I don’t know how to put tags on (using eternity), but this is, in fact, serious.

So, turns out my high school left developer mode accessible on chromebooks. Sick of the restrictions that even make doing schoolwork slow, I wanted to set up dual boot for Linux Mint and Chrome Os.

My main concern, however, is maintaining the original content on my chromebook in order to keep it functional (and still appear somewhat standard to the school) while also giving me the access to the stuff I need.

Entering google’s developer mode claims to “erase all local data”. If this does not include applications, please tell me as that would solve every problem below.

Main concerns:

  • My school uses GoGuardian, and some teachers make use of the remote screen viewing feature. On another school computer, creating an account using my school gmail automatically installed the app, and I’m hoping a separate set-up will still do this.

  • My school has a lot of kiosk apps, some of which I have used, others which I have not. I’ll provide a list if asked, but my main concerns are testnav (ap test), DRC insight, and NWEA secure testing+state solutions.

Inb4 “don’t do this”: I do not care, and this does not help. If the task becomes too much for me, then I’m not doing it. But as of now, I’m deadset on trying to get this to work.

Edit: It’s not a good idea to risk your computer, I realized that as time went on. The challenges and the fact that the easiest options rely on hardware manipulation are just unsafe in general. Vox OS, as suggested by another user who develops the project, worked more than fine and doesn’t risk destruction. Settle for a little less in exchange for little risk.

  • southsamurai
    12•6 months ago

    It isn’t possible.

    You would absolutely wipe those apps. Guardian might well reinstall, but the others won’t, because they aren’t installed the same way. The last time someone asked this on reddit, a response went into detail about why it’s a fail, maybe you can find that post (assuming it wasn’t deleted by the poster, and the responses are still there).

    But the gist was that it isn’t worth trying because it ends up being too easy to detect even if the apps did reinstall themselves. Since there’s a degree of financial liability involved, it isn’t like the experiment is consequence free; schools can, and will, send a nasty bill for it. There was a bit of a problem with it at some schools here and there, and it was generally considered to be the same as destroying the device. While that’s dumb as hell, you or your parents would still be on the hook.

    Now, if none of that means anything to you, do what you’re gonna do, I ain’t your dad. Just go into it aware that it probably won’t end with you having a totally open device for free.