Why Your Chromebook Is Slow And How To Fix It

The Chromebook is a versatile tool that can be leveraged successfully by students, professionals, and casual users alike. Since its release, the Chromebook has become a highly valuable addition to the gadget world.

These hybrid devices are as portable as tablets and as useful as laptops. Chromebooks run on Chrome OS, which is much lighter than Windows or macOS and requires minimal hardware requirements to perform tasks such as browsing the web, reading emails, or compiling a text-based document. Due to their functionality and affordability, Chromebooks have recently gained popularity (with rising sales each year since 2019 and a similar projection for 2022, according to Style Factory). As well, the platform is seeing progress in the processing capabilities for future models, matching with the surge in popularity and providing even greater utility to users.

However, that does not mean Chromebook users do not encounter problems, too. Even though it is easier to do certain things on a Chromebook, just like other laptops, Chromebooks also come with limited offline storage and hardware limitations. For instance, you might have installed too many apps or programs on your Chromebook, hogging most of your storage and system resources. In some cases, the Chromebook works fine, but the internet connection is poor. Although it could be daunting to determine why your Chromebook is running slow or keeps hanging every time you open an app, there are a few ways to restore your Chromebook's efficiency.

The intent behind Chromebooks is to get some work done on the go, and there are many helpful shortcuts and capabilities built into the platform to achieve this end. Since Chromebooks run on ChromeOS, they don't require as many hardware resources as Windows, or macOS laptops. However, that doesn't mean your Chromebook's storage won't run out. As you use the device, you'll install apps, download files, and save pictures and documents, creating a growing volume of stored data in the process. 

Ideally, a Chromebook should have a few gigabytes of free space on its hard drive to function normally. Otherwise, it may be prone to slowdowns. You might also see a message on your device that reads, "free up space or select data may be automatically deleted." Hence, you should check your Chromebook's internal storage drive and see whether it has enough free space.

To check how much storage is left on your Chromebook, follow these steps:

1. Click on the clock towards the bottom right corner of the display.
2. Select Settings from the options that appear.
3. In the Device section, click on Storage Management.
4. You'll see how much storage is occupied by downloads, offline files, browsing data, apps, and other users (via Google).

Now that you've checked the storage available on your device, you can free up space on the disk:

1. Delete the files that you don't require.
2. Clear the browsing history.
3. Find the apps you haven't used in a while and uninstall them.
4. You can also delete any extra Google accounts logged into your Chromebook.

Web extensions are tools that add features to a web browser. For instance, those working in writing fields may install the Grammarly extension on their web browser to enable real-time grammar checks. Similarly, other extensions unlock a particular capability, and users might lean on some of them to accomplish daily tasks. However, too many extensions can not only slow down the web browser but also impact the system's performance.

To enable the features that an extension promises, your Chromebook has to run several processes in the background, which consume limited system resources, including memory, storage, and internet bandwidth. Hence, it is wise to keep monitoring your installed extensions and keep only those that are essential. To remove extensions, follow these steps (via Google):

1. Open Chrome on your Chromebook.
2. Select the three-dot icon to open a drop-down menu.
3. Click on More Tools and then select Extensions.
4. You'll see all the extensions installed on your Chromebook.
5. To remove an extension, select Remove beside the Details button.
6. Confirm your selection.

Cutting down the extensions will reduce the burden on your system's resources, making your Chromebook faster. In addition, you should avoid opening too many browser tabs at once. To check the active apps or processes at a time, open Task Manager by pressing Shift + Esc. You'll be able to view all the apps using the RAM and storage and close them using the Task Manager by right-clicking and selecting End Task.