Regretting My $30 Flea Market Chromebook Purchase

[@C.Jo_Creative]

I had a very similar ACER chromebook also school enrollment,... After 6-7 months of being drained of all power. I tried out the chromebook and it was back to retail factory boot up?... Before even putting the device on WI-FI,... ( I'd guess you could just try removing the battery again, and leave it alone for about 1-3 months. ) My point being eventually without power for an extended period... The enrollment is lost, and it boots to an original factory state. SO given the shape it's in,... $30 USD and 30-90 days without any power is STILL a great deal in my book. I got a LOT of 5 of these online for $60 ($75.xx after shipping) and was able to resell each for $35-$40 each ... BONUS google extended the UPDATE support for these 2019 models too! ( EOL is now June 2029! ) - GOOD LUCK!

[@ConstantinTech]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and insights! That’s a really interesting approach. I hadn’t thought about leaving the device drained for an extended period. I might give that a try and see if it resets. I appreciate the tips, and I’ll definitely update if I manage to unlock it. Thanks again for the encouragement and advice!

[@JerickWallace]

if the enterprise didnt disable dev mode you can go to dev mode by pressing the power refresh and esc keys at the same time then when the recovery screen comes up ctrl +d should enable dev mode from there you can install linux on it

[@ConstantinTech]

Unfortunately, enabling Developer Mode won’t work if the enterprise lock is still active, as it blocks the ability to enter Dev Mode. This Chromebook is likely tied to a management system, so it requires more advanced steps to bypass those restrictions

[@JerickWallace]

@@ConstantinTech yeah i know i work for a place i manage enterprise chromebooks its a setting in google admin. where i work for example we don't block dev mode so our devices despite being enterprise enrolled can still be put into dev mode. if you already tried it and it didnt work yeah they have the setting that disables dev mode on but figured it was worth a shot

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for the info! It seems like in my case, Dev Mode is fully locked down by the admin settings. I appreciate the suggestion, though .. it was definitely worth a try. If I figure out a solution, I’ll share it!

[@BuffBun]

Buddy you dont gotta bypass it all you gotta do is reinstall the OS fresh, there shouldnt be anything on that laptop worth saving so all you gotta do to make it a working computer again is flash linux or another chrome OS to it fresh and boom laptop is now usable

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, the developer mode is locked on this Chromebook, so I can’t install another OS or even a fresh Chrome OS without bypassing it, which has been tricky.

[@lmvlite5244]

@@ConstantinTech there's a way by flashing a bios directly into the bios chip, but it need a speical tool

[@heyitsbobofficial]

I think to act like it’s a brand new fresh Chromebook is by just replacing everything with new stuff to see if it resets don’t get a used cause it may be the same

[@abo3abid1]

Isn't there a connection intentionality disconnected from the factory, that you need to reconnect to enter a mode that you can install linux through? The toshiba model did, and i expect it to be standard across x86 models.

[@ConstantinTech]

That’s an interesting point! I’ll have to check if this model has a hardware write-protect screw or a disconnected jumper like the Toshiba ones. If it does, reconnecting it could unlock the ability to install Linux or another OS. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@MsiComputah]

I really hope you find a way to fix it, because despire it having a trash cpu, its still avery cool travel laptop that holds a charge and has usb C support

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for the encouragement! I agree, despite the CPU being weak, it’s still a great travel laptop with solid features like USB-C support and decent battery life. I’ll keep trying to fix it, and hopefully, I can unlock its potential. Stay tuned for updates!

[@lloydc5736]

Did you try re-setting the BIOS, chrome-books do have one, as you don't mention it!, don't own a chrome -book but have worked on a few, that allowed me to access the bios in start-up.

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for the suggestion! I haven’t tried resetting the BIOS yet, as I’m not exactly sure how to do it on this Chromebook. Could you share some steps or details on how to access and reset the BIOS? I’d really appreciate the help!

[@Rayn-femboy]

esc+ f2 + power and then ctl+d

[@ConstantinTech]

Still not working..

[@DHaitiCleaven1]

If you have a follow up story I want to know.

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for your interest! If I make any upgrades or major changes, I’ll definitely share a follow-up video to show how it turns out.

[@TechByGage]

You can also install windows/linux onto it

[@ConstantinTech]

After I find a way to remove that enterprise enrollment, I will definitely want to try installing Linux

[@woah_1234]

Try and search for an enrollment chip, if you find one, let me know, i won’t take too much time to reply back

[@onix2832]

doesn't work like that

[@woah_1234]

@@onix2832 There is one in the bottom of the device i’m pretty sure? If i’m wrong, plz tell me what i’m doing wrong, i wanna learn from my mistakes

[@ConstantinTech]

Actually, it’s a bit more complicated than just finding an enrollment chip. The management settings are usually embedded in the firmware rather than being a physical chip that can be removed or modified.

[@lloydc5736]

I posted a link to a website that would have given you in much better detail than I could ever give, but now it's not shown did you get it?, as it is now gone, or is listing link to other websites not allowed in comments on KZbin?

[@TheseGamerBros]

I got this chromebook but a little diffrent, it could barely run any games, and it would crash every 10 minutes, it couldnt even handle typing club

[@ConstantinTech]

Yeah, these Chromebooks struggle with anything resource-heavy. They’re definitely not built for gaming, but it’s wild that even Typing Club was too much!

