Think about waking up and on the point of have a productive day, solely to comprehend that your fastidiously curated choice of laptop computer Android apps has fully vanished. You chalk it as much as a bug and attempt to head to the Play Retailer to reinstall a number of the necessary ones, however you can not seem to find the digital storefront both. That is a really particular case, one which not many would have been in a position to relate to till very just lately.
A subset of Chromebook customers are presently caught in that precise predicament, with Google scrambling to difficulty a repair.
A wave of consumer stories hit Reddit and Google’s personal help discussion board inside the final week, as identified by the parents over at TechIssuesToday, with all chiming in with the same difficulty. Particular Chromebook customers reported that after a latest restart or replace, their machine was lacking the Google Play Retailer icon and a few or many downloaded Android apps.
After digging a bit deeper, it seems to be just like the bug is inflicting Chromebooks that have not opted into Prolonged Updates help to behave as if they’ve. For reference, Prolonged Updates enable Chromebooks which have reached their end-of-life for automated software program updates to proceed receiving help for safety, efficiency, and stability. That, nevertheless, comes at the price of Android app compatibility.
Gadgets that obtain prolonged updates will now not have the power to run Android apps. Android apps and the Google Play Retailer will likely be eliminated to take care of safety, efficiency, and stability in your ChromeOS machine.
Just some Chromebook fashions appear affected
Google is conscious
Moreover, the bug appears to be restricted to particular Lenovo Chromebooks, together with the likes of 100e, 300e and IdeaPad S330. Chromebooks with comparable underlying structure is also affected, although I could not spot any related stories.
For what it is value, Google is conscious of the difficulty and is presently engaged on a repair. In a touch upon a consumer’s Google Assist submit, Group Supervisor Ellen T wrote that the bug is affecting “a small subset of customers, on a handful of fashions.” “We’re working shortly to resolve this difficulty,” added Ellen. A transparent timeline for the repair was not offered.
