If a student can't log in to their chromebook or can't access email, the best first remedy is called a device powerwash. To help keep students in class and expedite the addressing of these issues, we’ve outlined this procedure below, so teachers and staff who feel comfortable with it can potentially fix the problem on the spot. The procedure looks like more than it is, we promise, and typically takes no more than a few minutes per device.

If you don’t feel comfortable, please proceed to step 9 for instructions on whether to create a helpdesk ticket or whether to send the student or to the office to exchange their device.

• NOTE: A powerwash will wipe the device of all user settings and all user data. Any files that are not in Google Drive or otherwise stored online will be lost. This may include Minecraft worlds, which may constitute classwork in some cases. In such cases, students have usually been instructed by their teacher in the method to export and back up their world to Google Drive.

Procedure

• On the chromebook keyboard, press and hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R, and then release all keys.
  
  

• One of two prompts will appear: to initiate the powerwash or to restart the device. In either case, click Powerwash or Restart. If the device has to restart before powerwashing, then after it restarts the Powerwash option will appear automatically. Click it to initiate. Click Continue to confirm.
  
  Contingency: If the powerwash/restart prompt does not appear after using Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R, please check the chromebook's keyboard input method setting (refer to: Chromebooks - Changing Keyboard Input). If the keyboard is set to "English (US)" and the powerwash keystroke still fails to initiate powerwash, there may be a problem with the keyboard hardware, in which case the student will need a replacement chromebook.
  
  

• When powerwash initiates, the screen will go dark and then return with a message that the powerwash is in progress. On the next screen, at the earliest possible moment, place the mouse cursor near the bottom-left corner of the round-cornered window that appears.
  
  

• Click on the Get Started button as soon as it appears. This will bypass the opt-in prompt for the Chromevox screen reader. Chromevox can be activated from the settings menu later, if necessary.
  
  

• The next screen will show a list of available networks. The one we need at the moment is not listed. Click on "Add to other Wi-Fi network", usually at the bottom of the list.
  
  

• In the Join Wi-Fi network window, in the SSID field, enter "Chrome" with a capital C and no quotation marks. Then, click Connect.
  
  

• Chrome should now appear in the list of networks and connect on its own. When the word "Connected" appears beneath Chrome, click the Next button to advance. You may have to click on Chrome in the list to prompt it to connect, which should then proceed to the next screen directly.
  
  

• The Enterprise Enrollment procedure should happen entirely on its own and then resolve to a screen indicating that it is complete. Click Done to advance to the login prompt of this powerwashed chromebook. If enrollment did not complete, see note below.
  
  NOTE: If Enterprise Enrollment does not complete on its own, please immediately send the student to the office to exchange their device. Please do not let a non-enrolled chromebook leave your classroom unless the student is exchanging it in the office and can present an enrolled replacement device afterward.

• The student should now be able to log in to the device and to access email again. If this is not the case:
  
  
  • For Network connection issue:
    If few or no other students are having a network connection issue, please send the student to the office to exchange their device.
    
    If multiple students are having connection issues, please create a helpdesk ticket with your district email address as the contact and "Networking" as the issue type. The problem may be with the network hardware in the area, rather than a student's device.
  • For student account login, in absence of a network connection issue:
    Please create a helpdesk ticket with "Accounts" as the issue type and include the student's name and/or ID number.
    
    
  • For student email access:
    Please create a helpdesk ticket with "Building/Classroom/Office Technology issues" as the issue type. Please include the D87 barcode for the affected student's chromebook. Feel free to include multiple students' chromebooks on one ticket, but please do not add more entries to an existing ticket.