Tips for Troubleshooting Chromebooks

Troubleshooting Tips for Chromebooks

There are a few things you can try to troubleshoot connection or speed issues with your Chromebook. Some of these suggestions may seem as though they’re not relevant, but each one will help to ensure your Chromebook has both the processing capacity and the signal strength needed to handle a video call.

Note: to right click on a Chromebook, 2-finger tap on the trackpad or Ctrl+Click

Hardware Reset. This helps with all kinds of hardware issues. Frozen computers or non startup after charging. To do this:

• Hold down the “Refresh”⟳ and push the Power key.

Delete files from your Downloads folder and move those you want to keep to your Drive. Downloads eat up your limited memory and slow down the machine. This will help with video issues. To do this:

• Click the circle in the bottom left corner of your screen to access the search menu
• Search for and open the Files app
• Select the Downloads folder in the left navigation panel)
• You can pin this app to the dock by right clicking on the app & choosing “Pin”

Clear the cache. Storing website data sometimes causes website issues. To do this:

• Click the triple dots in the top right corner of a Chrome window
• Select Settings from the menu
• Click the "Privacy & security" section & click on “Clear browsing data” 
• Click on the Advanced tab and make sure the time frame is set to "All time"
• Select (checkbox) all available options except "Passwords and other sign-in data"
• Click "Clear data"

Close any browser tabs or windows you aren’t actively using. To do this:

• Click the X in the right corner of the tab or window

Remove Chrome Extensions. If your teacher didn’t ask you to put it on the machine. Delete it. Most free extensions are actually spyware and slow down your machine. To do this:

• Click the Extensions icon (gray puzzle piece) in the top right corner of your screen
• Select “Manage Extensions” from the menu
• Click “Remove” to get rid of nonschool extensions 
• Temporarily disable (turn off) any remaining Chrome extensions you are unsure of. They can be turned back on if needed for school.
• Slide the toggle switch to off to temporarily disable your remaining extensions. This switch is blue when the extension is active and gray when it is disabled.
• “Connect for Chrome - Education” is the district filtering software and can not be removed or disabled

Change the screen layout to Spotlight in Google Meet. Tile view makes greater demands on the CPU; the more tiles you allow, the greater the demands. To do this:

• Click the triple dots in the bottom right corner of any Meet.
• Select “Change layout” from the menu
• Select “Spotlight” from the menu

Check your signal strength. To do this:

• Click the wifi icon in the bottom right corner of your Chromebook screen
• Look for the wifi icon for your connection. It should say Strong, Medium, or Weak. 
• If you are home and have a weak or medium signal, try moving closer to your router to improve your signal strength.

Reboot your Router. If you are at home and having connection issues, reboot your router. To do this:

• Sometimes routers can hang onto IP addresses, which can cause conflicts and slow things down. All you have to do is unplug it for a few minutes, then plug it back in.

Increase Cooling Airflow. This will help to dissipate the heat generated by the processor.To do this:

• Make sure your Chromebook is on a hard, flat surface, like a desk or table, to allow airflow. 
• Be sure the intake vents are not covered.