PWPSD - Older Chromebook Factory Reset

Applies to the following models:

  • Acer C720 / C720P

  • Acer C740

  • Acer C730e

  • Acer C731

  • Lenovo Thinkpad X131e

If you have one of these Chromebooks which was purchased from one of the Peace Wapiti Public School Division schools, you may not be aware that they are no longer supported by Google. This means they no longer receive updates of any kind from them. PWPSD has no influence on when a device is set to be End of Life. Google determines that and can and have changed it.

This is a problem for two main reasons:

  1. Security - The Chromebook has not seen security updates in some time. While much less of a problem than a Windows or Mac OS computer, this is still a risk which is greater over time. For this reason we do not recommend continuing to use these devices “as-is”.

  2. Functionality - Most services which are available online are constantly evolving, from UI changes to major code overhauls on the server side. Since these Chromebooks are no longer updated, they will not keep up to the server side changes and regular functionality will stop working. There is no way to know when this will happen.

If you accept the risks and wish to continue using your Chromebook as-is, you must factory reset it. To do so, follow these instructions from Google:

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183084?hl=en

  1. Sign out of your Chromebook.

  2. Press and hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift + r.

  3. Select Restart.

  4. In the box that appears, select Powerwash  Continue.

  5. Follow the steps that appear and sign in with your Google Account.