Then why is my 2018 Chromebook telling me it received it's last update and it's only 2025?

As you can see uBlock Origin has been removed from Chrome Web Store. We are going to enable developer mode soon if you want to keep it up to date.

If you prefer the lite version you are out of discussion. That is nothing near the original.

It feels like every OS has its die-hard fans—MacOS has its loyalists, Linux has its evangelists, and Windows… well, people use it because they have to. But what about ChromeOS?

Most people still think of it as "just a browser", yet it's so much more. Crostini (Linux containers) turns it into a proper dev machine, and Android app support is a handy bonus when needed. The OS is fast, secure, and effortless to maintain. No bloat, no nonsense—just pure efficiency.

And yet… there’s no real ChromeOS evangelist movement. No loud community pushing it as a better way to compute. Is it because:

• The user base is mostly students and casual users who aren’t techy?
• Google’s own messaging still pushes it as a lightweight OS rather than a powerful one?
• ChromeOS fans are just too practical to be evangelists?

I’m curious—does anyone else feel like ChromeOS deserves more recognition for what it actually is? And what would it take for it to get a true power-user following?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking about getting a new laptop for school and work, and I kept going back and forth between a Chromebook and a regular laptop. My parents ended up going with a Chromebook because it was cheaper, and at first, I wasn’t sure if it was the right choice.

The more I use it, though, the more I notice some things it actually does really well, things I didn’t expect. Of course, there are some limitations compared to other laptops, but I’m curious what other people see as the real benefits of using a Chromebook.

For those who use one daily, what do you think sets a Chromebook apart from a regular laptop? Are there features or experiences that make it worth choosing, even if it’s not as powerful as some other laptops?

ChromeOS is simple on the outside and doesn't get in your way. If you want to change a setting you have an app for that. Unlike desktop Linux, ChromeOS has a clear direction and an unified experience accross all devices. Google never forces you to open terminal to type in commands. If you really want to play with terminal you can enable Linux development environment. You can't break your Chromebook only because you installed the wrong app. And most importantly it just works (even if you are not using a Chromebook).

As above and when diving into the advert it mentions a company that used ChromeOS Flex to revive their old Windows hardware.

However technically the two might get closer or share core elements I still think we'll be looking at ChromeOS and Android as separate brands à la macOS and iOS. It would take a long time for people to see Android as a serious desktop OS in the business space when it's been so associated with mobile devices for so long, and consequently perceived as more limited than a desktop OS. I know ChromeOS has had it's battles and uphill struggle with perception, and that's exactly why I don't think Google will want to start the struggle again trying to convince people Android is now their desktop OS.

I only use my laptop for web browsing, but like to have multiple tabs open at once, my expensive Windows laptop can no longer handle this. I do nothing fancy with the laptop as quite simply all I know how to do is browse the net and that’s about as far as it goes. I am sick of the Windows updates and the need for antivirus so I thought I’d check out the Chromebook’s. I do use an iPhone. Not sure if this is a bad thing as it won’t sync with the Chromebook, I did consider a MacBook but they look confusing to use and are expensive, I just want something that is fast to use, can handle multiple tabs open at once and will be lightning quick when transitioning through the internet pages. My old laptop has a touch screen which I find super useful for zooming in quickly and scrolling down the screen in a hurry. I think I would like these features but I’m aware Chromebook are limited. I’d also like some biometric features for unlocking and security. Again I’m not sure Chromebook offer this? The Samsung Chromebook I’ve taken a look at but it doesn’t have touch screen, it does look good though, and Acer Spin do a touchscreen one but I’m not sure if it’s a good machine? I have no budget to stick to so just want to buy the best one available. Any advice on what to buy please and as I don’t know much about Chrome OS is there any downsides to switching to Chrome from Windows other than the downloads? I cannot think of a program I ever downloaded onto my Windows laptop but I could be wrong? I’d also like to hear some of the negatives so I know what I’m getting myself into, my main uses are watching video, surfing the net, online shopping, forums etc and sending emails and that’s pretty much all I can think of. I did read that they are difficult to link up to printers?

