Admin Tips & Tricks

Chrome OS 126 rolls out with powerful remote desktop and Chrome OS extended updates

See the changes that truly matter, and our guide for admins on all of the latest policies.

Last updated June 25, 2024

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Rollout tracker

X / YYY Chromebook models are on version ZZZ exactly
X / YYY models are already on a later version and X / YYY models are still on a prior version
XX models have already received their final update and are not included

Three major updates for Chrome OS admins

The latest Chrome release notes include 59 updates, but there are only a few worth your time to dig into.

Manifest V2 last chance - If you use Chrome extensions based on Manifest V2, this is your last chance to enable the extended support window to keep them working through June 2025. Otherwise, they will start disabling with Chrome 127. See our full guide to Manifest V2 here.
Full 10 year auto-update expiration (AUE) now available - Google announced an extension to their AUE policy, gauranteeing 10 years of updates for new Chromebooks and many existing ones. However, some models require admins to opt-in to future updates. See our full guide to "extended updates" here to make sure your devices stay up to date.
Remote desktop into the login screen - Chrome OS admins can now remote desktop into devices that are on the login screen, a huge win for debugging and replicating issues reported by users without needing the device in-hand. Admins can initiate this feature from the Google Admin Console.

You can see the full list of new Chrome OS features here.

New settings & recommended configuration

Isn't it annoying to find and configure each of these new policies one by one in Admin Console? We're building a tool that will instantly audit these policies for you and provide a 1-click button to set all of them at once. Get in touch to try a beta version

Name	Recommended setting
LensOverlaySettings	Disabled
DeviceExtendedAutoUpdateEnabled	Enabled (but see our full guide to "extended updates" for important caveats)
ScreenCaptureLocation	${google_drive}
MemorySaverModeSavings	-
LocalUserFilesAllowed	-