If you’re currently an owner of a school Chromebook, chances are it is still registered on the school’s domain. It may still contain school accounts and files and is restricted for school use only. Also, you can only install more applications and software once it is unenrolled. So, if you’re wondering how to factory reset your school Chromebook, as well as how to wipe a school Chromebook, this guide will show you all you need to know.
Key Reasons to Factory Reset your School Chromebook
Before going straight to the methods, you might want to think about why you need to factory reset or powerwash your school Chromebook. Whether it is due to a slower than usual device performance or wiping all junk data from your laptop, a factory reset will be your remaining option.
1 Key Reasons to Factory Reset your School Chromebook2 How to Factory Reset your School Chromebook2.1 To sync your user data to your Google account: 2.2 To back up your files and apps to Google Drive:2.3 Factory Reset your Chromebook3 Final Thoughts
Here are some key reasons why you should factory reset your school Chromebook:
Problems with the user profile and settings – School Chromebooks have specific permissions that limit the user’s ability to install new applications and change user settings, especially when it is still registered in the domain. This is to establish your Chromebook as a school device and for education purposes only.
Issues on Boot and Restart – Your school Chromebook may have had software issues before it was handed to you. If you experience problems upon turning it on or restarting and other performance-related issues, a factory reset is necessary to troubleshoot your device.
You want to change the device’s ownership – As a formerly school-owned device, your Chromebook has a system administrator as its owner by default. It also contains the administrator’s account, preferences, and permissions. To change the ownership of your school Chromebook, you will need to factory reset your device and wipe all user data.
How to Factory Reset your School Chromebook
If you’ve experienced one or more of the reasons stated above, you can now proceed to reset your school Chromebook. It is usually a straightforward process but can vary depending on if your Chromebook has serious problems with its Chrome OS, or if you’re planning to switch your device to another OS. Important: A factory reset will wipe all user data and settings on your Chromebook’s drive to make it run like it’s new again. To be specific, these will all be deleted during the factory reset process:
Downloaded files, media content, and user files across all folders on your hard disks; Applications and other application data; Saved passwords and login credentials on the Chrome browser; Saved settings, preferences, paired devices, Wi-Fi passwords, etc.
However, you can try backing up and syncing your user files and settings before commencing a factory reset. Here’s how to do it:
To sync your user data to your Google account:
Note: Since you have a school Chromebook, there’s a chance that this feature may be turned off. If so, you may need to contact your school administrator to allow this setting.
To back up your files and apps to Google Drive:
As you can see, you will need to individually transfer all files and folders to your Google Drive; but don’t worry, as this will be readily available once the factory reset is finished. You will only need to connect to a stable Wi-Fi and log in to your Google account. Also, you can try to transfer your files to an external storage device. First, insert your storage device either through a USB cable (external hard drives) or directly to the USB port (flash drives).
Factory Reset your Chromebook
Once your important files and user information are now backed up to your Google account or an external storage device, you can now proceed to factory reset your Chromebook. To do this, follow the steps below: Note: The Google account that you’re going to sign in to after a powerwash will be the owner account by default. To factory reset your Chromebook via Developer mode, do the following:
Final Thoughts
If you bought or were given a Chromebook that was used for school purposes, there’s a big chance that it is still enrolled in the school’s database. All accounts and features may be limited and are still synced to the administrator. The best way to go about this situation is to factory reset or powerwash your Chromebook. It will wipe all data, accounts, and settings to have a more customizable device. So, when you’re wondering how to powerwash your Chromebook, this guide has you covered.
