How to Speed Up Your Chromebook

The majority of Chromebooks are low-cost models with subpar hardware. Most importantly, most schools and workplaces provide Chromebooks that are of poor quality. It's no surprise that Chromebooks slow down over time, or even suddenly. However, because of the nature of Chrome OS, you can speed up your Chromebook again. Here's everything you can do to boost the performance of your Chromebook.

Let's start with the little adjustments.

1. Look into the Task Manager.

Task Manager shows you a list of all the apps operating on your Chromebook right now. Web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps all fall within this category. To open it, simply press Search + ESC on your keyboard. Each app's memory, CPU consumption, and network speed will also be displayed. To close an app or system process, pick it and click End Process. You can use Ctrl to select numerous jobs and close them all at once by pressing Ctrl. A few system tasks, such as the Google Chrome browser, cannot be closed.

You should close any apps that you aren't actively utilising or that are consuming excessive amounts of resources.

2. Install the most recent version of Chrome OS.

The Chrome OS upgrade could be one of the causes of your Chromebook's slowness. Google frequently releases updates that contain flaws, only to patch them in the next release. So, if your Chromebook is running slowly, it could be due to the most recent update. Check to see if there are any updates available for your Chromebook. To see if there are any new updates available, go to Settings > About Chrome OS > Check for updates. If not, you'll have to wait for the next update to resolve the problem.

3. Turn on the Chromebook.

After each update, the Chromebook will reboot automatically. However, if there are no updates to install, restart the device once. Occasionally, a simple restart is all that is required to resolve such situations. Click on the clock in the bottom right corner to restart, and then on the power symbol to shut off. The Chromebook will then turn on when you hit the power button.

4. Clear off the space on your Chromebook

Chromebooks have a smaller storage capacity than Windows computers. Some Chromebooks even have 16GB of storage, which is far less than most smartphones. One of the most prevalent causes of Chromebook slowness is a lack of storage. To check your Chromebook's storage, go to Settings > Device > Storage Management. If you run out of storage space, use the Files app to erase some files.

5. Uninstall Apps You Don't Use

On Chromebooks, apps can use up a lot of space. Most notably, Android and Linux apps are far larger than Chromebook apps. Uninstall programmes you don't use often or at all to conserve space. Simply right-click the app in the app drawer and choose Uninstall from the menu that appears. You can use the Linux terminal to remove Linux apps, which can have different commands for each software.

6. Web Apps should be used instead of Linux and Android apps.

You can replace an app with a web app if you can't delete it. Web programmes take up less space on your device, allowing you to save storage space and speed up your Chromebook. Web apps are also superior in terms of UI than Android apps and better than Linux apps because Linux programmes run in a container environment.

7. Make sure all of your apps are up to date.

Apps, particularly Android apps, can sometimes degrade Chromebook performance. While Linux apps run in their own container, Android apps can be put on your primary storage, competing for limited resources. Uninstalling superfluous programmes is a good start, but it's also crucial to maintain all of the remaining apps up to date to keep them secure and feature-rich.

To check if any Android apps require an update, go to the Play Store > Profile Pic > Manage apps and devices > Manage > Updates available.

8. Reduce the number of extensions you use

Excessive use of extensions, like excessive use of apps, might cause your Chromebook to lag. Try only utilising a few extensions and uninstalling the ones you don't need. Replace extensions such as tools and downloaders with online apps if at all possible, as they don't stay on your Chromebook all the time and eat resources.

Click the Extensions icon in the top right corner to uninstall extensions. Select the Uninstall from Chrome option from the three-dot menu beside the extension you want to remove.

9.Block Tracker Scripts

Another option is to disable scripts on the websites you visit. Scripts are used to track your movements and show you advertising that are relevant to you. As a result, deleting them will improve both performance and privacy. Although there is no built-in feature to block tracker scripts, addons such as Ublock Origin can be used.

10. Delete the History and Cache of Your Browsing

Browsing history and cache files are two other types of data that might eat up storage space on your computer. Cache files are used to reopen websites you've visited previously, but faster. However, if your device's storage space is the issue, all that data could slow it down.

Open Chrome settings > Security and Privacy > Clear browsing data to clear your internet history and cache. Set the time range to All time in the pop-up. This will delete all data, but you may also choose a time range, such as the last 4 weeks, 7 days, 24 hours, or even the last hour, to delete only the history for that period.

Keep in mind that you may be logged out of all sites, so save your work before continuing.

11. Before you click, preload the pages.

Preloading websites will not improve the speed of your Chromebook. However, it will simply preload the websites after you mouse over the link. As a result, by the time you click the link, the website has already begun loading. This strategy is not suggested for Chromebooks with little resources or that are slow, although preloading pages may help if you want a better experience. It's possible using the Faster Web Chrome Extension.

12. Improve Cache Management

Cache management is another approach to improve Chromebook performance. There are addons, such as Speed Up Browsing, that download more cache than usual. This cache will be used when you visit other pages with the same pictures and script. This solution is not suggested for Chromebooks that lag, but it will improve your experience by speeding up the loading of websites.

13. Keep the number of tabs and apps to a minimum.

The only way to make your Chromebook run more consistently is to use fewer resources. One approach to achieve this is to work with fewer programmes and Chrome tabs. You won't waste any extra resources, such as RAM, this way.

14. Don't Use Features That Consume a Lot of Power

Virtual desks, multiple accounts, a Linux environment, and other resource-intensive capabilities are supported by Chrome OS. Using these features on a low-cost Chromebook will slow it down. If possible, delete several accounts and turn off the Linux environment on your device.

15. Give the Chromebook a thorough cleaning

If your Chromebook remains slow after upgrades and even after removing many apps and clearing files, powerwashing it is the apparent solution. This will wipe your device completely clean. In any case, Chrome OS syncs everything, from programmes to background, to your account. All of your apps and settings will be restored when you log in after power washing. In any case, it will not sync your contents, so make a backup of your files before restarting your Chromebook.

Open Settings > Reser Settings and click Reset next to the Powerwash option to Powerwash. In a few minutes, the Chromebook will be reset and opened as a brand new Chromebook.

Making a Lightweight Operating System Even Lighter

Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system that can run Android and Linux apps in containers. It's just a web browser without them. Any Chromebook can run more smoothly if the containers are used less and simply the Chrome Browser or web apps are used. If you want to improve your experience, try utilising fewer programmes, extensions, and tabs at the same time. That's all there is to it; you're ready to go.