What to do with a Chromebook’s End of Life?

Chrome OS stirs up quite the convenience in our lives, allowing us to work with ultra-portability, unmatched battery timings, and peak browsing performance. They only get better and better over time, which is perhaps one reason for their far-flung popularity. However, as much as you cherish your favorite Chromebook, do bear in mind that, sooner or later, it’s going to stop receiving automatic updates from Google.

This is because the tech-giant comprises a surefire policy for their update mechanisms, which isn’t bound to last forever. Therefore, every Chromebook out there has an “Auto Update Expiration” (AUE) date, even yours. What this means for your device that after it reaches its time of AUE, or end of life, as people like to coin it more preferably, it will no longer get regular updates from Google. As that happens, you’ll be prompted frequently about it whenever the expired Chrome OS is in use.

In this article, not only we’ll show you how to check your Chromebook’s AUE date, but what to do when your device’s time is up as well. Keep on reading for detail in spades.

Checking Your Chromebook’s Auto Update Expiration Date

At the time of their launch, Chromebooks receive patches, updates, and enhancements to their operating system, browser, and hardware over the course of the next 6.5 years. After that time frame, your Chrome OS’s AUE data is due. This is why it’s a good idea to check your system’s official expiration time beforehand to help you with your purchase. Luckily, Google shows us the exact month, and year our Chromebook will stop receiving updates.

To see the expiration date for your device, click on this link. Scroll down a bit to find the list of Chromebook manufacturers. You will have to look for your system on your own here. Every Chrome OS ever made is sure to be on this list, so fire away!

Alternatively, you can use your Chromebook’s interface to check when it’s going to separate from Google’s aid. To do that, go to your “Settings” and click on “About Chrome OS” at the bottom of the left column.

Clicking on “About Chrome OS”

Continue by clicking on “Additional details” on the page that loads up then. As you do that, you’ll see newer content on the screen, out of which your “Auto Update Expiration” date will be present right in the middle.

Auto Update Expiration Date

That’s right about it. As you can see, mine is coming up not long from now, which means I’ll have to upgrade, or does it? Well, moving on to the breadth of the article, Chrome Ready will intend to answer exactly that, so stick around to know what’s possible and what’s not after your Chromebook’s update expiry.

What to Do After Your Chromebook Stops Getting Updates?

The following is our two cents on the subject.

Continue Like Normal

It’s the end of life of your Chrome OS, not the end of the world. While it’s no doubt that you can forget about any bug fixes, security updates, or other improvements to your operating system, it’s still possible to keep on using your Chromebook just the way you were before. In fact, you can use it as long as you can, up until the very moment that the device breaks down itself. This is why there’s a high degree of uncertainty here because it’s very well understood that your system could stop working at any moment.

That’s not the case with everyone, however. People have used their Chromebooks for long beyond their update expiry date. One helpful tip that can increase your Chrome OS’s longevity is browsing safely and being wary of what you install. Phishing scams, malware, buggy applications are teeming on the Internet, the Play Store, and even the Chrome Web Store. Keep an eye out for danger, and you’ll do just fine.

Upgrade

The prompt that says your device is no longer supported by Google obviously hints towards purchasing a newer, better Chromebook. Out of every other option, you can take this road upfront and treat yourself to a brand-spanking-new Chrome OS. To save big bucks and get amazing value for your money, we suggest waiting for shopping holidays such as Black Friday, Christmas, or any other occasion for grabbing great deals.

Moreover, a newer model will ensure that you’re secure with your purchase for a good amount of time.  The latest Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, for one, has an AUE date of June 2028. Google has made this policy to constantly provide updates to an already up to speed system, only for the betterment of the overall experience, and to make it certain that users don’t use outdated models for an exceedingly long duration.

Reinvigorate your Chromebook With Ubuntu Linux

You might already be familiar with the small-scale Linux Terminal on your Chromebook. It’s great to install powerful applications such as GNU and find yourself a substitute for mainstream programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat. However, under this heading, we do not refer to this Linux, rather the Ubuntu Linux downloadable on your Chromebook through a program called Crouton.

This is one of the many Linux distributions that power your Chromebook in quite a unique way. Moreover, you can easily go back and forth between Ubuntu Linux and Chrome OS using Crouton, so there’s a plus. This new operating system breathes freshness into your device and lets you benefit from a highly refined interface instead. However, do note that before proceeding with installing anything of the like, you will need to enable the Developer Mode.

Download and Install CloudReady

CloudReady is a standalone operating system that’s used to run Chrome OS on Windows and Mac devices. Although it differs fairly well from a Chromebook’s native OS, there are several similarities. Nonetheless, as you install CloudReady on your device, not only you’ll start to receive regular updates for your device, but your musty old Chromebook will have something new to begin working with.

The process might get hefty at times, and you might even run into some bugs and glitches along the way, but the result is what makes all the endeavor worth it. CloudReady has its own distinct interface that resembles Chrome OS very much at times, but what matters the most is getting your device back to full functionality, and it does just that.

Get Windows on Your Chromebook

Another way to pump new life in your Chromebook is by giving it a little touch of a Microsoft overhaul and installing Windows on it. This was going to go official back in 2019 through a project named Campfire, but it couldn’t see the light of day, unfortunately, and got canceled. However, that didn’t stop coolstar.org from coming into existence.

It turns out that this website is dedicated to helping Chromebook users install Windows on their device and fully utilize the new operating system’s features. However, if you’ve got a Chromebook with weak specifications, installing Windows might take its toll on your device. We advise proceeding with care and attention.

Conclusion

Chromebooks reaching their end of life aren’t going to power off anytime soon, as experience tells us. You can continue using them as you would, only by being a little more careful than before, and that should be good enough. However, it might be very beneficial to install other operating systems on your Chromebook and give your device a favorable turnaround. If you feel like that’s not your cup of tea, consider upgrading to a better Chromebook with a prolonged Auto Update Expiration date.