If you own a Chromebook, you likely don’t need to be told just how awesome these devices can be. Many people are quick to discount these devices because they’re often presented as budget hardware. However, the fact that they feature just lightweight software alone guarantees that they’ll last far longer than many of their more expensive counterparts. Sadly, for all the awesomeness of these devices, you are bound to encounter a problem or two after a while of using them. This is one reason that a common question among dedicated users of this device is, why is my Chromebook so slow?
The truth is, for all the sophisticated design and layout of Chromebooks, you’ll inevitably witness a lag in functionality if you constantly and consistently use the device for demanding exercises.
However, just because your precious Chromebook is starting to lag doesn’t mean it’s time to trade it for a newer model. On the contrary, there’s a pretty decent chance that your device still has plenty of kick in it. All you just need to do is identify the possible causes for the drop in performance and fix them!
Without further ado, let’s get started on that!
Why is my Chromebook so Slow – Problems and Solutions
When it comes to answering the question, why is my Chromebook so slow, the truth is that there are any number of culprits that you can trace this problem to.
However, here, we’ll be addressing the most common factors that are likely to hamper the smooth operation of your device as well as the best solutions you can use to tackle them.
Here we go!
Problem One – Your Chromebook is Due for a System Update
When the performance of your Chromebook drops below par, it can be a sure sign that you’re missing an all-important update. So, one of the first things we recommend that you do is check to see if there’s a software update out that you haven’t installed.
Now, you might be wondering why something so seemingly small can trigger such a major problem.
Well, you should know that Google releases updates for Chromebooks as often as twice monthly. This is done in an attempt to smooth both minor and major bugs as they are discovered. Now, if your device has missed a couple of these updates, there’s usually a good chance that it’s just struggling with a bug that’s long since been fixed.
The Solution – Update the Software of Your Device
Should you check and discover that there’s an update out that you don’t have, we recommend that you download it and install it as quickly as possible. There’s a very good chance that this is all you need to take care of your device’s performance issues.
Problem Two – Your Chromebook Has a Full/Almost Full Storage Space
Yup.
Even things like your photos, assignments, presentations, and files can work against your Chromebook here. What’s more, you may be surprised at how quickly it can be to fill the storage capacity of your device!
The importance of having ample free storage space on your device cannot be overstated. This fact remains immutable whether you’re talking about the Read Only Memory (ROM) or Random Access Memory (RAM) of your Chromebook.
Should either or both of these storage spaces be bogged down with too much data, you’re guaranteed to feel the effects of that on the performance of your Chromebook.
The Solution – Use Cloud Storage and Always Clear Your RAM
One of the best things you can do to solve the ROM storage space issue is to simply just back up your files to the cloud. The benefit of this is that you’ll be able to free space on your local storage and still access your important files anywhere.
In addition to this, you should also ensure that you clean your RAM as well as avoid practices that eat into RAM space.
Problem Three – Your Chromebook Has Too Many Unneeded Apps and Extensions
We all do it; gather extensions and apps that we won’t use more than once or twice, use them, and then completely forget (or overlook) deleting them afterward. In small numbers, this mightn’t necessarily affect your device. However, depending on just how many of these software you have on your Chromebook, they could be why your device is so incredibly slow at the moment.
If you’re wondering how this could be, remember that, sometimes, applications will run processes in the background, even when you didn’t activate them.
Classic examples of apps like this are Snapchat and WhatsApp which give you constant notifications, even when you have them actively closed. Should you have too many of these types of applications on your Chromebook, it’s certain to drag down the device’s operations after a while.
The Solution – Don’t Keep Unneeded Apps and Extensions
This can be time-consuming, especially if you have a lot of such software installed on your device. However, you still need to make sure that you go over the apps and extensions on your device with a fine-toothed comb and delete anything and everything that isn’t of use to you.
Problem Four – You Have a Large Number of Tabs Open on Your Chromebook
Thanks to the constant upgrades that have been made to the Chrome browser over the years, users can now do more amazing things with the app. One such thing is leaving up to 20+ tabs open in a single go.
While this can go a long way in making life easy for you, don’t forget that keeping so many tabs open at once puts a considerable amount of strain on your device. The result of which is that it might start to run slower than it normally would.
The Solution – Use Tools Like OneTab
The best bet in situations like this is to simply use tabs and close them once you’re done. However, for several reasons, this approach mightn’t work for everyone. So, you could consider getting tools like OneTab that help you merge multiple tabs that you open into one single tab. The result of this is that there will be considerably less demand for memory that way.
Bottom Line
So, why is my Chromebook so slow?
It could be because you’re missing an important update, you have too many apps and extensions on your device, you don’t have enough storage space to work with or you currently have too many tabs open on your device.
No matter what the case may be, we’ve highlighted the best and most efficient fixes you can adopt to address these problems and get your device running smoothly again.
For more help getting your Chromebook to work perfectly, see this.