I feel this company has been shooting in the dark with the whole ChromeOS thing for years and they don't know what to do with it anymore.

First they moved to ArcVM, then ChromeOS Fl€x, then they cancel the Chrome apps, then they "create" Chromebook Plus, then LaCroS (which they cancelled on its final phase), then they start to move to Android in fascicles... by now.

Not to mention the constant enablement/depreciation of flags etc (I'm still mad they removed the rounded flags corner in most devices except Plus -totally non sense-).

On the other hand there are x86 and ARM Chromebooks which makes the experience change depending on what you pick (personally I always go ARM because of battery life, no heating, no fans/noise and perfect Android performance)

I feel they don't know what to do with this whole business and I'm starting to have Windows Phone vibes.

What do you think about it?

I recently bought an Asus Chromebook Plus Expertbook. It's an amazing laptop and I had planned on keeping it for a long time. But...when I saw the Lenovo Chromebook Plus MediaTek Kompanio Ultra, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Today, I went to Best Buy and exchanged the Asus for the Lenovo. I'm so happy I did. This laptop flies. It plays my GeForce now games flawlessly, and the OLED screen's colors are gorgeous. I use Linux often, and I might have an issue installing some apps (because this laptop is ARM), but other than that, I'm very, very pleased. If you have any questions, or are on the fence about it, post a question and I'll try my best to answer.

EDIT: My one critique so far is the lack of ports.

In a previous post I asked the community about high end Chromebooks, with 16GB RAM.

Am I the only one who doesn't find 8 GB enough?

I've only ever used Chrome OS once for a few weeks while my work ordered the same model of laptop as my colleagues, and I genuinely thought it was unusable garbage that was incompatible with basically everything non-Google or from outside the Play Store.

However I read through some posts on here and I see that many people really love Chrome OS, and I am starting to think that I must have not had a representative experience of the OS.

Are there flavours of Chrome OS that seem to restrict you to the Chrome Browser? Was it even Chrome OS I was working with?

What are everyone's opinions on what makes it better than Linux, MacOS, or Windows?

I've been using Chromebooks for at least 7-8 years: Acer R13, Acer R11, Lenovo, and most recently an Asus Chromebook CX9 (16GB, 11th gen Intel). I was an enthusiast of this project from the very beginning, despite the fact that there are really few opportunities to buy a Chromebook in Poland (although this has been changing in my country recently, and the offer is expanding, but it's still poor).

The time has come to give it up. I'm doing this with a heavy heart because I really like Chrome OS, but lately I don't even know which way Google is heading. Will they be cheap laptops for online work, or will they be Chromebook Plus devices for advanced users? If the latter, I don't really see the point in buying them (in my country, Chromebook Plus devices are only slightly cheaper than a MacBook Air M4, which I just bought). The lack of support for programs like Photoshop and video editing rules out these computers, despite their increasingly better configuration and performance.

I've read many times on Reddit about which programs you use for photo editing, recording reels, or TikToks. I looked for solutions, and each one was difficult for me: from browsing RAW photos in the terrible Files app to transferring them to the cloud or processing them through an Android app. Everything took me a very long time, and now I see, after buying a MacBook, how much it has sped up my work, both office and multimedia.

I still use Google Drive, Gemini, Tasks, Google Photos, etc. I really like the entire Google ecosystem (which also works well on macOS). I own a Pixel 7, so I especially hoped for good collaboration between devices, but at the moment I don't see any difference (apart from the visual one, of course) in using the Pixel and the Mac.

I hope that Google will finally define the direction for its devices, or rather for the system – perhaps Android on laptops will solve some of the problems, but will it give us the ability to install programs like Lightroom or others? I don't think so, although I might be wrong, because I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for the success of this project. I'm a bit sad to give up my Chromebook, especially since I use one, my wife has another, my son has an Android tablet, we have TVs with Google TV, and my wife recently bought a Pixel Watch 3.

