” reads Google’s Chromium Blog from May 2024.
