Home » How To Jailbreak Chromebook Laptops? Step-By-Step Guide

How To Jailbreak Chromebook Laptops? Step-By-Step Guide

Debamalya Mukherjee

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31 October 2023 |

Laptops

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In case you didn’t know, jailbreaking is the art of removing all forms of software limitations from a device. All devices, like smartphones and even Chromebooks, have limitations that prevent you from accessing their full potential. Since Chromebooks are increasingly becoming popular, learning how to jailbreak Chromebook laptops has become a popular demand. 

Therefore, to help you with this quest, I have created a step-by-step guide for you. Read it till the end to learn how to jailbreak any Chromebook you come across.

Why Jailbreak Chromebook?

Chromebooks have become quite famous since they are cheap laptops perfect for students and working professionals. There are various reasons why you might want to jailbreak your Chromebook, along with several reasons why you shouldn’t.

Advantages

The primary advantages of jailbreaking a Chromebook, like an HP Chromebook x360, are:

• Can Install More Apps: One of the main reasons you wish to learn how to jailbreak Chromebook is to install unauthorized apps. Multiple apps are unavailable on the Google PlayStore, which you can download and install only on a rooted Chromebook.
• Better Performance: Did you know that developers locked a portion of your RAM and internal storage (ROM)? Jailbreaking a Chromebook allows you to remove this limitation, freeing up storage space and memory. Therefore, it leads to better performance, making your Chromebook smoother and faster!
• Improved System Security: An antivirus app can never work to its fullest potential if the OS limits it. ChromeOS – based on Android for smartphones – severely does so. If you learn how to root Chromebook, you can remove such limiters.

Disadvantages

There are some risks to jailbreaking a Chromebook, like the Google Pixelbook 12. They are:

• Data Loss: When you jailbreak your Chromebook, you will lose all data on your device. Therefore, remember to back up all your data before learning how to jailbreak Chromebook.
• Voiding Warranty: It’s best to learn how to jailbreak Chromebook after your first-year warranty is over. This is because manufacturers never support jailbreaking. They will immediately nullify your warranty if you do so. 

Requirements To Jailbreak Chromebook

Before you start following the steps below to jailbreak your Chromebook, you must meet its requirements, which are:

• USB Flash Drive: You must have a USB flash drive to create a recovery drive for your Chromebook. It should have enough storage to recover your files. Therefore, around 64 GB will do.
• Internet: When you jailbreak your Chromebook, it needs access to the internet throughout the process. Therefore, ensure that your Chromebook is connected to a secure internet connection.
• Backup All Your Files: Since jailbreaking your Chromebook will delete all your files, create a backup of them. Do so on an external storage disk or online (like Google Drive). 

How To Jailbreak Chromebook?

Are you ready to learn how to jailbreak a Chromebook and unlock its full potential? Then follow the steps below!

1. Enable Developer Mode

First, you must enable developer mode Chromebook. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Power off your Chromebook.

2. Press and hold these three keys together – Esc + Refresh + Power (Refresh has a circular arrow symbol) until a warning notification appears on the screen.

3. Now, press Ctrl + D to enter developer mode.

4. Next, you will see a screen that prompts you to turn on OS verification. Press Enter to start.

5. Now, your Chromebook will start rebooting itself. After a minute, you will see a red exclamation mark on the screen, stating that OS verification is off. Therefore, this means that you have successfully enabled developer mode Chromebook!

2. Enter Recovery Mode

Now, you must start your Chromebook in Recovery Mode. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Power off your Chromebook.
2. Press and hold these three keys together – Esc + Refresh + Power (Refresh has a circular arrow symbol) until a warning notification appears on the screen.
3. Now, press Ctrl + D to enter recovery mode.
4. Next, you will see a screen with a yellow exclamation mark that says, “Chrome OS verification is turned off.” When you see this, press Ctrl + D again.
5. Now, your Chromebook will finally enter recovery mode and will display a message that says, “OS verification is off.”

3. Start CRouton

CRouton is an app that you will be using to root your Chromebook. Therefore, you can call it a rooting app. It has a set of scripts that helps you install Linux on your Chromebook easily.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. When you enter recovery mode, click on these buttons – Ctrl + Alt + T – to open the ChromeOS command terminal.
2. Now, type this code, and then press Enter:

shell

3. Now, input this command line:

shell
curl -O https://goo.gl/fd3zc

4. Now, you will see that various scripts are being downloaded. After the downloads are complete, enter this command:

shell
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t core

5. Soon, you will have successfully installed Linux on your Chromebook using CRouton. After it’s done, enter this code:

shell
sudo startxfce4

The final line of code opens a Linux-based XFCE coding environment, which we will use to…

4. Install Ubuntu

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux-distributed platforms. It gives you access to many functions that we will use to jailbreak Chromebook.

Here’s what you must do to install Ubuntu:

1. In the XFCE coding terminal, enter this code:

shell
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t list

2. This will open up the list of all available Linux distributions, including Ubuntu. Therefore, enter this code next:

shell
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r ubuntu -t xfce

3. Now, simply follow the on-screen prompts to finish installing Ubuntu on Chromebook.
4. Finally, to open Ubuntu, enter this code:

shell
sudo startubuntu

5. Install The CRouton Integration Extension

Now that you have installed Ubuntu on Chromebook, you must ensure you can seamlessly switch between Ubuntu and ChromeOS. Therefore, you must install the CRouton integration extension. 

Here’s what you must do:

1. Open Chrome browser.
2. Then, open the Chrome web Store.
3. Here, search for CRouton Integration and download and install its Chrome extension.

That’s it! Now, you can seamlessly switch between ChromeOS and Ubuntu through this extension! When you wish to do so, simply click on it and choose which Linux distribution you wish to open. In your case, you will select Ubuntu.

6. Jailbreak Chromebook

Now, it’s time for you to learn how to jailbreak Chromebook. Here’s what you must do:

1. Open Ubuntu.
2. Then, open the coding terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and enter this code to turn off the write protection of the Chromebook firmware:

shell
sudo su
flashrom –wp-disable –wp-range=0x0-0x100000

3. Now, it’s time to “Flash” (Install) a new custom firmware. Therefore, enter this code:

shell
cd ~
curl -L -O https://mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh

4. Once you enter the code above, a new firmware script (firmware-util.sh) will get downloaded. After it’s done, execute it by using this code:

shell
sudo bash firmware-util.sh

Now, all you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions to finish the “how to jailbreak Chromebook” process! Once this is over, reboot your Chromebook.

Conclusion: Breaking A Jail Done Right!

Congratulations on learning how to jailbreak Chromebook and executing this process correctly! It was a tedious task with many codes, but it was worth it in the end! Now you have unlocked the full power of your Chromebook!

If you have any queries regarding the steps above, comment your questions down below!

More Resources:

• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 Review: Byte-Sized Convertible Dynamite
• HP Chromebook x360 Review: Affordable, But Not Recommendable
• How To Open New Google Doc On Pixelbook