How to check the Android version on your Chromebook

It’s been a little while since the last time anyone cared that much about the specific version of Android on their Chromebook. Back in mid-2021, Android 11 and the new ARCVM container began rolling out to most Chromebooks and things have generally stayed put on that front since then.

But recently, we’ve finally begun the transition to Android 13 for some Chromebooks (and hopefully the majority of them over the coming weeks), and as the benefits of this transition become clearer, we know many of you will want to know if your device is on Android 13 yet or not.

The good news is, you can find your Android version very quickly as long as you know where to look. So very briefly today, we’re going to walk you through the process of figuring out what version of Android is currently up and running on your Chromebook.

1. Open your settings

First, you’ll need to get to your settings. Simply click on the clock on the shelf at the bottom of your screen and select the small gear icon at the bottom.

2. Go to the apps section and select ‘Google Play Store’

In the left sidebar of the Settings app, click on Apps to get to that section of your Settings. Next you’ll need to click on the option that says ‘Google Play Store’ to get to the Android portion of your Apps menu.

3. Select ‘Manage Android Preferences’

Next up, choose ‘Manage Android preferences’ to open up an actual Android window that will look a lot like the settings area of most Android phones. It will open in a phone-sized window by default.

4. Navigate to ‘About Device’

Now, scroll down to the bottom of that new window until you see ‘About device’ at the bottom. Click on that and you’ll get the basic Android details for your Chromebook, including the Android version number.

That’s it! For the coming weeks as Android 13 begins to arrive on more devices, keep this page handy so you’ll remember where you need to go in order to see if your device has been updated or not. Time will hopefully reveal the actual benefits of the newer Android 13 container for Chromebook users (beyond Material You’s color matching tricks), so we’re excited to see how this unfolds for sure.