This website has been created to support students in Redondo Beach Unified School District only.
For the 2020-2021 school year, there are 3 models of Chromebook in circulation in RBUSD and there are subtle differences in their performance and behavior which may require slightly different solutions to common problems. The model number is stamped on the underside of the case:
Dell 3120 - used mostly by 12th graders, and some 11th, 8th and 5th graders.
Dell 3180 - used mostly by 11th, 8th and 5th graders.
Dell 5190 - used mostly by all other grades. The district’s loaner Chromebook fleet also uses this model.
Dell 3120 and 3180 Chromebooks are charged using a 65W AC power adapter that is compatible with these models. These chargers have a round connector.
Dell 5190 Chromebooks are charged using a 45W AC power adapter that is compatible with this model. These chargers have a standard USB-C connector. This model can be charged using the USB-C ports on either side of the case and the connector is reversible.
Students who lose or break their chargers are expected to buy their replacement. These can be bought through the school or district or from a reputable retailer. Keep it in a safe place at home and do not bring it to school.
Connect your charger to the Chromebook and make sure it is plugged in to a working power outlet.
3120/3180s - If the charger is working, a green LED will light up on the charger brick.
5190s - If the charger is working, a white LED will light up on the connector.
3120/3180s - If the Chromebook is charging, a white LED will appear on the right side of the case. This LED goes out when fully charged.
5190s - If the Chromebook is charging, an orange LED will appear on the left side of the case. This LED turns white when fully charged. (If the battery is completely flat, the LED may flash orange for a few seconds as charging begins, and will then settle on solid orange.)
All models - To confirm that the Chromebook is charging, you should be able to power it on after a few minutes and should see a black lightning bolt symbol over the battery icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. When the Chromebook is fully charged, the battery icon turns solid white and shows 100% battery level.
Very rarely, the LED on the Chromebook fails. In this case, see step 4.
Charging typically takes just under 2 hours (about 1% charge per minute).
If the Chromebook does not appear to be charging, unplug the charger from the Chromebook AND the wall, and leave it to rest for a few minutes. Then plug everything back in and try again.
If you are unable to charge your Chromebook, contact your school librarian or RBUSD IT Dept.
Some of the Chromebook problems described below may need to be fixed by resetting your Chrome settings. The Chrome settings menu can be opened from under the Chrome browser menu (the three-dot symbol to the right of the address bar in your browser) or by typing chrome://settings in the address bar.
Scroll down through the settings and click on “Advanced”. Scroll down to the end and click on “Restore settings to their original defaults”.
Some of the Chromebook problems described below may need to be fixed by resetting your Chromebook hardware, also known as a hard reset.
Only use the hard reset when there are no other ways to fix the problem. It will restart your Chromebook hardware (like your keyboard and touchpad), and might delete some files in your Downloads folder.
For most Chromebooks, follow the steps below to perform a hard reset:
Turn off your Chromebook.
Press and hold the Refresh key (circular arrow key) + tap the Power key.
When your Chromebook starts up, release Refresh.
If this doesn’t work, try the “10-second reset” version - press and hold the Refresh and Power keys down together and hold for 10 seconds, then release them. Then try restarting your Chromebook.
Some of the Chromebook problems described below may need you to restart the Chromebook after you have performed the fix, also known as a quick reset. You can use this anytime you want to restart the Chromebook.
Press the Refresh key (circular arrow key) + the Power key at the same time and then let go quickly. Your Chromebook will restart.
Many Chromebook behavior problems (mostly software problems described later in this document) are caused by the presence of certain third party Chrome apps or extensions, such as games and web browsers. Students are not supposed to download these add-ons but frequently do, and these sometimes interact with the district’s prescribed applications in unpredictable ways. RBUSD does NOT support any third party apps and extensions. The quickest solution to these kinds of problems is to have the student remove EVERYTHING that was not installed by the IT Dept.
Find the Extensions page by opening the Chrome browser menu (the 3 dots in the top right hand corner), then click on “More Tools”, then Extensions, OR by typing “chrome://extensions” into the browser address bar.
Click on the Remove button on each extension and Chrome app installed by the student.
When all unnecessary items have been deleted, do the steps for How to Reset Your Chrome Settings (see above).
Close the Chrome browser by clicking on the “x” in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Open a new Chrome browser to continue your work.
Your Chromebook should update itself automatically when connected to a wifi network. Occasionally, you might receive a notification message in the status bar (bottom right of screen) that says a restart is required to install updates. Restart the Chromebook as soon as possible so that it can finish updating.
If the Chromebook starts to display unusual behavior, check your status bar for a notification about a pending update. It may need to be restarted.
To force a Chromebook to check for updates, open Chrome Settings and go to About Chrome at the bottom left corner (you can also type this into the address bar: chrome://settings/help). Click the button to check for updates.