Despite everything – I'm sharing a lot of my private feelings here – I have to let go and wait for further development, because at the moment (all the confusion with Chrome, Google, sales, etc.) doesn't convince me to buy a new Chromebook, especially for a lot of money, only to later not be able to install a video editing program on it (until now I used CapCut online, and on the Mac I use the desktop version and work 10 times faster than before).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will continue to check for news!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfdMqqGgIjc&t=0

https://www.theverge.com/news/690885/google-chromeos-gemini-ai-select-to-search-lenovo-chromebook-plus-14

https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lenovo-promises-17-hours-of-battery-life-on-its-new-chromebook-plus-14-130018894.html

Looks interesting! Hopefully available in the UK soon too!

I need a computer,mainly for browsing and watching video,but I would like to tinker with Linux apps.Are most of the apps going to run well enough,or should I just buy a windows laptop and then install linux on there?

i love chromebooks and been using them for many years now. my last couple chromebooks are touch screen and idk if i want to go back to one that not touch screen. i dont use the touch screen feature a lot but i like having it available. i use my chromebook just to surf the web look at facebook watch youtube videos etc. so i dont need some exspensive laptop because im not using it for work or trying to do like programs you need a macbook for. i also my current chromebook is a lenovo i got from best buy also touch screen. its also small laptop like 10 inches 11 inches w/e the small one is and that works for me. also when i got a new chromebook my old chromebook charger was the same thing so now i have 2 chargers.

You won't believe it, but my HP Elite Dragonfly can run modded Skyrim at its native resolution with a solid 45-60 FPS! And the best part? It stays surprisingly cool.

I own a Windows laptop and a Windows tablet, and today I decided to buy this old Chromebook. Now, I might sound crazy—going from a good laptop to a very, very budget one, especially with a MediaTek processor. But I found it refurbished on Amazon for just 47 bucks (which costs about as much as the RAM in my gaming PC). What I found interesting for this price: an ARM processor, an operating system different from Windows, and 15 hours of declared battery life! And Linux is included? I heard that Chromebooks have integrated developer mode with the ability to access Linux in the same environment as Chrome OS. For someone like me who is trying to learn Linux, I found that to be the selling point of this laptop—especially paired with an ARM processor. So I was asking: what should I do when I get it? What apps should I use that could replace programs I usually use on Windows? Any tips or recommendations? Also, do you think I got a good deal?

ChromeOS_PowerControl is a suite of lightweight shell scripts providing hardware control in ChromeOS.

​

PowerControl: Control CPU clockspeed in relation to temperature; enabling lower temperatures and longer battery life under load.

​

BatteryControl: Control battery charging limit instead of relying on Adaptive Charging to maximize battery longevity.

​

FanControl: Control fan curve in relation to temperature with built-in hysteresis and 0% RPM mode.

​

GPUControl: Control GPU clockspeed below its default maximum; enabling longer battery life under load.

​

SleepControl: Control how long ChromeOS can remain idle before sleep; with display dimming support.

​

^{- Requires Developer Mode - Supports AMD, ARM, and Intel.}

^{- Has a feature rich installer and uninstaller to clean up after itself.}

^{- Features global commands and the ability to start on boot if user has rootfs verification disabled.}

^{- Full documentation and source code:
https://github.com/shadowed1/ChromeOS_PowerControl}
​

To download, open crosh shell and run:

bash <(curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shadowed1/ChromeOS_PowerControl/main/ChromeOS_PowerControl_Downloader.sh?$(date +%s)")

​

The installer will be placed:

/home/chronos/ChromeOS_PowerControl/ChromeOS_PowerControl_Installer.sh

​

In VT-2 or crosh shell with sudo enabled run:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
sudo mv /home/chronos/ChromeOS_PowerControl_Installer.sh /usr/local/bin
sudo bash /usr/local/bin/ChromeOS_PowerControl_Installer.sh

​

Commands with examples:

