Last month, I was digging around in my desk cabinets looking for something else and found my Samsung XE350XBA-K05US Chromebook 4+ buried under a bunch notepads and my old MacBook Airs. I got it as a gift in early 2021 and used it a ton those first few months, then less and less. By the time we moved in 2023, I’d already stopped touching it. I tossed it in the cabinet during unpacking and honestly forgot about it. I remembered reading somewhere that Google only supports these things for five years, which would make mine basically worthless. I’m getting rid of my old Macbook Pro soon, and I’d thought I’d do the same here. So, I got curious one day and decided to plug it in.
It turns out almost everything I thought was wrong. If you’ve got an old Chromebook gathering dust, you might be surprised at what you can still do with it. Here’s what I learned after checking Google’s Auto Update policy page and actually putting mine back to work.
I expected my 2021 Chromebook to be dead
It powered up and updated after years in storage
My Chromebook had a dead battery, obviously. It had been in that cabinet for two or three years with no power at all. I plugged it into the charger before breakfast and figured I’d check on it later. I came back around lunchtime, hit the power button, and it just started up—no drama.
Then came the waiting. The Chromebook downloaded and installed years of accumulated updates, which took a few hours. After resyncing my Google Account and Chrome profile, it worked exactly like it did the day I put it away. All my bookmarks, extensions, and saved passwords synced back without issues.
Chromebooks can survive years of neglect and come back ready to work. But I needed to know if Google would keep supporting it with security updates and new features.
Check your Chromebook’s actual expiration date
Google now offers 10 years of support, not five
The process to find your Chromebook’s expiration date is pretty straightforward: Settings > About ChromeOS > Additional details, then find “Update schedule.” Mine shows support through 2029. That’s eight years total, not the five I was expecting. Google changed their whole policy at some point. Anything released in 2021 or later gets ten years of updates. Pre-2021 models have an opt-in thing for extended support, though you’ll probably lose some features if you do that. It’s also worth knowing that the clock starts ticking when the platform came out, not when you bought yours.
You can check your specific model on Google’s Auto Update Expiration policy page. Updates mean security patches, compatibility fixes, new features. When they stop coming, your Chromebook keeps working, but websites will start breaking, and you’re on your own for security holes.
Understand what’s changing with ChromeOS
The platform is merging with Android in 2026
ChromeOS isn’t going away, just changing. Google confirmed ChromeOS and Android are merging into one thing starting 2026. The Chromebook experience stays the same from what Google says, just with Android underneath doing the actual work.
That basically means we’ll get more apps. Developers won’t have to build for two separate Google platforms anymore. It will have better AI integrations, since that’s where Google’s focus is. The whole transition is supposed to happen gradually, so your Chromebook shouldn’t suddenly break or act weird.
Android has way more developers and apps than ChromeOS ever did, so this might actually keep your device useful for longer.
Gaming support is ending sooner than other features
Steam stops working on Chromebooks in January 2026
After I got my old Chromebook up and running, I thought maybe I could use mine for some light gaming through Steam—nope. Google’s shutting down the Steam for Chromebook beta on January 1, 2026.
They launched it back in 2022, but it never got past beta, which should have been a sign. When the deadline hits, your installed games get wiped. Google’s probably banking on people using Android games from the Play Store instead, or cloud gaming through GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Gaming isn’t a deal-breaker for me since I’ve got other devices for that. But if you use your Chromebook for gaming, this honestly stinks.
Install Linux for unlimited software access
Ubuntu transforms your Chromebook into a full desktop
Installing Ubuntu or another Linux distribution gets around the update expiration date issue. I’ve installed Ubuntu on plenty of computers from scratch back in the day, so I plan to test this out on my rediscovered Chromebook soon.
Ubuntu keeps getting updates forever, with no expiration date. Plus, you get development tools, LibreOffice, GIMP—pretty much whatever runs on a normal Linux machine.
You’ve got two options here. ChromeOS has a built-in Linux (Beta) that Google actually supports—that’s the safer, easier route. Or, you can use Crouton, which is more complicated but lets you switch between ChromeOS and Ubuntu on the fly without restarting. Crouton needs Developer Mode enabled though, which wipes everything and makes your device less secure, so back up first.
Keep using ChromeOS as your daily driver
It’s still excellent for web-based work
Sometimes the best solution is just to keep using your Chromebook as is until support expires. Mine is good until 2029, so I’ve got time.
I actually did a test run recently—I worked a full day on just the Chromebook. I hooked it up to my monitor and ran through everything: Google Docs, Google Sheets, WordPress, my project management stuff, all web-based. It handled it fine, but Chromebooks can’t do everything.
Web apps are really where ChromeOS shines. It boots in seconds, updates happen in the background while it’s supported, and the battery lasts forever. You could keep it as a backup machine, travel laptop, or give it to someone who just needs basic web apps, email, and YouTube.
Your old Chromebook has more life than you think
That device I wrote off as junk? It’s got years left in it. Look up your Chromebook’s expiration date. I bet it’s further out than you expect. If you want to push beyond Google’s support timeline, install Linux. If you just need a laptop for web stuff and Google Docs, just keep using it.
Take a few minutes to figure out what makes sense for your situation. You can probably get a lot more mileage out of it than you think. That ~$250 Chromebook I almost forgot about is back in rotation. And I’ve got a solid plan for it well into the future, as my go-to travel laptop.