Users get Chrome OS Flex running on Chromebooks that are end-of-life

Users report getting Chrome OS Flex working on Chromebooks that are in end-of-life status and are no longer supported. Google reports that it does not support the installation of the operating system on these devices.

Chrome OS Flex has been successfully deployed on old Chrome OS systems from Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo, among others, 9to5Google lists. The installation is not easy and users must, among other things, disable the write protection of Chrome OS and in some cases install custom firmware. The examples mentioned concern Chrome OS devices that have now reached the Auto Update Expiration or end-of-life phase and are no longer receiving updates.

Each Chromebook model has its own ‘shelf life’. Early models received support for five to seven years, later models could last as long as nine years. For the consumer, the remaining period depends on the time of purchase. Once the period has expired, the systems will no longer receive updates, resulting in security risks and potential loss of functions, although the hardware may still be fine.

Chrome OS Flex gives those devices a second life, but Google reports that the company doesn’t support installation on devices that have expired Auto Update Expiration. Google announced Chrome OS Flex earlier this week. It is free software that can be quickly installed on PCs, Macs and Linux devices via a USB stick. There is no support for dualboot, but liveboot from USB is possible.