Chromebook Wifi Testing (Developer Mode)

On devices that have bad wifi, especially 303s, the issue may not be immediately reproducible. Because of this, we have a standardized testing procedure for verifying that it works. This procedure has two steps: a software based “ping” test and a visual inspection of the connections.

Put the device into developer mode, if you need instructions on how to put a device into developer mode click here.

Connect to the wifi on the main login screen.

To test the wifi on any chromebook, to open the terminal press CTRL+ALT+ -> (the -> is the right arrow on the top of the keyboard in where F3 would be on a normal keyboard, the <- arrow is in the F2 spot) to open up a terminal window. If the screen flashes the terminal but goes back to the login window press CTRL + ALT + <-, then press CTRL + ALT + -> again. You will then be shown a screen similar to this:

This is Crosh, Chrome OS’s basic linux terminal. From here you can perform diagnostics on the chromebook. To test the wifi on the device, we run a “ping” test.

Type: chronos

Press Enter

Type: sudo su

Press Enter

Type: ping -c 50 -s 1MB 8.8.8.8

Press Enter

The chromebook will send 50 packets of 1 megabyte in size to google.com or 8.8.8.8. After you run this test, the crosh window should look similar to this:

This is just information that the terminal displays during the test. Once the test is done, the terminal will output something similar to this:

Now that the ping test has concluded, you can see the results. At the bottom of the terminal, there should be two lines about ping statistics. You need to put the statistics into your repair notes! This helps to cover you if the customer says it came back with a broken wifi connector.

If the number of packets received is less than the number of packets transmitted there is likely an issue. Check the device’s connection to the network first, and then check to make sure everything is plugged in.

After you’ve run the ping test and verified that the device works, take the backplate off and inspect the two wifi cables for damage, and update your repair notes.