Chromebooks are often more budget-friendly than Windows laptops or Apple MacBooks. However, if you decide to buy one or own a Chromebook and want to check how much time is left for your Chromebook, it’s crucial to look for the Chromebook’s expiration date, also known as its Auto Update Expiration date.
This article discusses how long the Chromebook get updates, how to check the AUE date and what happens to the Chromebook after the AUE date.
How long does the Chromebook get its updates?
Beginning in 2024, if you own a Chromebook that came out in 2021 or later, it will receive updates for a full 10 years automatically.
If you have an older Chromebook that was released before 2021 and it’s still in use, you or your IT admins can choose to extend the automatic updates to 10 years from when that model was first released, but this will happen after you’ve received your last automatic update.
Chromebooks get regular automatic updates for 10 years.
Also read: Chromebook error configuring network: Quick Fix
How to check your Chromebook’s Auto-update expiration (AUE) date?
Check the AUE date online
Finding the AUE date for any Chromebook is easy; you need to locate its name on a list. Google keeps a complete list of AUE dates for all Chromebook models. All you have to do is go to the list and find the brand of your Chromebook or the one you’re interested in. Click on the brand, and you’ll see the list of models with their respective AUE dates.
As per their policy, Google will share a Chromebook model’s AUE date after it’s released. So, you can always check the AUE date for a specific Chromebook before buying it.
Check the AUE date on your Chromebook
If you already have a Chromebook and want to check your device’s AUE date, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open the Chromebook settings, click About ChromeOS, and then click on the Additional Details option on the right.
Step 3: You will find the AUE date in the Update Schedule.
As you can see, our Chromebook is set to get automatic software and security updates until June 2031.
Also read: How to fix the Google payment error OR_PMCR_32?
What happens when a Chromebook reaches its AUE date?
When your Chromebook’s AUE date comes around, it stops getting updates from Google. These updates include security updates, bug fixes and new features. Without these updates, your apps and browser extensions may have problems. So, even though you can keep using a Chromebook after its AUE date, it’s likely to work not as well as any bugs that arise afterwards won’t get fixed.
The issue here is that ChromeOS and the Chrome browser are closely connected. If you don’t get a ChromeOS update, you also miss out on a browser update. But Google is working on separating them. If they succeed, you might not get new OS features, but at least your Chrome browser will stay up to date.
Also read: How to fix Chromebook’s black screen?