PowerControl:

powercontrol                          # Show status
powercontrol all                      # Show status of all ChromeOS_PowerControl components
powercontrol help                     # Help menu
sudo powercontrol start               # Throttle CPU based on temperature curve
sudo powercontrol stop                # Restore default CPU settings
sudo powercontrol no_turbo 1          # 0 = Enable, 1 = Disable Turbo Boost
sudo powercontrol max_perf_pct 75     # Set max performance percentage
sudo powercontrol min_perf_pct 50     # Set minimum performance at max temp
sudo powercontrol max_temp 86         # Max temperature threshold - Limit is 90 C
sudo powercontrol min_temp 60         # Min temperature threshold
sudo powercontrol hotzone 78          # Temperature threshold for aggressive thermal management
sudo powercontrol cpu_poll 1          # Interval in seconds PowerControl operates at (0.1s to 5s)  
sudo powercontrol ramp_up 15          # % in steps CPU will increase in clockspeed per second
sudo powercontrol ramp_down 20        # % in steps CPU will decrease in clockspeed per second
sudo powercontrol monitor             # Toggle live temperature monitoring
sudo powercontrol startup             # Copy/Remove no_turbo.conf & powercontrol.conf at: /etc/init/


BatteryControl:

batterycontrol help                   # Help menu
sudo batterycontrol                   # Check BatteryControl status
sudo batterycontrol start             # Start BatteryControl
sudo batterycontrol stop              # Stop BatteryControl
sudo batterycontrol 77                # Charge limit set to 77% - minimum of 14% allowed.
sudo batterycontrol startup           # Copy/Remove batterycontrol.conf at: /etc/init/


FanControl:

fancontrol                            # Show FanControl status
fancontrol help                       # Help menu
sudo fancontrol start                 # Start FanControl
sudo fancontrol stop                  # Stop FanControl
sudo fancontrol min_temp 48           # Min temp threshold
sudo fancontrol max_temp 81           # Max temp threshold - Limit is 90 C
sudo fancontrol min 0                 # Min fan speed %
sudo fancontrol max 100               # Max fan speed %
sudo fancontrol step_up 20            # Fan step-up %
sudo fancontrol step_down 1           # Fan step-down %
sudo fancontrol poll 2                # FanControl polling rate in seconds (1 to 10s)  
sudo fancontrol monitor               # Toggle on/off live monitoring in terminal
sudo fancontrol startup               # Copy/Remove fancontrol.conf at: /etc/init/


GPUControl:

gpucontrol                            # Show current GPU info and frequency
gpucontrol help                       # Help menu
sudo gpucontrol restore               # Restore GPU max frequency to original value
sudo gpucontrol 700                   # Set GPU max frequency to 700 MHz
sudo gpucontrol startup               # Copy/Remove gpucontrol.conf at: /etc/init/


SleepControl:

sleepcontrol                          # Show SleepControl status
sleepcontrol help                     # Help menu
sleepcontrol monitor                  # Monitor sleepcontrol's log in realtime (ctrl-c to exit)
sleepcontrol powerd                   # Monitor powerd.LATEST log in realtime (ctrl-c to exit)
sudo sleepcontrol start               # Start SleepControl
sudo sleepcontrol stop                # Stop SleepControl
sudo sleepcontrol battery 3 7 12      # Dims in 3m, timeout in 7m, and sleeps in 12m on battery
sudo sleepcontrol power 5 15 30       # Dims in 5m, timeout in 15m and sleeps in 30m when plugged-in
sudo sleepcontrol battery audio 0     # Disable audio detection on battery; sleep can occur during media playback
sudo sleepcontrol power audio 1       # Enable audio detection on power; delaying sleep until audio is stopped
sudo sleepcontrol mode freeze         # Suspend mode to freeze, enabling batterycontrol to work asleep
sudo sleepcontrol mode deep           # Suspend mode to freeze, enabling batterycontrol to work asleep
sudo sleepcontrol lid power 0         # Disable chromebook from sleeping by closing lid while powered
sudo sleepcontrol lid battery 0       # Enable chromebook from sleeping by opening lid while powered
sudo sleepcontrol startup             # Copy or Remove sleepcontrol.conf at: /etc/init/


ChromeOS_PowerControl Management:

powercontrol all                      # Show status of all ChromeOS_PowerControl components
sudo powercontrol version             # See version and check for updates
sudo powercontrol reinstall           # Download and reinstall ChromeOS_PowerControl from main branch on Github.
sudo powercontrol uninstall           # Global uninstaller that will clean up after itself.

