How to Switch to Canary Channel on Your Chromebook

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How to Switch to Canary Channel on Your Chromebook

Currently, there are five update channels supported on Chrome OS, including Stable, Long-term support (LTS), LTS candidate (LTC), Beta, and Dev. However, if you want to be on the bleeding edge and access features that are still in development, you need to switch to the Canary channel on your Chromebook. The Canary channel is much more buggy and crash-prone than your standard update releases, but you get to tinker with unannounced and experimental features on ChromeOS. So in this guide, let’s look at the step-by-step process for how to switch to the Canary channel on a Chromebook.


Switch to Canary Channel on Chromebook (2023)
Here, we have added detailed instructions on how to switch to the Canary channel on a Chromebook. Further, in case you find the Canary channel unpalatable, we have explained how to leave the Canary channel and move back to the Stable build. On that note, let’s jump to the steps.

Table of Contents
Turn on the Developer Mode on ChromeOS
In order to switch to the Canary channel, you first need to turn on Developer Mode on Chromebook. Note that Developer Mode is different from the Developer channel. Developer Mode relaxes most security settings, so you can debug your apps and tinker with Chrome OS easily.

Moreover, you can move to Developer Mode from any Chrome OS channel — be it Stable, Beta, or Dev. But bear in mind that enabling the Developer Mode will wipe out your local files, so make sure to back up all your important files. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the steps:

1. Make sure you have ample charge left on your Chromebook. Now, press the “Esc + Refresh + Power” buttons at once. This will take you to the Recovery screen. You can perform this action while having your Chromebook turned on or off.



Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook (2023)
2. Next, use the “Ctrl + D” shortcut, and it will ask you whether you want to enable “Developer Mode”. Press “Enter” to confirm.


Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook (2023)
3. Now, your Chromebook will reset, and Developer Mode will be enabled. This process takes up to 10 to 15 minutes, so keep patience. If you get an “OS verification is OFF” message on the screen, wait for the beeping sound. After that, it will start the reset process. You can also press “Ctrl + D” again to bypass it instantly.


Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook (2023)
4. Once done, the Chromebook will reboot to an onboarding setup. Enter your email address and set up everything like you normally do.


Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook (2023)
5. Keep in mind every time you reboot your Chromebook with Developer Mode enabled, you will get a warning screen that will stay for 30 seconds or so. Your laptop will also make a beeping sound. To skip it, press “Ctrl + D” to continue the boot process normally.


Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook (2023)
Switch to the Canary Channel on Your Chromebook
1. After setting up everything, press “Ctrl + Alt + T” to open the Crosh terminal. Crosh allows you to tinker with the ChromeOS layer and change several system-level and security settings.



crosh
2. Once here, paste the below command and hit Enter. Press “y” and hit Enter again to confirm your action. This will change the default update stream to the Canary channel.

live_in_a_coal_mine

Switch to the Canary Channel on a Chromebook
3. Now, you will need to update your Chromebook. For that, open Settings (using the cogwheel icon) from the Quick Settings panel in the bottom right corner.


settings
4. Next, move to “About ChromeOS” under “Advanced” in the left sidebar and click on “Check for updates” in the right panel. The device will start downloading the latest build from the Canary channel.


check for updates
5. Once the update is installed, reboot your Chromebook, and you will switch to the Canary channel. Now, you can try out features like the new Material You theme that’s being tested on Chromebooks.