Google is always sneaking new features into Chrome OS, and with the release of Chrome OS v54, the company has brought PIN unlocking to the stable channel.
We reported on PIN unlock for Chrome OS about three months ago when it debuted in the dev channel of Chrome OS. Now it’s debuted on the stable channel (via ChromeUnboxed) where everyone can use it. However, Google still has it buried in the settings, presumably because Google might not be completely done with the feature just yet.
First off, how does PIN unlock work? It’s pretty simple, once you’ve unlocked your Chromebook with your standard password, PIN unlock will take over until the next time the machine shuts down completely. This feature isn’t meant to be used as the primary logon method, just a quicker method if your device goes into sleep mode.
To access the feature, you’ll need to dig into Chrome OS flags and perform the following steps. Chrome flags do, of course, present a minor risk if you mess with the wrong ones, but as long as you’re careful you should be fine.
- Enable the Quick Unlock flag at chrome://flags/#quick-unlock-pin
- Reboot
- Next head into the new Material Design settings menu at chrome://md-settings/
- From here select the option to Configure Quick Unlock
- Select the Quick Unlock setting you’d like to use, configure your PIN, and reboot
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments