{"title":"How to Factory Reset a Chromebook (Powerwash, Even on a Managed Device)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/tech/how-to-factory-reset-chromebook","category":{"slug":"tech","name":"Tech"},"creator":{"name":"Skill Ascent","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpj3e2nqI2Ud_PZRyEtGWbA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LaKO8tKqaY"},"tldr":"Factory reset any Chromebook with Powerwash. Standard shortcut, plus the developer-mode bypass for managed devices. Step-by-step with photos.","totalDurationSeconds":272,"difficulty":"medium","tools":["Chromebook running Chrome OS","Power adapter (keep the device plugged in)"],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Check If Powerwash Is Available From Settings","text":"Before you go the bypass route, see if your Chromebook will reset the normal way. Click the clock in the bottom-right, open Settings, type powerwash in the search bar, and look for the Reset option.On a standard personal Chromebook, the Powerwash card shows up with a Reset button. Click it and skip to Step 7. If the option is missing or greyed out - which is what happens on a managed device - keep reading. The next steps walk through the developer-mode workaround."},{"number":2,"title":"Boot Into Recovery Mode With Esc + Refresh + Power","text":"Hold the power button until the screen goes completely black. Wait until it's fully off, not just asleep.Then press and hold the Escape key and the Refresh key (the circular arrow on the top row) together, and tap the Power button while still holding the other two. The Chromebook boots into recovery mode and shows a screen that says please insert a recovery USB stick or SD card. You don't need a USB stick - that screen is just where you trigger the next step."},{"number":3,"title":"Press Ctrl + D to Turn Off OS Verification","text":"From the recovery screen, press Ctrl + D. A new message appears that says To turn OS verification OFF, press ENTER. Your system will reboot and local data will be cleared.That's exactly what you want. Hit Enter to confirm. The Chromebook restarts briefly and lands on a new screen."},{"number":4,"title":"Press Ctrl + D Again on the Developer Mode Warning","text":"You'll land on a screen titled OS verification is OFF. Press Ctrl + D one more time. A red-and-white warning appears that says your system is transitioning to Developer Mode. Local data has been cleared. Modifications you make to the system are not supported by Google.Wait the 30 seconds without pressing anything. The Chromebook handles the rest on its own."},{"number":5,"title":"Wait for the Developer Mode Prep Timer to Finish","text":"A countdown timer takes over the screen. On most Chromebooks it runs around four to five minutes while the system prepares developer mode and wipes the local data. The screen may go black for stretches of that time, which is normal.Keep the Chromebook plugged in. When the timer hits zero, the device powers itself off and back on."},{"number":6,"title":"Press Ctrl + D Once More and Sign Back In","text":"When the device boots back up, you'll see the OS verification is OFF screen again. Press Ctrl + D one last time. The Chromebook starts up clean, like a brand-new device fresh out of the box.Walk through the standard setup screens - language, network, Google account login. Sign in with the account you want on the device. The managed profile from the previous owner or organization is gone."},{"number":7,"title":"Run a Final Powerwash and Optionally Re-enable OS Verification","text":"Open Settings, search powerwash one more time, and you should see the Reset option that was greyed out before. Click Reset, then Restart on the confirmation dialog. The Chromebook reboots into the final clean Powerwash.On the way back up, you'll see one more screen asking whether to re-enable OS verification. Press Space then Enter to turn it back on - this exits developer mode and restores the normal Chrome OS security. Or skip it if you want to stay in developer mode."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-05-29T23:00:36.498Z","published":"2026-05-29T13:58:06.024Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}