​

Latest update:

0.35: Added lid sleep logic for independent sleep rules when closing lid on battery and power. Added external display awareness. Added support for mem_sleep to be changed to s2idle for improved ectool control. Fixed bug with SleepControl altering display brightness incorrectly. Fixed minor syntax issues. 0.36: Fixed numerous bugs.

​

^{If there are any questions, comments or bug reports, feel free to leave them here, the ChromeOS discord, or on Github.}

I've been using Chrome OS for a while now and I can't shake the feeling that its development has been crawling at a snail’s pace lately—especially when you compare it with how fast Microsoft Edge has been evolving.

Edge, also based on the Chromium engine, has added tons of new features over the years—split-screen view, Copilot integration, gaming mode, better tab/workspace management... it’s like they’re sprinting while Chrome browser is barely walking. Sure, Chrome added tab groups and a bit of organization, but even that felt reactive—Edge had workspaces and grouping before Chrome caught on.

To make things more complicated, Windows dropped support for Android apps, which nudged me toward Chrome OS. It’s sleek, fast, and using Android apps natively has always felt like its standout strengths.. But now there are some unsettling news bits floating around—rumors that Google might be forced to sell Chrome, and talks about transitioning toward Android as the core. That has me wondering: what’s going to happen to Chrome OS? Is it getting absorbed into Android, or will it fizzle out entirely?

I know OS development isn’t always flashy, and maybe Google’s doing quiet work under the hood. But from a user’s standpoint, things feel stagnant and uncertain. Anyone else feeling this? Or do you see a different picture?

Just wanted to know what changes you would make? Either something like QoL or just straight up fixes. Keen to know what y’all think.

Good evening,

I recently purchased a new chromebook. When the battery goes, I've been using my old chromebook. I think it expired 2020? it was a samsung chromebook..I should look it up.. anyway.. I only use it for youtube, facebook, twitter and well ya know.. some basic websites. Would that be considered risky? I sure would like to continue using this older chromebook. Sure does help out a lot.

Thank you

I'm looking to buy a new laptop in the coming months, and I'm leaning towards a chromebook. I've been testing ChromeOS on a spare laptop using Brunch for a few months now, so I have an idea of what the ChromeOS experience is like, but I'd like to hear more from people who use this OS more frequently. Also Brunch, as good as it is (it's really good, props to the guy who made it), is not official so it may not be fully representative of the experience on a legit Chromebook.

So far in my experience with ChromeOS, I've been very impressed. I already use a lot the Google ecosystem (one reason while Chromebooks interest me) and my phone is a Pixel, so the integration has been very neat and genuinely useful. I haven't been able to try the feature for streaming apps, but I'm not sure if that's a limitation of Brunch, my phone or a problem of ChromeOS. The linux environment has been useful as I do some light web development, although it seems to suck a lot of battery on this laptop.

One thing that seemed really lackluster to me was the video player. I get that Chromebooks are geared more towards online streaming, but as someone who watches movies and tv shows offline, that video player is really limited; I wasn't even able to make subtitles work with it. Admittedly, I didn't research much into it, so it might be possible.

Even Android apps worked mostly great for me, with one exception. But it's an app that barely works on regular Android devices so I'll give ChromeOS a pass on that one.

