Enable WebGL in Google Chrome

Google are rolling out some updates to Google Maps allowing you to see 3D buildings, 45 degree imagery and other visual enhancements to the viewing experience dubbed “WebGL”.

Experience MapsGL

Experience MapsGL

Usually, this is just a matter of clicking the “Try it now button when offered to enabled it in Google Maps and but in some instances you’ll encounter the following error:

We detected that your computer does not meet the system performance requirements for MapsGL.

This can be a bit annoying particularly when you are running a computer with modern hardware but there is a solution.

In Chrome type in “about:flags” in the address bar and you’ll need to click “Enable” underneath the line item for “Override software rendering list”. You’ll then need to click on the “Relaunch Now” button at the bottom of the screen. Once restarted, simply get back to Google Maps and you should find that after you click “Try it now”.

You should then be able to view 3D buildings in the “Google Earth” view like the one below:

Burj Khalifa, Dubai - Google Maps

Burj Khalifa, Dubai - Google Maps

If this doesn’t work for you then you might need to try disabling extensions one by one to see if any are preventing WebGL from working. Otherwise, you can also try updating your video card drivers which has reportedly worked for some people facing this particular issue.

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