Please don't buy Chromebooks - they come with "best before" dates

poppellerant

Okay, so the title might seem a little dramatic but in essence what it boils down to is true.

Google Chromebooks have a Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date which is little known about. This gives 6.5 years of support per hardware platform, but the clock starts ticking as soon as it is released. So be especially careful of those "deals" on Chromebooks, which may well be "old" hardware platforms with only a few years of use remaining.

Anyway, don't just take my word for it. I would encourage you to do your own research before making up your minds. I have provide a link my source below, followed by a quote.

Buying a Chromebook? Don't forget to check that best-before date - The Register

Google's little-known Auto Update Expiration D-Day leaves users bereft of auto software refreshes and more – here's how to check yours

It is unlikely to be printed on the box, but every Chromebook has an "Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date" after which the operating system is unsupported by Google.

The authoritative document on the subject is here, where Google explains that it "provides each new hardware platform with 6.5 years of Auto Update support". While 6.5 years sounds reasonable, Google starts the clock ticking "when the first device on the platform is released". The exact definition of a "hardware platform" is not provided, but it presumably relates to the motherboard used. Later models may use the same hardware platform, which means they are not supported for as long. It is nothing to do with the purchase date.

What happens when the dreaded AUE date passes? This means there will be no more automatic software updates from Google, no technical support from Google, and "business and education customers... should not expect that they can manage their devices as expected using the Google Admin console".

If you happen to buy your Chromebook late in the product's life cycle, you may be surprised how soon the AUE date arrives. "My Dad just got a big FU notification on the Chromebook he bought new less than 3 years ago that it is now out of support under the Google AUE policy," complained Twitter user Martin Woodward (yes, veep of the Microsoft-supported .NET Foundation, though that is not relevant here).

One of the problems for users is that discovering how long your Chromebook has got can be a challenge. HP Chromebooks, for example, have model numbers like 14-ca050na, but Google's list of models has "Chromebook 14 G1" and so on. So you get pleas like this, posted to Google's community support but not answered:

I went to look up the auto update expiration date but my exact model is not listed. The closest one I found is the HP Chromebook 14 that has an expiration date of 6/2019 which just passed. Tried HP customer service but they have no idea and is going to research it and get back to me.

Here is a tip. Open up your Chromebook, and Chrome, and go to chrome://version. Check the Platform section, at the end of which is a code name. For example, an HP 14-ca050na has "stable channel snappy". Then head here, look up the codename, and note that it matches HP Chromebook 14 G5. This is listed in Google's table with an AUE date of November 2023.



You can continue to use your Chromebook after the AUE but the OS will be frozen in time and Google's warnings above will apply. The device will show a notification along the lines of: "This device will no longer receive the latest software updates. Please consider upgrading."

You would be lucky to get updates for so long for a typical Android device, but it is in contrast to a traditional laptop where you can carry on updating as best you can until it falls apart or becomes too slow to endure. Security is an issue, though a Chromebook is one of the more secure devices out there thanks to the sandboxing of applications and other techniques, so it is less serious than it would be for, say, a Windows PC.

It would be good if manufacturers would make it obvious how long your shiny new Chromebook has before the expiry date, though understandable that this is something they do not wish to highlight. Buyer beware. ®

Tigsteroonie

it is in contrast to a traditional laptop where you can carry on updating as best you can until it falls apart or becomes too slow to endure

Or a Windows device where your hardware is too old for an update to a newer version of windows ... no, that never happens.

Apparently my Chromebook has an AUE of August 2019. I'll let you know in 8 days whether anything happens.

unforeseen

And that is any different to mobile phones and tablets how?

6.5 years is good. Most android devices stop getting updates after 1 or 2 version updates.

Chino

unforeseen wrote: »

And that is any different to mobile phones and tablets how?

It isn't and that's one of the points made by the article:

You would be lucky to get updates for so long for a typical Android device, but it is in contrast to a traditional laptop where you can carry on updating as best you can until it falls apart or becomes too slow to endure.

debitcardmayhem

My nine year old PC came with Windows 7 and still is happy with dual booting Fedora 30 and Windows 10(1903) I consider myself lucky by never going down the Windows 8 route in between

EveryWhere

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Or a Windows device where your hardware is too old for an update to a newer version of windows ... no, that never happens.

Apparently my Chromebook has an AUE of August 2019. I'll let you know in 8 days whether anything happens.

Unfortunately, your comparison fell at the first hurdle. You can install and run Windows 10 successfully on laptops up to thirteen years old currently.

Name me even a single laptop that you know that is too old to run Windows 10.

EveryWhere

unforeseen wrote: »

And that is any different to mobile phones and tablets how?

6.5 years is good. Most android devices stop getting updates after 1 or 2 version updates.

I think the comparison is being made with Windows, not mobile phones and tablets. But of course you knew that.

You state 6.5 years, but there has already been a report today of someone getting the message on their four year old device.

that

EveryWhere wrote: »

Name me even a single laptop that you know that is too old to run Windows 10.

Dell D600

I have a xenon pc in the other room, and they do not supply drivers to that chipset - think the disk?. My laptop although working, has no more video updates and yellow triangles for AMD Radeon HD 7600M Series, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000, and Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller - 1E03 too

Ran the intel driver support assistant. and visited both suppliers sites, and nothing, but it still works.

If there are any problems, will definitely take the path to Linux land perminently

EveryWhere

that wrote: »

Dell D600

I have a xenon pc in the other room, and they do not supply drivers to that chipset - think the disk?. My laptop although working, has no more video updates and yellow triangles for AMD Radeon HD 7600M Series, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000, and Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller - 1E03 too

Ran the intel driver support assistant. and visited both suppliers sites, and nothing, but it still works.

If there are any problems, will definitely take the path to Linux land perminently

Latitude D600 is sixteen years old.

Some more details regarding the Desktop and Laptop could be of use.

Looks like a missing Rapid Storage Technology Driver; https://www.driverscape.com/files/2014/board/intel_rst_13_1_0_1058_whql.zip

Unclear about the Graphics, since you are stating that everything works.

But if not, look at
https://leshcatlabs.net/unifl-unified-leshcat-drivers/
https://leshcatlabs.net/manual_chm/
https://leshcatlabs.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=1176

that

thanks, yes everything does work and nothing in the eventviewer either. They have a yellow triangle as at least one (HD 7600M) is now unsupported

Thanks for the https://leshcatlabs.net/unifl-unified-leshcat-drivers/ . Looks like the is one version newer than mine available

The desktop is a frankenstien machine - ex work power pc. Fujitsu server motherboard, and 2 different chipsets disk controllers, ssd are just as quick as rust spinners on this, over a year since I turned it on. Possibly needs a new cheap sata3 controller

Tigsteroonie

EveryWhere wrote: »

Unfortunately, your comparison fell at the first hurdle. You can install and run Windows 10 successfully on laptops up to thirteen years old currently.

Name me even a single laptop that you know that is too old to run Windows 10.

I gave up with Windows in exasperation well before Windows 10.