Clearing Local User Profiles for Device Readiness

The Profile Wipe feature allows administrators to remotely clear all local user profiles from ChromeOS devices. This is a powerful maintenance tool for resolving local errors and preparing hardware for new users.

There are a few scenarios where clearing user profiles will come in handy:

• By default, a Chromebook will remember multiple accounts or user profiles. A new student or a group of students may need a Chromebook assigned, or a student may need to remove a profile after the Chromebook reports a profile opening error.
• If you loaded devices from the cache, view the storage usage for each device in the Storage Used column, and use this action to clean up the devices before you receive tickets on them.

View Tutorial

When to Use a Profile Wipe

While Google Workspace is cloud-first, local profiles still consume hardware resources. Consider a wipe in the following scenarios:

• Device Rotation: Preparing a Chromebook used by a previous student for a new user.
• Troubleshooting: Resolving "Profile opening errors" reported by users.
• Storage Management: Clearing devices that show high storage usage in your cached device data.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Search & select: 
   • Navigate to Device Search and use filters to find the devices you wish to clear profiles for.
     Pro Tip: Check the Disk Available column to identify devices with low disk space. Use the Columns tab if the column is not visible.

   • Select the checkboxes for all applicable devices.

     Pro Tip: Working with a large list? Click Show Selected Only in the grid footer to verify your choices across multiple pages before running a bulk action. Click Show All to return to the full list.

2. Initialize the action: Click the Actions button in the top-right corner, then select Profile Wipe.
3. Review the Profile Wipe Confirmation warning. This action is irreversible and clears all local data.
4. Click Wipe Profiles.

Expected Behavior

Once initiated, a command is sent via the Google Admin API. The next time the device is powered on and connected to the internet, it will execute the wipe. The device remains enrolled in your domain, but the login screen will be cleared of all previous user avatars and data.

See, Understanding Device Action Eligibility and State Rules