Developer Mode is not strictly for development. What it does is turns off OS Verification on each reboot, giving up some of the protection built into ChromeOS but allowing you greater flexibility to use the system.

Changing to/from Developer Mode wipes your Chromebook. Be sure you have a backup of important data before doing this. It takes several minutes. After it is through re-initializing the system, you will be presented with the standard setup screen.

Note that each time you reboot your Chromebook, you will get a warning that “OS verification is OFF” and inviting you to press the space bar to reset your system to normal. You can wait for the timeout, or press Ctrl+D to speed the bypass of the message. If you accidentally press the space bar, all information will be wiped and the system will be returned to standard ChromeOS mode. Your system is wiped without warning if you press the space bar!

To enter Developer Mode

1. Boot or reboot the system by holding ESC+Refresh and press the power button
2. System reboots and gives you an error “Chrome OS is missing or damaged. Please insert a recovery USB stick or SD Card.”
3. Press Ctrl+D to enter Developer Mode

1. fully charge your Chromebook before proceeding, or have it plugged in
2. Turn on your new Chromebook
3. Click Get Started
4. Connect to a wireless network, then click Next
5. Accept and continue. OPTIONAL, uncheck the box that says “Help Improve Chrome OS features” which automatically sends usage data to Google
6. Select “You” from “Who's using this Chromebook”. Selecting “A child” will put limits on the features appropriate for children.
7. Sign in to your Chromebook - enter your google account here (generally a gmail account)
8. enter your password
9. Sync your Chromebook - for most situations, choose No thanks here
10. Google Play apps and Services - Uncheck “Back up to Google Drive” to ensure your information is not stored on Google's servers
11. Uncheck Use Location to block apps from determining your location
12. Check Review Google Play options following setup
13. Google Assistant, click No thanks (includes app information and Web and App activity)
14. Connect your phone, click “No thanks”, sync's information on your phone, through Google's servers, to your Chromebook
15. Click Get Started (begins a review of your settings
16. Security and Privacy
17. Lock screen and signing - set for either password only, or password or pin)
18. Search - change to DuckDuckGo
19. Optional: Remove Google Play Store
    1. Remove Google Play Store - removing Google Play Store from this system and does not offer you apps you may have purchased on other Android/ChromeOS devices. Note we install some apps from Google Play Store store so normally do not do this.
20. Select Manage your Apps. From here, you can add/remove permissions for each app that is already installed
    1. Notifications - You can turn of notifications from any/all apps
21. Click Accounts
    1. choose Sync and Google Services
    2. Choose Manage what you sync and turn off anything still on (should all be off if you chose no thanks on Sync your Chromebook above)
    3. Turn off Autocomplete searches and URLs
    4. Turn off Google Drive search suggestions
22. Install F-Droid
    1. https://f-droid.org/
    2. Download to someplace on your Chromebook so we can install
    3. Locate downloaded APK
    4. Double Click to install

1. Open Google Play Store
   1. OpenVPN Connect – OpenVPN Client for Android
   2. Microsoft Remote Desktop – Connect to Windows machines using Remote Desktop Protocol
   3. Chrome Remote Desktop – Control or be controlled by remote machine
      1. Not sure which method to use
         1. Chrome Remote Desktop from Store appears to be master only
         2. https://remotedesktop.google.com/
2. Open F-Droid
   1. AVNC – VNC Viewer for Android
   2. Monocles – XMPP chat program
   3. Jitsi Meet – Video chat with Jitsi (https://jitsi.org/)
3. Additional Software if desired (from F-Droid)
   1. FBReader – e-book reader. Kind of buggy under ChromeOS
   2. VLC – Best audio/video program available
   3. NextCloud – Store your files on NextCloud
   4. NextCloud Notes – Store/Edit/Create Notes on NextCloud
   5. DAVx8 – Sync contact and calendar lists with NextCloud
   6. K-9 Mail – Excellent mail reader for all android/ChromeOS devices