If your Chromebook becomes frozen, unresponsive, or refuses to wake up or turn on, you can perform a quick force reboot. This doesn’t erase anything — it simply restarts the device’s hardware.
A force reboot is extremely helpful when the Chromebook:
Won’t turn on even though the battery has charge
Shows a black screen but the power light is on
Freezes during use (can’t move the mouse or type)
Becomes stuck on the loading or boot screen
Doesn’t wake up after closing and reopening the lid
To force reboot:
Hold down the Refresh key (⟳ — usually above the number 4).
While holding Refresh, press the Power button once.
Release both keys and wait a few seconds.
The Chromebook should fully restart and return to the sign-in screen.
This shortcut forces the Chromebook out of sleep mode, clears temporary glitches, and helps when the trackpad or keyboard stops responding.
💬 Pro Tip: If the Chromebook still doesn’t turn on, plug it in for at least 5 minutes and try the reboot again — very low batteries sometimes prevent normal startup.
💬 Pro Tip: A force reboot is safe — it does not delete files or remove user accounts.