Products · Product
Chromebooks
Raised as a usability problem by 94 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 82 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Slow and clunky on cheap Chromebooks with multiple heavy web appsUnreviewed
20102026- Chromebooks are terribly slow and constantly breaking for students2023-09-05
- Linux and Android apps silently crash for non-first users on multi-user Chromebooks2023-07-30
- Provisioning hundreds of Chromebooks takes staff days or requires paid reseller with delays2020-10-29
Spacebar on warning screen accidentally re-enables OS Verification, blocking bootUnreviewed
20102026- Pressing spacebar on warning screen accidentally re-enables OS Verification, blocking other boot options2023-09-14
- Accidentally wiped the system by pressing the space bar on the boot screen2017-11-15
- A warning screen appears at every boot and must be dismissed by pressing space2016-11-15
Two-finger scrolling keeps going after lifting fingersUnreviewed
20102026- Two-finger scrolling keeps going after lifting fingers and never works right2018-05-12
- Keeps fumbling gestures because touch input is disconnected from the screen, so only scrolling works2013-02-22
- Touchpad doesn't tap-to-click correctly and scrolls poorly2012-09-19
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Cheaper models are so slow and unusable even on basic sites2026-10-01
- Changing settings and drivers requires running shell commands copied from the internet2026-05-07
- Opening files, finding them, and copy-paste take more clicks and key presses than other systems2026-05-07
- Parent can't administer school Chromebooks, so blocking them at night fails2026-02-23
- Chromebook and Google Classroom setup is a distracting mess that wastes teachers' time2025-01-16
- Keyboard folds around and is awkward to use in tablet mode2024-08-07
- Chromebook accessibility options are worse than Macs, found while setting up an elderly father's device2024-03-04
- A message about ended security updates cannot be dismissed and opens the Google store when clicked2023-09-15
- Pressing spacebar on warning screen accidentally re-enables OS Verification, blocking other boot options2023-09-14
- Chromebooks are terribly slow and constantly breaking for students2023-09-05
- APIs are documented so confusingly that developers can't tell if things will work2023-09-05
- Side panel design makes it basically unusable in some browsers2023-08-08
- Lacros browser gets noticeably laggy and sluggish when browsing2023-08-04
- Must press Ctrl-D on every boot to confirm unsigned image, with no way to disable it2023-08-03
- Linux and Android apps silently crash for non-first users on multi-user Chromebooks2023-07-30
- Container setup causes weird behavior when running containers or nested virtual machines2023-07-27
- Window management is terrible, forcing a return to Linux with custom hotkeys2023-07-27
- Chrome OS is too simple and its user experience is a disaster2023-04-21
- Linux VM and apps take too long to boot and start2022-10-10
- Privacy settings reset on reboot and can't be saved globally in Guest Mode2022-09-23
- Trackpad too sensitive, palm detection fails, double-activates after a month or two2022-07-23
- Hard to install another OS; boot prompts force wiping storage unless obscure key pressed2022-05-08
- Workarounds for non-Google setup are funky, hard to automate, and need dev mode2022-03-31
- Massive warning shown on every boot when installing a non-Chrome OS2022-03-19
- Massive boot warning actively prompts user to wipe existing installation2022-03-19
- Switching security modes forces a full data wipe, which users find hostile2022-03-19
- Upgrade prompt repeatedly spins, fails, then spins again while rolling back2022-03-14
- Linux VM is buggy and performance intensive, unusable for daily work2021-11-06
- Home/End/Page keys missing, so selecting to document end is awkward2021-09-21
- Hard to install anything besides ChromeOS; unsigned binaries cannot run on the device2021-07-24
- Update removed the Dvorak layout option, forcing workarounds or abandoning the device2021-06-28
- Provisioning hundreds of Chromebooks takes staff days or requires paid reseller with delays2020-10-29
- Parents struggle to get kids online and multitask on the Chromebook interface2020-09-15
- Native Linux is hard to use on newer Chromebooks, which use unusual sound cards2020-06-01
- Other users can't install apps; must log out everyone and switch to primary account2020-04-25
- Tabs take seconds to switch and pages redraw slowly on cheap Celeron Chromebooks2020-01-03
- Linux apps lack on-screen keyboard access on the HP x2 Chromebook2019-10-21
- Developer docs are incomplete, outdated and confusing to use2019-08-02
- Slow and clunky on cheap Chromebooks, frustrating with multiple heavy web apps open2019-05-09
- USB-C port intermittently stops working and needs a reset procedure2019-01-19
- Left-handed users cannot swap mouse buttons, so the computer is built for right-handed use2019-01-03
- Can only connect to one work VPN at a time, forcing switching2018-10-25
- Filesystem deemphasises local storage, making import, export and context switching cumbersome2018-09-01
- Chromebooks are unusable for kindergarten through third grade kids2018-08-28
- Chroot can only access the Downloads folder, so files must be stored there2018-05-15
- Low-end machine makes everyday dev tasks noticeably slow and frustrating2018-05-12
- Accidental key presses trigger unwanted actions like Siri, pausing audio and disrupting calls2018-05-12
- Two-finger scrolling keeps going after lifting fingers and never works right2018-05-12
- Chromebook running Ubuntu is so slow it is completely unusable for programming2017-12-04
- Accidentally wiped the system by pressing the space bar on the boot screen2017-11-15