I Installed ChromeOS Flex on My Ancient MacBook. Here's How It Went

What's the champion usage for an aged machine that hardly works and has nary resale value? For me, and my 12-year-old MacBook Air, determination was lone 1 answer: bring it backmost to beingness with ChromeOS Flex and crook it into a Chromebook.

Why I Chose to Install ChromeOS Flex connected My Old Mac

My aged MacBook Air has seen amended days. It's 1 of the compact ones with an 11-inch surface and 4GB of RAM. The operating strategy hasn't been updated for years, and the artillery is dead. Its value, whether for merchantability oregon arsenic a hand-me-down, is beauteous overmuch zero. So, alternatively than dump it, I figured I'd effort to revive it with a caller operating system.

Given however lightweight it is, ChromeOS Flex was the evident choice. Even though the laptop is simply a small abbreviated connected memory, its Intel processor and 256GB of retention acold outweigh what you get from a fund Chromebook. And checking the ChromeOS Flex compatibility page, it seemed similar it was supported.

Although I don't usually usage the Chrome browser, I figured that I could inactive marque usage of a lightweight laptop for casual browsing. And though Linux would nary uncertainty beryllium much useful, uncovering a Linux distro that could tally connected specified a low-spec machine and past getting it each acceptable up seemed similar a batch much effort.

I headed implicit to the ChromeOS Flex download page to get started.

The Installation Process Is a Breeze

The instructions for installing ChromeOS Flex are casual to travel and not precise hands-on. Along with the compatible machine (it runs connected Windows computers arsenic good arsenic Macs), you request a USB thrust with astatine slightest 8GB of retention and a caller mentation of the Chrome browser with the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension.

You past travel the elemental steps: link the drive, instal and tally the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension, and travel the onscreen prompts.

In the Identify Your Chromebook screen, take "Select a exemplary from a list" and prime ChromeOS Flex successful some boxes. Then click done until you get to the "Create Now" option. The process to make the ChromeOS representation took astir 3 minutes, and astir 15 minutes to transcript it to the disk. I utilized an aged USB thrust I recovered successful my drawer. A newer and amended 1 would person shaved a fewer minutes disconnected the time.

With that done, the trickiest portion is to reboot to the USB drive. On my MacBook, that meant holding down the Alt (Option) cardinal portion restarting; connected different Macs oregon Windows machines, it'll beryllium different.

You person the prime to trial retired ChromeOS Flex straight from the USB thrust oregon to instal it onto the computer, wiping the archetypal OS successful the process. I tested excavation to marque definite it worked, but since I didn't request thing connected my MacBook's drive, I rapidly switched to installing it.

This involves rebooting to the thrust again and selecting "Install ChromeOS Flex." Click done the warnings and confirmations, and it's bully to go.

What It's Like Using ChromeOS connected a Mac

The last steps impact mounting up ChromeOS, changing basal settings, connecting to Wi-Fi, and adding your Google relationship details. I aboriginal added a 2nd Google account, which presented nary problems.

As a non-Chrome user, I didn't person bookmarks and things successful spot already. I'd request to import them from my accustomed browsers connected different machine to get them. But everything other from my Google relationship was there, including Gmail, Drive files, photos, notes, and truthful on.

Most things worked arsenic expected, and amazingly well. I had to play astir with immoderate of the settings to get things moving properly, similar reversing the scrolling absorption of the trackpad. I besides had to usage the US layout for the keyboard adjacent though I'm successful the UK.

Keyboard shortcuts worked beauteous well, including the Function keys. F3 opens the virtual desktops successful ChromeOS, and F4 opens the Launcher conscionable arsenic successful macOS. And though ChromeOS uses the Control cardinal for shortcuts similar transcript and paste, the Command cardinal does the aforesaid occupation with a Mac keyboard.

There were a fewer problems. The camera connected my MacBook Air isn't supported successful ChromeOS Flex. Apparently, this is circumstantial to my model, and different MacBook cameras whitethorn enactment fine. The laptop besides powered disconnected erstwhile I unopen the lid, adjacent though it was acceptable to sleep. It's imaginable that it's related to the faulty battery.

Plus, I had to woody with the limitations of Flex itself, chiefly that it doesn't enactment Android apps. These apps vastly summation the functionality of ChromeOS connected Chromebooks, and without them, Flex is overmuch much limited.

You tin usage Chrome extensions, but these are evidently a mediocre alternate to dedicated apps. They're much constricted successful prime and functionality, and come with each sorts of privateness concerns. I decided my MacBook moving ChromeOS was going to beryllium a Google instrumentality and thing more.

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The acquisition of utilizing ChromeOS Flex connected my aged MacBook Air was beauteous painless. It was casual to acceptable up, and successful use, it was accelerated and responsive.

There are a fewer limitations, and ChromeOS Flex isn't arsenic bully arsenic the afloat ChromeOS. But then, my MacBook's hardware—the physique quality, keyboard, retention capacity, and more—is overmuch amended than the immense bulk of Chromebooks.

It's astir apt excessively constricted to usage arsenic thing much than a backup, but I'm keeping it installed, truthful I'll see. I whitethorn yet compression a fewer much years retired of this trusty MacBook.