5 Things You Can Do on a Chromebook Even When It’s Offline

Over the years, Chromebooks have been associated with online tasks and services. This is why many users believe that Chromebooks, while cost-effective, are largely useless offline. And even though ChromeOS relies on online services, Chromebooks, like other laptops, can be used offline for a number of different things, and it’s not that complicated either. Some offline work on Chromebooks, like checking and composing emails or using Google Drive, requires a bit of pre-configuration, while watching movies without an Internet connection is largely seamless. Just like any other device, you just need to download the content using an app with offline capabilities.

Over the past few years, more and more ChromeOS apps have supported offline features, expanding the device’s offline use case. Keep in mind that some Chromebook offline features aren’t inherently apparent and require a bit of effort. But it’s a unique setup. After that, things start working offline and will sync once your Chromebook is connected to the internet. So if you travel frequently or are just looking for ways to get the most out of your Chromebook, its offline use cases are worth considering.

One of the most convenient things you can do on Chromebooks without an Internet connection is check and compose emails, as long as you use Gmail as your email service. Using Gmail offline isn’t the same as when it’s online, and there are some limitations, but it’s still worth considering, especially if you just want to check your recent emails or write a non-urgent response. Remember that Gmail won’t send emails while you’re offline. Instead, emails will be stored in the “Outbox” folder and will be sent as soon as your Chromebook is connected to the Internet. All of this, however, requires a unique setup.

To set up Gmail for offline use on your Chromebook, open Google Chrome and go to Gmail. Click the gear icon near the top right corner and select “See all settings”. Here, navigate to the “Offline” tab, check the “Enable offline messaging” box, configure storage, sync, and privacy settings below it, and finally click “Save changes.”

Once done, Gmail will continue to sync your emails when your Chromebook is connected to the Internet, keeping your offline mailbox up to date. One of the benefits of using Gmail offline is that you can also download attachments from emails to your Chromebook. However, you cannot preview attachments without an Internet connection.

While you need an active, high-speed internet connection for many titles, not all games require it on a Chromebook or other laptop. There are many popular games that you can play offline. With modern Chromebooks supporting Android apps, you have two sources of games: Chrome Web Store and Google Play Store. However, since the former is largely reserved for extensions and themes, you’re better off using the Google Play Store if you’re looking for engaging games.

Open either one and look for games that work offline. The game description should indicate whether it supports offline play. On the Chrome Web Store, you’ll see the “Works Offline” list for apps that work without an Internet connection. Popular options for Chromebooks include Cut the Rope and Cute Slam. The Google Play Store offers even more games, expanding your available options. So if you like playing simpler titles, this is a smart offline use of your Chromebook. Keep in mind that you will need an internet connection to download games and complete initial setup, if applicable. Additionally, many multiplayer games require an active Internet connection and may not work without one.

Your Chromebook can also serve as a viable entertainment device, allowing you to watch your favorite shows and movies offline, even when you’re not connected to the Internet. As was the case previously, you also have several options here. The first is Google TV, formerly called Google Play Movies. It hosts a huge collection of shows and movies, and once downloaded, you can watch them offline without an internet connection. Open the Google TV app, search for your favorite show or movie, then click the “Download” button in the lower right corner.

Besides Google TV, you can also download content from streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu. The idea remains the same: download entire shows, individual episodes or movies. For an even better streaming experience, connect your Chromebook to a premium external monitor or smart TV and watch your favorite content on a bigger screen. Remember that downloaded content will take up space on your Chromebook’s storage drive. You will therefore need to plan your downloads accordingly, depending on the available storage space.

Offline use cases for your Chromebook aren’t limited to simple, everyday tasks. You can even edit photos and videos. Of course, you won’t be able to use editing tools over the Internet when your Chromebook is offline, but there are countless apps that don’t require an Internet connection. Just like any internet-based solution, they offer similar features and feature sets. Just like playing games, you can rely on the Google Play Store to download video and photo editing apps. Before downloading one, be sure to check the app’s description and verify that it works offline.

If you don’t want to download a third-party app, even ChromeOS’s built-in photo viewer – Gallery – offers a wide range of editing options, including AI capabilities, and most of these features work offline. Although you don’t need an internet connection to edit photos, you will need one to share photos or upload them to social media.

You can write documents, give presentations, create spreadsheets, and more while your Chromebook is offline. You don’t need an Internet connection since Google’s suite of productivity apps, including Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets, offer offline functionality. In offline mode, you can create new documents, worksheets and slides, and even edit previously created ones. Any changes you make will sync once your Chromebook is connected to the Internet. However, you must enable offline use.

To do this, open the Google Drive settings and in the “General” tab, check the box under “Offline”. If you’re prompted to install the Google Docs offline extension, confirm the change. If you are working with individual files, you can also right-click on one of them and select “Available Offline”. This will save the file locally.

Apart from this, you can read eBooks offline on your Chromebook. This is not limited to downloading PDFs. Even Kindle supports offline reading. You can download your favorite books to the Chromebook using the Kindle Android app and read them when the device is offline. It’s quick and easy, just like other offline uses for your Chromebook.