[@ahmedtheone1]

the laptop is still absolutely usable and dw there is nothing to regret and also one thing, this laptop or " Chromebook" as they call it is more usable with linux even if the experience is not gonna be the best because of the storage and ram and cpu it self but still linux can save it you just need to do a bit more researches

[@ConstantinTech]

Thanks for the encouragement! You’re right, Linux might be a great way to make this Chromebook more functional despite its limitations. Have you had any experience installing Linux on Chromebooks? Any tips would be super helpful!

[@ahmedtheone1]

​@@ConstantinTech actually never did before, and maybe in the future, because YK Chromebooks are really small in size and really fun to mess around with, besides the fact that they are cheap, so I may buy one in the near future, and why not share the experience!

[@leontechtalks]

dude thats my fucking school chromebook it sucks

[@ConstantinTech]

Looks like these school Chromebooks have left a lasting impression.. definitely not in a good way. They really didn’t age well!

[@msh3sh3X]

see just take off battery from chromebook and plug charger and boot up without battery and see if its gone why battery cuz google put write protection if u do this u'ill can install any os when done u can put battery back😄 how do i know i had one good luck

[@ConstantinTech]

Thank you for the suggestion! I actually tried that method, but unfortunately, it didn’t work. This Chromebook is a more modern model and uses volatile memory, so it retains information even after the battery is removed. I appreciate the effort, though!

[@msh3sh3X]

@@ConstantinTech u can go install custom bios like mrchromebox that how i manage install another os on it + its great for new video

[@GetWiththeProgramGaming]

If the chromebooks rma shim has been leaked you could install linux on it 😁

[@ConstantinTech]

That’s an interesting suggestion! Do you know where I could find more information about the RMA shim or how to check if it’s applicable for my model?

[@iJohanYT]

That's a Dutch name and the language is set to dutch 😂 So it comes from the Netherlands

[@ConstantinTech]

Good catch! That explains the Dutch name and language settings. Looks like this Chromebook has traveled quite a bit before landing at the flea market!

[@iJohanYT]

@ConstantinTech The laptop is enrolled in a primary school environment located in Heemskerk near Amsterdam. So it was probably used by a child 🤣

[@ConstantinTech]

Ah, that explains the strict management settings! A primary school near Amsterdam? Makes sense now.. This Chromebook was probably battling math quizzes and finger paint before ending up at the flea market.

[@iJohanYT]

@@ConstantinTech I subscribed to your channel keep up the good content!

[@ConstantinTech]

Thank you! I appreciate!

[@iSamYTBackup]

0:59 shit, it's got a better cpu than my laptop, i have a celeron n2840, hp 250 g3 laptop, it's windows and it sucks.

[@ConstantinTech]

I feel you, those older Celerons can be rough. Sometimes even a budget Chromebook feels like a step up, especially when Windows struggles to keep up on low-end hardware.

[@fufuyaya990]

I hope you could convert it to window!!!

[@ConstantinTech]

I’m thinking about it! Installing Windows could be fun, but it might take some extra tinkering to make it work smoothly on this hardware.

[@GatoCoder]

​​@@ConstantinTech Windows isn't really feasible on a system like this. I recommend Linux Mint.

[@underthedoggy]

can i have this?

[@ConstantinTech]

Haha, I think this Chromebook has already found its forever home… at least for now!

[@MichaelSaamone]

Zoren

[@AdrianJarvis-zk7ld]

probably why you shouldn't buy stolen goods.

[@ConstantinTech]

You can’t really know upfront if something is stolen. There’s also the possibility that the company owning these devices replaced their fleet of laptops and discarded or sold them. Things like this do happen, especially at auctions or flea markets.

[@AdrianJarvis-zk7ld]

In a market. $30. locked with enterprise password... it's stolen goods. You're just kidding yourself that it isn't.

[@ConstantinTech]

You raise a valid concern, but not everything sold at a flea market is stolen. Many companies discard devices when upgrading their equipment, and these often find their way into secondary markets. Without definitive proof, it’s hard to determine the origin of an item like this. I’d encourage you to visit a flea market yourself sometime to see what it’s all about. You’d be surprised at the variety of items people sell, many of which come from legitimate sources. Wishing you all the best, take care!

[@AdrianJarvis-zk7ld]

@@ConstantinTech sure. hahahaha. get a grip.

[@ConstantinTech]

Adrian, I understand your skepticism, but without clear evidence, we can’t label all items sold at flea markets as stolen. Many companies recycle or sell their old equipment through legitimate channels. Regarding Chromebooks, when a device is reported stolen and disabled by the administrator, it displays a message indicating it’s been disabled and should be returned.  I respect your opinion and believe in open dialogue. If you have additional evidence, I’m open to discussing it. Wishing you all the best.

[@MeawMeawNationAi]

Hi man, I have a method, u have discord?

[@ConstantinTech]

Hi there! I’d love to hear your method. Unfortunately, I don’t use Discord, but feel free to share your idea here or in a private message on instagram if that works for you!

[@MeawMeawNationAi]

@@ConstantinTech I sent a private message on insta

[@MeawMeawNationAi]

@@ConstantinTech I sent a message request

[@Sinpractica]

Hiii, if you know how to bypass this I am very interested. I have 4 dell 5400 Chromebook's with enterprise enrollment and I do not know what to do with them