Chrome OS will soon let you know when your Chromebook is about to die

It’s always tough saying goodbye. It’s also tough when your trusted Chromebook stops receiving auto updates abruptly and you had no idea that deadline was approaching.

Fortunately, Google has decided to boost transparency on this issue by including End-of-Life information in the Chrome OS settings panel. This should hopefully clear up exactly when your faithful device will stop receiving its regular security and software updates.

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Users have previously been caught out by the Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date of their Chromebook, which is a hard cut-off date for support on the company’s older machines. After this point, your device could miss out on new features and potentially important security updates.

And it’s not always been super easy to find this all-important deadline. Previously, users had to trawl through a big, intimidating old list of devices to find their particular model and manually check for its AUE date.

According to XDA-developers, the new EOL visibility feature is set to roll out in Chrome’s OS 80 update, which is scheduled for release next February.

But people with Chrome OS Canary should also be able to find their AUE date relatively easily inside the Settings app too. Click on the ‘Additional details’ page, then ‘Update schedule’ and your device’s End of Life date should be listed there.

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This does mean that the feature is probably more useful for current Chromebook owners rather than those looking to purchase one. If you’re considering buying one of the devices and want to see how long it will be supported for, unfortunately you still have to go to that aforementioned gargantuan list and look it up.

Apple’s Phil Schiller might not be a fan, but Chromebooks have made a particularly big impression with students, partly because they offer fantastic value for money. Check out our roundup of the best Chromebooks if you fancy a taste of Chrome OS.