How to turn your PC or Mac into a Chromebook

Do you have an old laptop or Mac in your hands (or more likely in a drawer) and don't know how to reuse it? One solution could be to turn it into a Chromebook, so that it can still be used for basic activities, such as web browsing, writing texts and managing emails, without having to deal with the slowness typical of older Windows and macOS systems, which very often they make users lose their patience.

An official tool has been available for a few days now that allows you to install ChromeOS on any non-Chromebook device. Some time ago we told you about ChromeOS Flex, a Google project born after the acquisition of Cloudready and which aims to offer ChromeOS also on devices; after initially being accessible only to companies, it is now available to everyone. Thanks to this, you can now turn an old PC or Mac into a Chromebook, giving new life to any devices with a few years on their shoulders.

In this article we will guide you step by step along the installation of ChromeOS Flex on PC or Mac, providing the possibility for anyone to have a perfect device for those who use the Google suite to study or work and do not need specific programs, perhaps only available for Windows or macOS.

Create the USB installer

Before we begin, remember that the device used to create the USB installer may be different from the one you intend to install ChromeOS Flex on and that all contents inside the drive will be erased .

Install the Chromebook Recovery Utility

Open the Chrome browser. Go to the Chrome web store. At the top right, click Add to Chrome. When prompted, click Add Extension. Chromebook Recovery Utility is now an extension of the Chrome browser.

Make sure that the Chrome Recovery Utility extension is active

In the upper right part of the Chrome browser window, click on "Extensions" and then on "Extension Manager". Next to Chromebook Recovery Utility, move the switch to the right. After activating the Chromebook Recovery extension, in the browser extensions panel, click on the extension to open the pop-up.

Create the USB installer

In the Chrome browser, launch the Chrome Recovery Utility extension. Click on Start. Click on “Select a model from a list”. On Select a manufacturer, locate and click on Google ChromeOS Flex. At Select a product, select ChromeOS Flex.
Click on Continue. When prompted, insert the USB drive. From the drop-down menu, select the USB drive. Click on Continue. Click Create Now. When the message indicating that the recovery media is ready is displayed, remove the USB drive from the device.

Run the USB installer

Use the newly created USB installer to boot the device you want to run ChromeOS Flex by following these steps:

Turn off the device you want to run ChromeOS Flex completely . Insert the ChromeOS Flex USB installer. Press the power button. Select the USB installer as the boot device from the BIOS

Running ChromeOS Flex in Live Mode

After starting ChromeOS Flex from the USB installer, you can install ChromeOS Flex permanently, erasing the existing operating system of the device and replacing it with ChromeOS Flex.


To do this, do the following on the device booted with the USB installer:

On the “Welcome to ChromeOS Flex” screen, click on Getting Started. On the “Get started with ChromeOS Flex” screen, click Try first.

Follow the instructions on the screen. Log in to the device.
Log out of the device. At the bottom of the login screen, click Install ChromeOS Flex.

Click Install ChromeOS Flex. At the end of the installation, a message will be displayed on the screen and then the device will automatically turn off. When the device is completely off, remove the USB installer. Turn on your device and start using ChromeOS Flex.

Installing ChromeOS Flex

If you want you can install ChromeOS Flex directly, without trying it. Before you begin, we recommend that you back up your data to a separate storage drive or to the cloud.

On the Welcome to ChromeOS Flex screen, click Get Started. On the Get started with ChromeOS Flex screen, click Install ChromeOS Flex.

Click Install ChromeOS Flex. At the end of the installation, a message will be displayed on the screen and the device will automatically shut down. When the device is completely powered off, extract the installer to USB. You will turn on the device and start using ChromeOS Flex.

Format the USB drive

If you want to reuse the USB drive after successfully installing ChromeOS Flex on your devices, use the Chromebook Recovery Utility to format it.

On the ChromeOS device, Windows or Mac used to create the USB installer, open the Chrome browser. Start the Chrome Recovery Utility extension. Click on Settings and then on Erase Rescue Media. Insert the USB drive to format. From the drop-down menu, select the USB drive. Click on Continue. Click Cancel Now. When the message “The recovery media has been erased” appears, click Finish.

Configuring and registering ChromeOS Flex devices

To configure the ChromeOS Flex device after installation, follow the on-screen instructions. The configuration is almost the same as a Chromebook: you will have to enter your Google account, after which you can configure Google Assistant and other tools. To manage ChromeOS using the Google Admin console, you need to purchase a Chrome Enterprise or Chrome Education upgrade for each standalone ChromeOS Flex device you want to manage.