Efficiently Modify Your Chromebook’s Serial Number Without Activating Developer Mode

How to Change Serial Number on Chromebook Without Developer Mode

Changing the serial number on a Chromebook can be a useful trick for various reasons, such as privacy concerns or when you need to register a device under a different name. However, it’s important to note that this process requires a bit of technical know-how and should be approached with caution. In this article, we will guide you through the steps to change the serial number on your Chromebook without enabling Developer Mode.

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following prerequisites:

• A Chromebook with a Chrome OS version that supports the serial number change process.
• A USB drive with at least 8GB of space to create a bootable drive.
• The Chrome OS image file for your Chromebook’s specific model.

Now, let’s dive into the steps to change the serial number on your Chromebook without Developer Mode:

1. Download the Chrome OS image file for your Chromebook model from the official website or a trusted source.
2. Connect your USB drive to your computer and format it as an MBR (Master Boot Record) with a FAT32 file system.
3. Extract the Chrome OS image file to the USB drive. You can use tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR to extract the file.
4. Boot your Chromebook into Recovery Mode. To do this, hold down the Escape and Refresh keys while the device is booting up. When the screen turns black, release the keys and press Ctrl+D to continue to Developer Mode.
5. Wait for the device to boot into Recovery Mode. Once the Recovery screen appears, press Ctrl+L to access the Command Line.
6. In the Command Line, enter the following command to navigate to the Chrome OS image file:

cd /path/to/chromeos-image

7. Next, enter the following command to change the serial number. Replace “NEW_SERIAL_NUMBER” with the desired serial number:

sudo cp /path/to/chromeos-image/manifest.json /path/to/chromeos-image/manifest.json.bak
sudo sed -i 's/serial_number = ./serial_number = "NEW_SERIAL_NUMBER"/g' /path/to/chromeos-image/manifest.json

8. After changing the serial number, you need to create a new signed manifest file. Enter the following command:

sudo ./create_image.sh -o /path/to/output-image.img -n /path/to/chromeos-image/manifest.json

9. Now, you need to flash the new image to your Chromebook. Enter the following command:

sudo ./flash.sh /path/to/output-image.img

10. Wait for the flashing process to complete. Once done, your Chromebook will reboot with the new serial number.

That’s it! You have successfully changed the serial number on your Chromebook without enabling Developer Mode. Remember to back up any important data before proceeding with this process, as it may result in data loss if something goes wrong.