How to Update a Chromebook

A site says the browser is out of date, or an update notification has been sitting in the corner for days. ChromeOS updates download quietly in the background, but nothing changes until the device restarts, so a Chromebook that is only ever closed and reopened can stay on an old version indefinitely.

Connect to Wi-Fi and open About ChromeOS

Updates download over the network, so connect to Wi-Fi first. Click the clock at the bottom right, open Settings, then click About ChromeOS at the bottom of the left menu.

Read the current version

The version number appears at the top of this page, for example Version 127. Compare it with the current stable release if a site or support article named a specific version.

Click Check for updates

Click Check for updates. If one is available, it downloads on this screen with a progress bar. The Chromebook stays usable while it downloads.

Restart to apply it

Click Restart when the button appears. The restart takes under a minute and the update is only installed during it. Closing the lid, signing out, or locking the screen does not finish the job. Open About ChromeOS again afterwards to confirm the version changed.

Check the Auto Update Expiration date

If the page reports the device is up to date but the version is clearly old, the Chromebook may have passed its Auto Update Expiration date, after which Google stops shipping updates for that model. Each model's AUE date is published on Google's support site. A device past AUE keeps working but receives no further security fixes.

On a school or work Chromebook. Administrators can pin the device to a specific ChromeOS version, delay updates, or set a forced restart window. In those cases Check for updates may report that updates are managed, or find nothing while an older version stays in place. Open chrome://policy and look for device update settings to confirm, then ask the administrator rather than trying to force a newer version.

A restart is the only way to finish an update. Save open work first, because tabs and unsaved files in apps that do not sync will close. Pinned tabs and Chrome windows generally reopen after the restart, but treat that as a convenience rather than a guarantee.