How to Turn On Developer Mode on Chromebook [Step-by-step Guide]

If youre on a budget, buying aChromebookis probably the best balance between having a laptop and saving money.

This is why many users turn on theChrome OS developer modeto make the most out of their Chromebook.

How can you do that, you ask?

What Is a Chromebook?

If you havent purchased a Chromebook before, then it may seem a little alien to you.

Chromebooks, in a nutshell, are like regular notebooks with an operating system revolving around Google Chrome.

From a hardware perspective, Chromebooks dont look very different compared to their regular laptop counterparts.

They look almost the same, only thinner and lighterperfect for light laptop users.

Where Chromebooks truly differ is in the software and the limitations it has.

Why Buy a Chromebook When Theyre So Limited?

Many people hesitate to buy Chromebooks because of how stripped down they are.

Nonetheless, theres a reason why Chromebooks have won many people over.

Here are a few:

Speed

Firstly, Chromebooks are quick and snappy.

They wont give you any headaches with boot times or lag.

Thats because the stripped-down OS doesnt require much and Chromebooks typically run on an SSD.

SSDs are great for fast boot times compared to the alternative HDDs that many laptops still run on.

you’re free to get your Chromebook up and running in about eight seconds.

Price

Another reason why you might consider Chromebooks is because they cost little compared to regular laptops.

Battery Life

Most Chromebooks have long-lasting battery life, making it great for on-the-go use.

Security

Chromebooks have lots of security measures built in by Google.

These include protection against viruses and malware which are always updated with your OS.

Parental Controls

Many students nowadays almost require a laptop to study properly.

However, worried parents dont always want to give their children free rein on the internet.

Chromebooks have a solution for this by giving parental controls for supervised accounts.

you might track and limit online activity for your precious children.

Theres 100GB of cloud storage just waiting for youmore than enough for most people.

Of course, you get that cloud storage in Google Drive since its a Google gadget.

However, keep in mind that there is a two-year limit to this free storage.

OS Updates

Chromebooks are hassle-free laptops for users who dont even like to think about updates.

If youre a Windows user, you know that Windows updates can get pretty annoying.

They force you to stop using your system for a while and update it.

In contrast, Chromebooks update automatically and quietly in the background.

Youll be sure to have all the latest updates on your software all the time.

Portability

Chromebooks vary in screen size, ranging from 11 inches to 15 inches.

However, theyre portable in terms of weight.

Theyre not heavy at all, and you could comfortably bring them around for long periods.

Android Applications

In the past, Chromebooks were limited to being designed around Google Chrome.

However, Google recently announced that some Chromebooks can now support Android applications.

you’re free to use these apps on all Chromebooks released in 2017 or later.

Thanks to this, your Chromebook is now more useful than before.

However, theyre still pretty limited compared to what your regular laptops can do.

The question now lies on how well you’re able to optimize your Chromebooks performance.

A great secret to that isturning on the Chrome OS Developer mode.

Firstly, its different from the Chrome OS developer channel.

The developer channel is for people who want to test Chrome OSs new features.

The developer channel gets weekly updates with new tweaks here and there.

So whats the purpose of Chrome OS developer mode?

To put it simply, its like rooting or jailbreaking your Android or iPhone.

Developer mode gives you access to deeper parts of the OS like a developer.

In fact, most Chrome OS developers need to use developer mode on their Chromebooks to code and test.

They also need developer mode access to use advanced Chrome developer tools.

With the Chrome OS developer mode, you have free reign over the OS and do many things.

This includes installing a different Linux version, sideloading Android apps, and more.

On the other hand, you could also wreck your rig if youre not careful.

Developer Mode vs Normal Mode

Whats the difference between Chrome OS developer mode vs normal mode?

With normal mode, you get the usual Chromebook experience.

In contrast, the Chrome OS developer mode is the door to nearly uninhibited control over your machine.

The most prominent feature of the Chrome OS developer mode is access to the developer shell, called Crosh.

If youre unfamiliar with the term, Crosh lets you do advanced tasks on Chrome OSs Linux-based software.

Crosh even allows you to run other Linux commands.

Many people also switch to Chrome OS developer mode because of user interface reasons.

Perhaps youve always wanted to run other Linux environments on your setup.

you could do just that with the Chrome OS developer mode.

Why would someone do that, you ask?

Well, having a full Linux environment lets you do more complicated tasks that Chrome OS doesnt normally allow.

Is the Chrome OS Developer Mode Safe on Chromebook?

The answer: it depends.

More specifically, it depends on the user.

Not everyone should use Chrome OS developer mode because you could easily break the system while using it.

Thats because so many things can go wrong while in this mode.

If youre not careful, you might seriously break something in the software.

Google doesnt support it because they shouldnt be considered liable for your tinkeringeven if it happens accidentally.

In short, you might lose your warranty if you enable this mode.

Thats because all your data will be wiped out if you enable Chrome OS developer mode.

Everything youve saved locally on your Chromebook will disappear.

Of course, you’re free to work around this drawback if you do a full backup.

If losing your data once wasnt enough for you, maybe losing your data twice is.

If Chrome OS developer mode is turned on, youll notice that it takes longer to boot up.

Theres a warning screen that pops up every time you turn it on.

Its not a major drawback, but it does require a bit of patience to get through.

Google adds a lot of security features to Chrome OS.

Thats why were telling you now that Chrome OS developer mode is not for everyone.

Lets talk about how it’s possible for you to activate the Chrome OS developer mode.

After that, then you’ve got the option to disable it.

This mode is available to everyone who uses Chrome OS.

However, you should think through its disadvantages before you proceed.

Only then should you ever attempt to run and use Chrome OS developer mode.