1 page.title=Loading Apps on Chromebooks 2 @jd:body 3 4 <div id="qv-wrapper"> 5 <div id="qv"> 6 <h2>On this page</h2> 7 8 <ol> 9 <li><a href="#enter-dev">Enter Developer Mode</a></li> 10 <li><a href="#enable-unknown">Enable Unknown Sources</a></li> 11 <li><a href="#load-app">Load Your App</a></li> 12 </ol> 13 </div> 14 </div> 15 16 <p> 17 This document describes how to enter <em>Developer</em> mode and enable 18 <em>unknown resources</em> so that you can load Android apps on your Google 19 Chromebook. 20 </p> 21 22 <h2 id="enter-dev">Enter Developer Mode</h2> 23 24 <p> 25 To load Android apps, you must enable unknown sources. Enabling unknown sources 26 is available only when your device is in Developer mode. 27 </p> 28 29 <p class="caution"><strong>Caution: </strong>Modifications that you make to the 30 system are not supported by Google and may void your warranty. Additionally, 31 modifications may cause hardware, software, or security issues. 32 </p> 33 34 <p class="note"><strong>Note: </strong>On most devices, both the 35 <em>recovery</em> button and the <em>dev-switch</em> button are virtualized. If 36 these instructions don't work for you, see the <a class="external-link" 37 href="https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices"> 38 specific instructions for your device</a>. 39 </p> 40 41 <p> 42 To enter Developer mode, complete these steps: 43 </p> 44 45 <ol> 46 <li> 47 Invoke <em>Recovery</em> mode by pressing and holding the 48 <strong>Esc</strong> and <strong>Refresh (F3)</strong> keys, then pressing 49 the <strong>Power</strong> button. 50 </li> 51 <li> 52 When the <em>Recovery</em> screen appears, press <strong>Ctrl+D</strong>. 53 There's no prompt for this action, so you must simply complete it. 54 Afterwards, you are prompted to confirm and reboot into Developer mode. 55 </li> 56 </ol> 57 58 <p> 59 If you see one of the following screens when you turn on your device, you've 60 successfully entered Developer mode: 61 </p> 62 63 <img src="{@docRoot}images/topic/arc/sideload_figure_1.jpg" /> 64 65 <p class="img-caption"><strong>Figure 1. </strong>Developer mode confirmation 66 screens.</p> 67 68 <p class="note"><strong>Note</strong>: To skip the OS loading screen, either 69 wait 30 seconds or press <strong>Ctrl+D</strong>, and your Chromebook continues 70 starting. 71 </p> 72 73 <h2 id="enable-unknown">Enable Unknown Sources</h2> 74 75 <p> 76 To enable unknown sources, navigate to <strong>Chrome Settings > App Settings > 77 Security</strong>, then enable <strong>Unknown sources</strong> by moving the 78 slider to the right. 79 </p> 80 81 <p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong>You can enable unknown sources only when 82 your device is in <a 83 href="{@docRoot}topic/arc/sideload.html#enter-dev">Developer mode</a>. 84 </p> 85 86 <h2 id="load-app">Load Your App</h2> 87 88 <p> 89 After enabling unknown sources, you can load apps by copying an app's APK file 90 to the <em>Downloads</em> folder and opening it with Android's File Manager app. 91 92 </p> 93 94 <p> 95 You can copy the APK file to your Chromebook using one of the following methods: 96 </p> 97 98 <ul> 99 <li> 100 <strong>Using a cloud app</strong> – Upload your APK file to Google 101 Drive or send it to yourself via email. Open it with the Android app 102 equivalent (Drive and Gmail, respectively). 103 </li> 104 <li> 105 <strong>Using an external storage device</strong> – Transfer the APK 106 file to the Downloads folder of your Chromebook using a thumb drive, SD 107 card, or an external hard drive. Afterwards, open the Android File Manager 108 app by navigating to <strong>Chrome Settings > App Settings > Device & 109 USB > Explore</strong>. 110 </li> 111 <li> 112 <strong>Using ADB</strong> – After <a 113 href="{@docRoot}topic/arc/index.html#setup"> setting up ADB</a> on your 114 Chromebook, enter the following command into a terminal window on your 115 development workstation: 116 <pre class="no-pretty-print"> 117 adb install <var>app-name</var>.apk 118 </pre> 119 <p>This command pushes the app to your connected Chromebook and installs the 120 app. For more information about copying and installing apps from a 121 development computer, see <a 122 href="{@docRoot}studio/command-line/adb.html#move">Installing an 123 Application</a>.</p> 124 </li> 125 </ul> 126