Just like the best laptops, the best Chromebooks aren't just for everyday users. If you're a student, chances are you got a Chromebook or a great ChromeOS tablet for school. This means you may need to use a school account on your Chromebook, typically linked to your school email address and managed by your school's IT administration.
If you want to remove school account, we have good and bad news for you. If you buy a Chromebook for yourself and are the owner, you can freely remove an account through powerwashing. However, if your Chromebook is managed and issued by your school, you cannot remove this account. Even if you somehow manage to add a personal account to the device, it will still be managed by your school.
Why you can't remove a school account from a school-managed Chromebook
The reason you can't remove a school account from a school-managed Chromebook is because the first Google account used on a Chromebook is the owner. In this case, that owner's account is your school. Typically an IT administrator will have previously set it up and disabled the settings you need to remove that original account. These settings can usually be found at Security and privacy > Manage other people. If you go here and see the options grayed out, that means your school's IT administrator has disabled the options.
If you see a warning like “These settings are controlled by company policy,” you're out of luck. You can't remove this school account, and even trying to powerwash the Chromebook to remove it won't work. Your Chromebook will be permanently tied to the school's account and you will need to either ask the school to remove it or get a new Chromebook.
How to remove or change ownership of an account from a Chromebook
If you don't use a school-managed Chromebook and just purchased your own for school, you can easily remove any account, revert to a change in ownership, or start over. To do this, you need to powerwash the Chromebook. It's a pretty simple process, but keep in mind that if you choose this route, all data will be deleted from your Chromebook.
- Sign out of your Chromebook.
- Press and hold Ctrl + Old + layer + R.
- Choose Restart.
- Select in the field that appears Power wash.
- Press Carry on and follow the steps on your screen.
Once this process is complete, you can set up your Chromebook as if it were new. Sign in with a Google account and get started!
The best thing to do is contact your school
To recap: If your Chromebook is issued by your school, there is no way to remove your school account from your Chromebook. You will need to return the Chromebook to your school's administrators and have them reset and remove it instead. Even if you try to add your own personal account, it will automatically be registered in your school's management system and you will be locked out of the settings as before. For this reason, we recommend that you use a personal account and purchase your own Chromebook separately from your school's. Check out the best Chromebook for students for some of our favorite options.