Brunch comes with developer mode already enabled, so I've been able to install apks from unknown sources, which is very useful. One app I use a lot is TachiJ2K, which is not available on the Play Store. On that note, does enabling developer mode on a regular Chromebook cause annoying messages to appear? I couldn't find a clear answer. One thing I love about ChromeOS is the minimalist look, it would be a bummer if it was ruined by some message in red telling me I'm in developer mode.

But yeah, I've been very impressed with the capabilities of the OS and would like to hear from those that use it more than me what problems have they run into, what doesn't work, what are they missing from other OSes. It might give me some insight before I buy my next device (I'm leaning towards a 2-in-1 laptop with stylus support).

Thank you all for reading all this, I'd love to hear your opinions

Update 6/2025:
This whole 12 month Gemini Perk is utter BS.

After finally being able to claim my 12 month Gemini perk with yet ANOTHER new Chromebook from Costco, Google took it away again! 🤣 Why? Because I paid $125 for 1 month of Google Ultra!

After a long chat with Google Support, here's what I came to know. While this product is marketed as a "perk", internally Google refers to it as a "trial", not a perk. Basically means that you are using Google Gemini for 12 months at their mercy, which they can revoke at any time; including if you enter your credit card details.

Me with Google Support
Me: You are saying that me spending $125 on Google Ultra caused me to lose my perk?
Google Support: That is correct sir. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do.

IMHO This is misrepresentation at its finest.

Update 1/2025:
After 42 emails of back and forth with customer support, here's what I learned.
- Contrary to the advertised offer, Google Gemini 12 months seems to restrict their Chromebook Plus perks to specific retailers, even if you met all the requirements. Those retailers tend to sell these devices at a markup. Google tracks these devices through serial numbers, which they have you take pictures of.
- Google's customer service is very robotic. 1) They will ask for pictures of the back cover, serial number, etc. 2) They will overload you with many steps (switch the network, use incognito browser), each time reporting back with pictures. 3) If that doesn't work, they will pass you to the next person, restarting the same process over and over again.
- When you ask for a manager, they will come back and say that they are no longer running the promotion. Even if you show the screenshots and videos that every major retailer, including Google Store, is running the promotion for another 12 months; they don't care. If you disagree with them, they just pass you to the next customer support specialist that restarts the same process over and over again. Sometimes you restart the same process with the same specialist you've been talking with.

My advice - If you want the offer, buy the device from a big retailer. I think Google is not being honest with us here, this offer is in fact not for valid on all Chromebook Plus devices.

Original Post:
I am a bit taken back with this. Any helpful advice will be greatly appreciated!

I cashed out on a brand new Chromebook Plus because https://www.google.com/chromebook/discover/chromebookplus/ says it comes with 12 months of Gemini! I went to redeem it, but Google just strangely decided not to honor the perk... not because it's in terms, but because they just internally decided that way.

I originally stumbled on a post on Reddit mentioning that Chromebooks Plus now come with 12 months of Gemini. I said that sounds great! I read through Google's terms, and surely enough, that's exactly what it says! So I purchased Chromebook Plus 514 by Acer.

After receiving the Chromebook Plus, I spent 6 hours trying to activate it with the activation screen always turning blank at the end. I tried changing networks, browser, incognito mode, you name it. I'm a software engineer by trade, nothing was impossible I thought... but nope. I finally gave up and emailed Google's support.

After repeated emails of them asking for the same pictures, they said that the window closed December 31, 2024 (last year). But here's where it gets interesting. Their terms don't mention Dec 31, 2024, ever. They say the earliest cut off date is January 31, 2025. Google just came up with the date and rolling with it. You can see the website or my screenshots.

In my case - I'm stuck with having to pay restocking fees on my Chromebook.

So I'm 19 emails deep now with customer support (or AI 🤪). At first they had me send them the same pictures repeatedly, then they said that my account doesn't qualify, but after I tried a different account, they changed the story and now claim the December 31 is the cut off date... because they internally decided so! I'm so confused to this!

Is this even legal for Google to do? Is anyone else having their perks denied for Chromebook Plus?

Let me know if I need to include more pictures of the conversations! Thx!