Chromebook Trouble- shooting

Troubleshooting is annoying, but it is a very useful skill to possess. It allows you to solve the problem yourself and continue doing what you want instead of having to wait to hear back from someone or bring a device in for repair. This is a non-comprehensive list of things to try. To turn off the device, just hold the power button longer. If freezing is a consistent issue, bring the device in for repair.

This is not troubleshooting, per se, but another piece of advice: Reducing the Chance of Losing Work When Submitting to Google Classroom

Also, sometimes there are large problems due to a change or outage (google outages are listed here). Please check your email (often an email from dwininger) and it may explain the issue.

Table of Contents

Hard Reset / Power-Refresh

This also has solved a large number of problems including: computer won't turn on or charge, audio jack does not work, screen will not turn on...it varies by model how effective it is, but takes eight seconds to do. (This process sometimes requires the chromebook to be plugged in while doing it.)

Hold the power AND refresh buttons at the same time for about two seconds. (The refresh button is the circular arrow to the right of the → key).

Then press power and count to six.

Chromebook is Missing / Lost / Stolen

If you know where it is and it is safe (e.g. at home), go to the Library and get a loaner. It will need to be returned by the end of the day.

If you do not know where it is, you should come to the Technology Office (Room 163 3/4) and we will issue you a loaner. The replacement process depends on how final the loss is. If you are certain it is gone, we will start it then. If it may just be misplaced, we generally wait a week before starting the replacement process.

Missing / Lost

This is when you do not know what happened to your Chromebook. We have had situations where students are certain they left the device in say "Spanish Class" only to find the device back at their house. So, it is recommended you retrace your steps, check all of your classes, all deans offices / the main office, and all charging stations (Library, IDLC, Freshman Mods, across from Main Office, and outside Room 225). You may need to check those locations more than one time. If it is never found, you will be charged for a replacement. If financial concerns exist, reach out to your counselor. If you previously paid for a replacement and it is found, you will be refunded (but there is some red tape, so it will not be instantaneous).

Stolen

If you are certain it is stolen, notify us right away as we can disable the device and clear all information off remotely. We also prefer you file a police report eventually, though if you are unwilling it will not hold up the process. In most cases, you are charged for a replacement, but exceptions are sometimes made depending on the circumstances. If financial concerns exist, reach out to your counselor.

Additional Information / Cost

See the LPS Technology Site for the most up-to-date policy and costs.

Chromebook is Not Charging / Not Charged

If you are at school and your chromebook does not have enough charge (and there is no known problem) - do not come to the tech office. We do not loan chargers.

  1. Each department has a set of chargers that can be used in class - ask your teacher.

  2. If you are in the Main Building there are charging stations located by the Main Office, Library, Freshman mods, and the second floor hallways.

  3. You can also go to the Library for a loaner to use while you leave your device there to charge.

If you are having trouble charging your computer:

Some of these could solve the problem, some may just narrow down what the problem is.

  1. Try a different wall plug (and maybe on a different circuit) - if it works, issue is the wall plug you were using. Note: The science building has a lot of bad lab desk and wall plugs.

  2. Try turning your charger over (plugging it into the computer "upside down" to how you had it).

  3. (May not be possible) Try a different charger - if it works your charger may be the issue (see next section).

  4. Try Hard Reset / Power-Refresh

  5. If it still does not charge, the issue might be your charger, look at the next section. If the charger works on other devices, but not yours, you will need to bring your computer in for repair.

If the issue appears to be your charger...

  1. If it has physical damage (or is lost), you are responsible for replacing it. See the note at the bottom of the main page "Lost/Damaged Chromebook chargers"

  2. If the charger appears fine, but other chargers work, you can bring your charger to the tech office for an exchange. Please fill out a service desk ticket.

Frozen? Turn off your device and then turn it back on.

I cannot tell you how many times this has solved almost any problem. Between this and "is it plugged in / charged?" you will solve an absurd amount of difficulties.

CLOSING YOUR COMPUTER WILL NOT RESTART IT. Logging off is also not restarting. You should hold the power button until a menu appears and then choose "Power off". (And if frozen hold down the power until it turns off - it really will eventually.)

Will you lose your active tabs or unsaved work? Yes. Here are two options.

  • Take a picture with a phone to remember what tabs you had open or you can retype text (or maybe even use Google Keep to pull the text out of the picture)

  • Requires advance planning, but Session Buddy is a chrome extension which can help recover your tabs after a crash. It will only work if it was installed BEFORE the crash though.

WiFi

There is great internet debate over what WiFi stands for. (The leading case is nothing. It's just a bunch of letters someone came up with).

Which leads us to the next point, why is your WiFi not working? Well, could be nothing. But here's stuff to try.

In general / setup: modem placement. If other devices are working in the exact location of the device causing you problems, skip this. Watch this surprisingly (really) informative video.

Kitchen Sink Method - Can't Log On to Chromebook / "This PIN or password couldn't be verified"

A surprisingly effective strategy for several problems — most recently if if you keep being redirected to accounts.google.com (which is blocked on LPS devices) — is removing yourself from the computer.

For the most part, chromebooks just connect to the internet and very little is stored on the device. If you download a lot of images and do not put them in drive (note: if important, put them in drive), so removing yourself will not result in any loss of work, bookmarks, etc.

These steps will remove you from your device and possibly solve your problem:

  1. Log out of the computer

  2. On the login screen, click the down arrow by your name and choose "Remove User"

  3. Follow any prompts to remove yourself.

  4. Log-in to chromebook again.

  5. Maybe your problem is solved?

Microphones

  1. First do a Power-Refresh (see first section of this guide this one)

  2. Go to https://www.onlinemictest.com/ and see if your mic does anything. If it doesn't OR it is going haywire despite not making any noise, see next step.

  3. If this doesn't sufficiently improve things...you need to fill out a service desk ticket and bring it to Room 163 for a replacement during office hours.

Google Issues

Password Issues: If you think your password has been compromised, email dwininger and atenhor ASAP.

Google Products Seeming to Not Work: For instance, you can't create a doc or submit via classroom. Assuming internet connectivity is not issue, check the google status dashboard as it may be a google issue.

Lost Google Files: It is possible to recover deleted files, just email us details. On a different note: DO NOT organize the folder that says "Classroom" in your drive unless that class is over. It will potentially cause many problems otherwise.

Bluetooth Won't Connect

  1. First, try a power-refresh

  2. If bluetooth is greyed out or does not appear after this, you will need to put in a service desk ticket.

  3. If bluetooth is now visible, try to re-pair the bluetooth device you want to connect (For instance: air pods).

AP Classroom / Logging in AP Classroom

Some students are reporting that they cannot login to AP Classroom - this may be related to the change to generic email addresses this past summer (2022). This appears to be an issue with the college board, not us. Here is the most recent recommendation:

The AP Coordinator said that students should contact College Board via a chat session or phone call. You can also try logging out of the chromebook and logging in to AP Classroom there.

Test Nav / AP Classroom Lockdown Browser

These apps should be installed. The way to get to it is to first LOG OUT of your chromebook. Then, when you click on Apps, you should see:

  • TestNav

  • College Board [This is the AP Classroom Lockdown Browser]

Things to try:

  1. No really, did you LOG OUT of your chromebook?

  2. Restart your machine / Check Again

  3. Log On to the Chromebook and in Chrome go to Settings → About Chrome → Check for Updates (if it takes a while, you may need to restart your computer again)

  4. Restart your computer AGAIN / Check Again

  5. If not there, please email dwininger with your asset number (the blue silver tag on bottom of device) AND a screenshot or picture of what it looks like when you click "Apps".