How to Install Third-Party Browsers On Chromebook.
While there is no easy way to replace the Chrome browser with a Chromebook, after all, it is a “Chromebook,†but you can install third-party web browsers from the Play Store. But they have their own set of problems, for example, most Android browsers cannot use the Chromebook desktop layout. Likewise, most Linux apps are not optimized for Chromebooks as they run in a Sandbox environment.
Fortunately, there are a few other browsers like Firefox, Brave, and Samsung Internet that are not only optimized for the desktop, but surprisingly work pretty well on Chromebooks. So, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with that.
Also Read: The 18 Best PWA Apps to Install on Chromebooks.
Install third-party browsers on your Chromebook
1. Mozilla Firefox
While Firefox has several versions on Android, sadly none of them take advantage of the Chromebook’s desktop layout. Fortunately, the Linux version works as you think. One caveat: Linux on Chrome OS has its own storage space, so you cannot save files directly to local files, nor can you access any local files. For example, if you download a document from the Internet using the Firefox browser, the file will not be available in the Downloads folder. Instead, your files will be stored in the Linux folder.
To install Firefox on a Chromebook, you need to first enable Linux on your Chromebook. To do this, open the Chrome OS settings, click Linux (beta) in the sidebar, and click the Enable button next to the Linux option. Now click the “Install” button on the pop-up window. After installing Linux, you can see the terminal in the application bar under the Linux folder.
Firefox ESR is already available in the Chromebook repository. In terminal, just type the following text and press Enter to install Firefox sudo apt install firefox-esr
Firefox ESR stands for Firefox Extended Support, which is the enterprise version of Firefox. Instead of releasing constant updates, Firefox ESR receives updates at the end of the update cycle. If you want to switch to the standard version of Firefox.
Install ESR version to install dependencies using this command. sudo apt install firefox-esr
Now uninstall the ESR version so you can install standard Firefox. sudo apt remove firefox-esr
Now all you have to do is run this command to install Firefox as standard. sudo apt install iceweasel
2. Brave Browser
If you’re looking for a browser that supports Chrome extensions and also has better privacy options than Chrome, then Brave is for you.
First, make sure Linux is enabled on your Chromebook. To do this, open the Chrome OS settings, click Linux (beta) in the sidebar, and click the Enable button next to the Linux option. Now click the “Install” button on the pop-up window. After installing Linux, you can see the terminal in the application bar under the Linux folder.
To install Brave, first run this command to update all dependencies sudo apt upgrade
If you are prompted to update anything, just Y and press Enter to update. Now type the whole command into the terminal in one go and hit Enter.
Pro tip: – To paste into terminal, you can use the keyboard shortcut: – Crtl + Shift + V
(Ctrl + V, doesn’t work in terminal) sudo apt install apt-transport- https curl curl - s https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/brave-core.asc | sudo apt-key --keyring /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/brave-browser-release.gpg add - echo "deb [arch = amd64] https: //brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave .com / stable mainstream "| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list sudo apt update sudo apt install brave-browser
Once the process is complete, it should end with the Sudo apt install brave-browser command. Just press Enter to install the Brave browser and press Y to continue.
The above process should install Brave Browser, but if you also get the error: Invalid Key. Then run these commands one by one. sudo apt-key del C2D4E821 sudo apt remove brave-keyring sudo apt clean
And then run this command again to install Brave. curl -s https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/brave-core.asc | sudo apt-key --keyring /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/brave-browser-release.gpg add - echo "deb [arch = amd64] https: //brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave .com / stable mainstream "| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list sudo apt update sudo apt install brave-browser
It should end with the Sudo apt install brave-browser command. Just press Enter to install the Brave browser and press Y to continue. A bold browser must be installed on your Chromebook
3. Samsung Internet
Among all Android browsers, including Chrome, Samsung Internet is the only browser that even works well in the desktop environment thanks to dex. Thus, installing Samsung Internet is as easy as downloading it from the Play Store. Just open this link to open Samsung Internet in the Play Store and click Install.
Once you enter the Samsung internet browser, simply click on the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select the Desktop Version option to enable the desktop layout in the browser. This setting will be saved on this device and you do not need to manually configure it.
But the only caveat is right clicking on the trackpad works, but you can’t sometimes select options internally with the trackpad, then you have to either use the arrow keys and press Enter, or you can use the touchscreen to select the option that makes it kind of inconsistent.
These are the browsers I’ve tried and worked fine on Chromebooks. Do you use others? Let me know in the comments below.
Also Checkout, other Linux apps that need to be installed on the Chromebook.