One of the most robust and yet least understood areas of the Google Admin console are the Chrome settings. When we conduct Audits for K-12 schools, we often see ignored or misunderstood settings. The number of Chrome settings seems to be growing all the time, so let’s take a moment to talk about some of the key features.
Chrome Updates - relaunch notification/force relaunch
Main Menu > Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users & Browsers > Chrome updates
First on our list is the continuous challenge that IT departments have with Chrome OS updates. Keeping Chromebooks up to date has required tech directors to implement “update Fridays” and string together Chrome settings to get Chromebooks to update. Even that doesn't always guarantee 100% of updates. Fortunately, there is now a setting that can get you closer to that goal. The Relaunch notification setting allows you to force a relaunch when an update downloads. Relaunching a Chromebook after an update is downloaded is a crucial step in the update process and also something schools could not control in the past. If an update is downloaded but the device is never restarted then the update doesn’t go into effect. This is what caused so many headaches for Admins over the years, but not anymore.
There are 3 options available for the Relaunch notification setting:
- No relaunch notification
- Show notification recommending relaunch: This notifies users to update their devices, which is a gentle reminder.
- Force relaunch after a period: This is a more direct and controlled approach
This setting is a little confusing on how it approaches a forced update so let’s clarify the process. The Show notification and Force relaunch options have additional fields; Time period (hours) and Initial quiet period.
The time period is the amount of time you give the user to restart their device. Once that time expires, the system steps in and takes action. This does not mean that if you set it to three hours that at the end of the three-hour period it will automatically restart. The actual forced restart time is around 2:00 – 4:00 AM when we tested this setting with our own Chromebooks. This is great because that means it won’t be a distraction or an inconvenience when the updates occur.
Learn how to better manage your fleet of Chromebooks and Chrome devices with training from the NEW Amplified Admin Chrome Specialist Certification course.
Blocked printer types
Main Menu > Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users & Browsers> Printing ~ Blocked printer types
Next up is a setting that you configure to stop unwanted printer types from being accessed by your users. There are printers called Zeroconf-based printers which broadcast themselves on local networks. Therefore users are able to see and add these printers without having them assigned to them. This is a problem for some schools as students figure out how to manually add these printers and print to these printers unrestricted. If you want to restrict these printer types simply click the box to block this printer type. You could also lock down other printer types to restrict printing altogether and allow for the saving of files on local drives only. The options are all under the Blocked printer types setting.
Download location
Main Menu > Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users & Browsers> User Experience ~ Download Location
The last setting to discuss is Download location. Download location allows you to control where users are able to save their downloaded files. You can force users to use Google Drive or prompt users to decide where they should save downloaded files. This is important so that users that may not use the same device every day can get back to their files if they are saved to Google Drive. So if you set it to Force Google Drive you will ensure that users always save their files to a place that is easy enough to get back to.
We can’t describe every Chrome setting in this article, but if you or someone on your team would like to learn about more of the vital Chrome settings we have the course for you. Our Amplified Admin Chrome Specialist course (with prerequisites of Amplified Admin Level 1 and 2) dives deeper into the Chrome settings for users and devices. It’s a great way to level up your knowledge with your team and become an expert on Chrome setting configurations and device management.
About the Author |
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| Tom Woods, Google for Education Training Lead | |
| Tom Woods is a Google Cloud Certified Administrator, Certified Deployment Specialist, and Admin with over 24 years in IT and 17 years in K-12 education. Tom brings unique insights into the planning, implementation, and support of Google for Education in the K-12 space. His experience includes 14 years in a large Ontario K-12 district where Google Workspace and Google for Education was introduced in 2009 and has since grown into one of the largest installations in the province by Tom and his team. Joining CDW Amplified for Education 4 years ago, he now assists schools across North America and leads our Consultancy team of experts. |