A Chromebook factory reset is called a Powerwash. It wipes every user account, local file, and setting, and brings the device back to the same first-boot screen you saw the day you opened the box. Most of the time you can trigger it from Settings - search powerwash, click Reset, done.
The keyboard shortcut for the same thing is Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R from the sign-in screen, which is faster if you know you want to reset and you're already locked out.
The harder case is a managed Chromebook - one that was set up through a school, a workplace, or that you bought used and still has someone else's management profile on it. On those, the Powerwash option in Settings is greyed out or missing entirely. The workaround is to drop into developer mode using a recovery-screen key combo, which wipes the device as part of the same process. That's what this tutorial walks through, following the demo from Skill Ascent.
Heads up: developer mode disables the warranty-style OS verification, and you'll see scary warning screens during the process. That's normal. You can re-enable OS verification at the end if you want to leave developer mode behind.
If you'd rather reset a different machine, check out how to factory reset Windows 11, how to factory reset a Mac, or how to factory reset an HP laptop. And while you've got Chrome OS open, our guide to Google Docs covers the next thing most new Chromebook owners want to learn.
