How to Change the Owner of a Chromebook?

Introduction

What happens if you have recently created a new account on Google and want and have absolutely no idea about how to change the owner of a Chromebook. If you are stuck in a rut during this situation, then you no longer need to worry. As in this article, we will cover aspects of the answer on how to change the owner of a Chromebook. Keep on reading, and learn all the various ways you can accomplish this task within no time.

Chromebooks are one of the fastest growing devices in terms of popularity and ease of use. There is a lot of reliance on Google Suite because the operating system that works runs on a Chromebook is basically devised by Google. There is no doubt that the Google operating system runs seamlessly and effortlessly on the devices. This is one of the main reasons why people are becoming increasingly interested in purchasing Chromebooks. There is also the option of working with the Linux operating system on the Chromebooks. Both of these operating systems work perfectly fine on Chromebooks. Apart from such efficient software, their hardware is also aesthetically pleasing. This means that their designs are slim, sleek, and modern. The ultimate goal of a Chromebook is to have a device that is easy to carry and hold in public settings.

The problem arises when people who are new to using Chromebooks come across several different issues or they do not know how to perform a certain type of task on the Chromebook. When it comes to the ownership of a Chromebook, there are several issues that a Chromebook user may have to face. For starters, you need Google IDs to be able to access the Chromebook device. If you have purchased a second-hand Chromebook, there is a chance that you will not be able to login on the Chromebook device due to this issue.

what happens if you have recently created a new account on Google and want and have absolutely no idea about how to change the owner of a Chromebook. If you are stuck in a rut during this situation, then you no longer need to worry. As in this article, we will cover aspects of the answer on how to change the owner of a Chromebook. Keep on reading, and learn all the various ways you can accomplish this task within no time.

How to Change the Owner of a Chromebook?

There are a few things that we need to look into before we dive into the whole process of changing the owner of a Chromebook. First, let us have a look at what it means by the term “owner” of a Chromebook.

What is meant by the owner account on a Chromebook?

Owner account is the administration account on any Chromebook. Just like any other administrator account of a processing unit, the owner account of a Chromebook has extra permissions to change different settings on the device. This means that only the owner account of your device will have access to changing the Time Zone, Sign-in Permissions, and so on and so forth. Other accounts that are not the owner accounts do not have the ability to make such changes in the system. This is why owner accounts play a vital role in the maintenance of Chromebook settings and different features.  

Most of the time, as soon as you purchase your Chromebook device and start using it, you will enter Google account details at the time of logging in to the device. After performing this task, you will be able to begin the journey of exploring your device. This account will serve as your owner account and will have maximum number of freedom on your Chromebook in terms of making major decisions for changing the settings. If you need to change the owner account, there are certain steps that you will have to take in order to accomplish the task.

Remember:

It is important to keep in your mind that there can be only one owner account in a given Chromebook. You cannot add multiple accounts and give all of them the rights of the owner 's account. It is also important to remember that you will have to completely get rid of the data on your Chromebook. When you begin the process of shifting the owner of a Chromebook, it is important to remember that all data will be wiped out from your device and you will have to start from scratch.

It is therefore advised that you get rid of all the data or at least transfer it to a safe location before you proceed with the process of changing the owner of your Chromebook.

Premium Account versus Guest Account

You must be wondering the difference between a premium account and a guest account on a Chromebook. Here is a quick explain of the difference between these two accounts:

Premium Account

is the one that you first log in to as soon as you purchase or get the ownership of the device. This account has some premium options such as the ability to make several different changes in the settings and decide who can sign in to the Chromebook and who cannot. This is why, due to such privileges, a premium account is considered as the special account.

Guest Account

is usually reserved for those people who do not use the Chromebooks on a regular basis. They have fewer privileges on the rights and administration settings of the device. The administrator or owner account can give you access to the Chromebook. If there is no option to Sign-in as the guest on a Chromebook, this means that the owner account has turned off this opportunity. No one can change this option without having the approval or getting the changes done from an Administrative or Owner account in the Chromebook.

How to Check if You are the Owner of Chromebook

The most obvious way to check if you are the owner of the Chromebook is to try to change different settings on the Chromebook i.e. the Time Zone, Wi-Fi Sign-In, and other similar tasks. If you are unable to change these settings, then it is clear that your account is not the owner account of the Chromebook. Alternatively, you can follow these steps to make sure:

1. Open your Chromebook, sign-in to your account, and open the Google Chrome tab.
2. In the URL bar, type Chrome://settings. Or go to the Settings via Chrome Menu
3. You will see a section called People. Click on the Manage Other People option.
4.  If you see the message that these settings are only modifiable by the admin or owner of the Chromebook, then it certainly means that you are not the owner of the Chromebook.
5. On the other hand, if it allows you to make the changes, then you are good to go and be the official owner of the Chromebook.

Also Read: How to Split a Screen on a Chromebook?

Steps to Change the Owner of a Chromebook

Keeping all the discussion made above in mind, this is the only way to change the owner of a Chromebook. Follow these steps to change the owner:

1. Sign in to your Google Account.
2. Ensure that all the data that is present on your current logged in owner account is saved in a proper place. Create backups to all the content that you would like to use later on. If you have an external hard drive or USB, you can insert it in the USB port and transfer all the data.
3. Wipe the data from your device.
4. Restart the Chromebook.
5. Enter the new credentials for the Owner of the device.
6. You will have to complete the whole process of Setup once again.
7. Congratulations, you have successfully completely changed the owner of your Chromebook.

Note: This will not erase the data from your Google servers such as Google Drive, Photos, and more. Moreover, any other accounts that you add after creating a new owner will serve as guest accounts.

Conclusion

The process of how to change the owner of a Chromebook is not complicated. Sure, it removes the entire data from your device and you have to start fresh with a new account, but there are many different benefits to it. For starters, you are in complete control of your device and you can make changes to the settings whenever and wherever you want. Owner of a Chromebook has the power to make their experience completely customized and add, remove, update, and modify things as they please. While having an owner account only makes the experience more personalized, it can also cause issues if more than one person is using the device. If multiple people are using the same account on the same Chromebook, security risks increase exponentially and multiple issues can take place within no time. If you are a Chromebook user and the owner of the device, you must ensure your account safety at all times.

FAQs

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions: