For administrators who manage ChromeOS devices for a business or school.
If you have ChromeOS devices that are no longer being used in your organization, you should deprovision them so that you’re no longer managing them. Deprovisioning the device removes all policies that were on the device as well as device-level printers and the ability to use the device as a kiosk.
If a user loses their device or it’s stolen, you should disable it so that no one else can use it.
When to deprovision a device
- You have devices with forced re-enrollment that you no longer want to manage.
- You need to upgrade or replace a device with a newer model.
- You’re reselling or donating a device or permanently removing it from your organization.
- You have a defective device that you’re returning or getting repaired.
Note: A device that hasn’t been deprovisioned can't be fully tested and repaired.
For same-model replacements, upgrades associated with a deprovisioned standalone device can be used to enroll other standalone devices that comply with the Chrome Service License Agreement. ChromeOS devices bundled with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade have an integrated perpetual upgrade that cannot be transferred to another device.
Note: If you deprovision the only bundled device in your organization and have no other upgrades, such as Chrome Enterprise Upgrade or Chrome Education Upgrade, your configured settings and managed devices are removed from the system after 90 days.
Deprovision or re-enroll a device
Deprovision a device
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
-
From the Admin console Home page, go to Menu
Devices
Chrome
- At the top, use the filter to select the current status of the device that you want to deprovision. For details, see Device status view in Admin console.
- (Optional) To apply the setting to a department or team, at the side, select an organizational unit. Show me how
- Check the box next to the device that you want to deprovision.
Note: If you’re deprovisioning multiple devices for different reasons, deprovision them in groups, depending on the reason. - At the top, click Deprovision selected devices
.
- Specify whether devices automatically factory reset. Choose an option:
- Yes, factory reset to remove all data including user profiles, device policies, and enrollment data.
- No, keep existing data and user profiles.
- Check the box to confirm that you understand the actions to re-enroll a device.
- Select your deprovisioning reason. See the table below for guidelines.
Note: If there are only annual upgrades on the account, or if all devices selected are ChromeOS devices with bundled upgrades, you do not have to select any deprovisioning reason. - Click Deprovision.
Note: Deprovisioned devices remain in their organizational unit, even though you no longer manage them.
| Scenario | Deprovision reason to select |
|---|---|
| You're reselling, donating, or permanently removing the device from use. | Retiring from fleet |
| You're upgrading or replacing your device with a newer model of the same device. | Different model replacement |
| You have a return materials authorization (RMA), and the replacement device is the same model as your original (defective) device. | Same model replacement |
| You're replacing a malfunctioning device that's under warranty with a new device from the same manufacturer (for example, special case RMA). | Same model replacement |
| You're replacing ChromeOS Flex devices with Chromebooks within 1 year. | ChromeOS Flex upgrade transfer |
Re-enroll a device
If you get back a repaired device or accidentally deprovision one, you can re-enroll it for another user that’s eligible. Make sure you have an available upgrade for the user before you re-enroll the device.
- If you didn’t factory reset the device during deprovisioning, wipe it. See Wipe a Chromebook.
- Manually enroll the device. See Enroll ChromeOS devices.
When to disable a device
Disable a device if it's lost or stolen. Disabled devices remain enrolled in your organization, and will continue to use a Chrome upgrade.
Important: Devices in your organization might not be successfully disabled unless forced re-enrollment is turned on.
Disable or re-enable a device
Disable a device
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
-
From the Admin console Home page, go to Menu
- At the top, use the filter to select the current status of the device that you want to disable. See Device status view in Admin console for details.
- (Optional) To apply the setting to a department or team, at the side, select an organizational unit. Show me how
- Check the box next to the device that you want to disable.
- At the top, click Disable selected devices
.
- Choose an option:
- Disable with lock screen to block any use of the device until it's enabled again—Users can’t sign in or use devices until you re-enable them in the Admin console.
- Disable with factory reset to block any use of the device and remove all data including user profiles, device policies, and enrollment data—With forced re-enrollment turned on, users can’t sign in or use devices until you re-enable them in the Admin console. If forced re-enrollment is turned off, users can use devices without re-enrolling them into your account.
- Click Disable.
.Note: We recommend that you display a message that includes a return address and contact phone number. For details about how to add a message, read Disabled device return instructions.
Re-enable a device
If you accidentally disable a device or find a lost device, you can re-enable it. Make sure that you have an available upgrade before you re-enable the device
-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
-
From the Admin console Home page, go to Menu
- At the top, use the filter to list disabled devices. See Device status view in Admin console for details.
- (Optional) To apply the setting to a department or team, at the side, select an organizational unit. Show me how
- Check the box next to the device that you want to re-enable.
- At the top, click Re-enable selected devices
.
- Click Enable to confirm.
.Device status view in Admin console
| Status | Devices have been | Direct actions you can take from status view |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioned | Successfully enrolled | Deprovision or disable. (Detailed steps above) |
| Pre-provisioned | Prepared for zero-touch enrollment once devices connect to a network | Delete or disable (Detailed steps above) |
| Deprovisioned | Deprovisioned | No direct action. See steps above to wipe and re-enroll. |
| Disabled | Disabled | Re-enable or deprovision. (Detailed steps above) |
| Suspended | Successfully enrolled, but subscription has expired | Deprovision. |
| All | Successfully enrolled, deprovisioned, or disabled | No direct action. |
Note: When deprovisioning or disabling a device, you will need to connect the device to the internet to apply the changes. This step is necessary to allow the ChromeOS device to communicate its status to the server.