Chrome Story

More Chromebooks Get Early Access To Play Store – Here Is How To Enable It

I know that you all are waiting for the Pixel announcement that is scheduled to happen in a few hours from now. Would you like to do that on a Chromebook that runs Android apps too?

Update: This is working on the Dev channel for Toshiba Chromebook 2015 if you have the Developer Mode on.

Note: You need one of those “promised” Chromebooks for this to work.

Reports are coming in that Google Play Store now works on a bunch of new Chromebooks. The currently confirmed list is as follows:

1. Acer Chromebook 14
2. Acer Chromebook 15
3. Samsung Chromebook 3
4. Toshiba CB2 2015

This is currently available on the Canary channel, which is extremely unstable at times, and sometimes even, unusable. So, proceed with caution, and I recommend not enabling this on your primary device.

Enable Play Store on Any Chromebook

The first step, switch your Chromebook to the Canary channel if you are not yet on that channel.

Now, follow these steps:

  1. Press CTRL + ALT + T to open the command prompt.
  2. Type shell to enter the shell prompt.
  3. Now type the command 
     echo "--enable-arc" > /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;
  4. Next, type the command 
     mount -o bind /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf /etc/chrome_dev.conf
  5. Press CTRL + SHIFT + Q twice, or restart your Chromebook.

With that, you should have access to Google Play Store on your device. Google Play should automatically launch the first time you log in after going through those steps. If not, go to Settings and look for the setting that enables Google Play.

Go ahead and try this on your secondary Chromebook, if you have one of the promised Chromebooks. If you get this working on any Chromebook other than what I have listed, please drop a comment.

Thanks, Justin Slatten and Brent Sullivan

Update: I got this working on my Toshiba Chromebook 2015. It was very unstable, so I had to switch back to the Dev channel. I am hoping that it will be available on the Dev channel in a few weeks.

To switch back to the Stable channel from the Canary channel, replace canary-channel in the command with stable-channel. The Chromebook will complete the update and ask you to restart.

Author

Dinsan

Content Developer and Digital Minimalist. I love testing new Chromebook features and writing about them. My favorite Chrome OS Channel is Canary. | Twitter

In

18 responses

  1. Scott Smith

    Uh, yeah, I see your point, but bad headline. I’m interested in the Chromebooks that aren’t on the list being able to get the Play Store.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan

      Yes, I understand your concern. I had the same thought too, but I am yet to find a better title. Suggestions?

      Reply
      1. Travis Pope

        “Here’s How to get Play Store Early on Supported Chromebooks”

        Reply
  2. Dinsan

    Okay guys, I changed the title. How about now?

    Reply
  3. jahid65

    Android app is also available in dev channel in Toshiba CB 2015.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan

      How do you enable it on Dev channel?

      Reply
  4. Crusader

    I’m on canary channel on Acer Chromebook 15. Typing:

    sudo echo “-enable-arc”>> /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;

    returns

    bash: /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf: Permission denied.

    Any ideas?

    Reply
    1. Dinsan

      I have fixed the extra characters in those commands. Please try again.
      If you get the permission error again, do:

      sudo su
      and then the commands.

      Reply
  5. Julio Miuloudo

    “Two switch back to Dev channel from Canary channel, replace canary-channel in the command with stable-channel.”

    Two switch -> To switch

    And so the dev channel is called “stable-channel”? How confusing!

    Reply
    1. Dinsan

      That part was edited and added in a hurry. I have fixed those errors.
      Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  6. Tajer

    I tried this on my Toshiba Chromebook 2 2015, and it gives me an “unknown error” when I try to sign into the Play Store. I tried on both the dev channel and canary channel with the same error.

    Reply
    1. David Freitas

      Getting the same error as you…

      Reply
  7. silver

    echo “–enable-arc” or echo “-enable-arc”

    Reply
    1. Silver

      I have this working with Acer 15 and Dev channel!

      Warning set — not –
      Not This:
      echo “-enable-arc” > /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;
      But rather This:
      echo “–enable-arc” > /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;

      Reply
      1. Dinsan

        Do you have Developer mode enabled?

        Reply
  8. silver

    Not echo “-enable-arc” > /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;
    This:
    echo “–enable-arc” > /usr/local/chrome_dev.conf;

    Thanks for the confirmation on your post, had set – not — and had to relearn vim to manually edit the file.

    I have this working with Acer 15 and Dev channel!

    Reply
  9. peter rokkos

    Any update on when this will come to the stable channel for an Acer 15?

    Is it working on the Dev channel – and if so is it stable enough to try yet?

    Reply
    1. Dinsan

      No information on stable channel releases yet.

      Reply

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