Support for these laptops was due to expire on June 2022 but has been extended to June 2025. Are you thinking about buying a Chromebook? If so, find out how old the model is or risk purchasing an unsupported laptop. As it turns out, every Chromebook as an expiration date on which Google stops supporting the device.
Another thing we wanted the answer to was; do chromebooks become obsolete?
Chromebooks continue working as normal after automatic updates expire. You can keep using it for as long as it works, but keep in mind that you won’t get the latest security updates, which means you could be susceptible to malware.
Most Chromebooks still have a long life ahead of them, but Google has started cutting off some of the oldest models already. If you have one of the older Chromebooks, you’ll need to start thinking about what to do when the updates stop coming.
While reading we ran into the question “Is planned obsolescence good or bad for Chromebooks?”.
Now, this has been cause for much discussion in the Chromebook community both positive and most certainly negative. I worked in the automobile industry for a number of years and I can tell you, anytime you place planned obselecence on a product, consumers will complain.
Do Chromebooks have an end of life?
Google’s End of Life Policy (as it was called before the less terminal-sounding “Auto Update Policy”) first offered 5 years of OS and security updates. Google later changed it to 6.5 years, and now it’s 8 years., and kind of. With a Chromebook, the OS doesn’t expire —the actual Chromebook does and you no longer get updates at all.
As it turns out, every Chromebook as an expiration date on which Google stops supporting the device. As reported by The Register, Google will provide new hardware with 6.5 years of auto-update support.
What you will find, however, are a lot of used Chromebooks we’d consider to be on the “close to spoiling ” list being sold. Many Chromebooks with expiration dates of June 2022 can still be found in online stores. For example, we found the Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431-C99D selling for $300 or more.
How do I know when my Chromebook will end-of-life?
Here’s how to see your Chromebook’s scheduled end-of-life date. Google is transparent about the update policy it has for all devices running Chrome OS. Every Chrome computer received regular updates from Google until it reaches its Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date .
How long will the Chromebook 3 auto update last?
In fact, Google’s documents show that the Chromebook 3, one of our favorite budget Chromebooks, will receive support for only two more years. So, what happens when the Auto Update Expiration date expires?