
Canary is essentially a beta version that installs as a second browser, so you can use that most of the time and fall back to the official version if something doesn’t work. In the current Canary build of Chrome, we’ll automatically block downloads of malware that we detect.Ĭonfusingly, Google has four versions of its Chrome browser available at any one time: the official, public release a developer version a beta version, for those who want early access to new features and Canary. These malicious programs disguise themselves so you won’t know they’re there and they may change your homepage or inject ads into the sites you browse From here, simply click Check for Updates, and you’ll be back on Stable in no time.Google has added automatic blocking of malware from the latest ‘ Canary‘ build of its Chrome browser.īad guys trick you into installing and running this kind of software by bundling it with something you might want, like a free screensaver, a video plugin or-ironically-a supposed security update. Open the Settings app, open the left-hand menu, and click About Chrome OS. Just as before, while your Chromebook now knows to use Stable updates, you need to “update” it to actually be on Stable again. The “shell” command switches you to Chrome OS’s internal shell, while the second command to “update_engine_client” actually does the job of switching you back to Stable. Update_engine_client –channel=stable-channel -update From this terminal, enter the following two commands: Open up the “crosh” terminal once again by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T. This process also requires that your device still be in Developer Mode. So if at all possible, back up your files first. This version is the bleeding edge development from Opera features will be piloted. Unfortunately, however, it involves wiping your device. Download Google Chrome Canary - Google Chrome Canary has the newest of the new Chrome features. Thankfully, the process of switching from Chrome OS Canary back to Stable is not a complicated one. With that, you’re all set! Your Chromebook is now on the Canary channel, and you can check out many of the latest features, months ahead of everyone else. From this page, click Check for Updates to manually begin the process of updating to Canary. To get your device to begin updating, open the Settings app, open the left-hand menu, and click About Chrome OS. Your device will now use the latest updates to Chrome OS from the Canary channel. This will ask you to confirm that you really want to switch to Chrome OS Canary. Open the “crosh” terminal by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T. Once your device is in Developer Mode, we can actually make the big switch to Chrome OS Canary. You can press Ctrl-D to bypass this message.īecause your device has now been wiped, you will need to set up your account again. Now every time it starts, you’ll be reminded for a number of seconds that your device is in Developer Mode. You’ll be prompted to confirm, because this, again, will wipe your device. Once in Recovery, press Ctrl-D to enter Developer Mode. This will put your device into Recovery Mode. Next, hold the Escape and Refresh keys and power your device back on. Back up your files first.įirst, turn your Chromebook off. Please note: switching to Developer Mode will wipe your device. Unfortunately, switching to Chrome OS Canary requires that these safeguards be disabled by switching to Developer Mode. If you’re sure you’re already in Developer Mode, you can skip to Step 2.īy default, all Chromebooks have safeguards in place to ensure that devices remain stable and secure.

It’s important to know that Developer Mode is different from just being on the Developer update channel.

Should things ever go very, very wrong you can also completely reset your device using the Chromebook Recovery Utility on another computer. If a few days and updates have passed and you’re still having issues, there are instructions down below on how to switch back to Chrome OS Stable. If your device still mostly works, you can usually just wait for the next update, as Canary updates almost every day. When your Chromebook does, inevitably, run into an issue, there are a few options for how to get back to work. Being this “unstable,” you should almost certainly expect there to be issues on your device while on Canary. If you’re brave enough to use less-than-stable software to try out these latest features, then Chrome OS’s Canary update channel is for you-here’s how to make the switch.īefore we get started, I should warn you that Chrome OS Canary is considered by Google to be fairly unstable, because it’s always on the bleeding edge of the newest Chromium code. The frustrating thing is that it’s often weeks or months before the things we report on make it to our devices. Almost every day here at 9to5Google, we try to uncover the latest developments happening in Google Chrome and Chrome OS.
