How To Change Background On Chromebook Laptop In 2 Clicks

If you would like to add a bit more personality to your Chromebook, changing the default wallpaper to a background that resembles you is a great place to start. I personally don’t mind the default backgrounds that Google ships with the Chrome OS. In this guide, we will look into how to change the background on Chromebook the way you want it.

You can use the wallpapers curate by Google, set one from your photos collection, or even download free backgrounds for Chromebook. There are different ways to change the wallpaper depending on what you prefer.

How To Change Background On Chromebook

First, let’s see how to choose a background from the collection of wallpapers that the Chromebook is shipped with by default.

Choosing Among Default Wallpapers

Right-click anywhere on the screen and click on “Set wallpaper”. If you are not familiar with using the touchpad or how to right click on your Chromebook, just tap on the touchpad using two fingers. That registers as right-click on Chromebook.

opening-wallpaper-settings-on-chromebook

On the left, you will find all the different sections and types of wallpapers all from Google. Choose a category that you would like to try out and it opens up all the images on the right-hand side.

The collection is not that huge but all the backgrounds available are good quality and well thought out.

different-wallpaper-categories

Some of the background sections have a “Daily Refresh” option. I found that on “Cityscapes”, “Landscaped”, “Togetherness” and “Solid colors”. Enabling this option will cycle through all the wallpapers every day.

daily-refresh-chromebook-wallpapers

You can just choose a random background by clicking on the “Refresh” button. To learn more about the image that is currently set as your Chromebook’s wallpaper, click on the “Explore” button.

refreshing-chromebook-wallpaper-daily

That takes you to the origin of the image or photo and where it was taken from.

If you look at the different categories of wallpapers, at the bottom you will find “My Images”.

This collection contains all the following images –

  • Pictures taken from your Chromebook
  • Screenshots on your Chromebook
  •  Any image you might have downloaded from the internet (If the download folder has not been changed)

After you’ve gotten into the “My Images” section, select any image that you would like to change your Chromebook’s background to.

READ: How To Split Screen On Chromebook For Multitasking

change-background-on-chromebook-to-personal-image

If you don’t like the look of the wallpaper, you can use the buttons on the top-right corner to adjust it a little. Not the best option when compared to other operating systems but hey, it’s something.

How To Change Wallpaper on Chromebook To Any Image

If you have an image file saved in a particular place and would like to use that as a background for your Chromebook, it’s definitely possible in Chromebook.

Open the files app and locate the image/photo and right click on that file > “Set as wallpaper”.

how-to-set-wallpaper-on-chromebook

If you don’t’ like how Chrome OS sets the image as your wallpaper, go back to the desktop > Right-Click > Set wallpaper and you can choose either “Center” or “Center Cropped”.

Download Chromebook Wallpapers From Unsplash

There are lots of places you can download free wallpapers for your Chromebook. My personal favorite is Unsplash.

One of the main reasons behind this is the majority of the images on Unsplash can be used commercially and the photos and videos are top-notch quality.

Go to Unsplash.com and type in a keyword on the search bar on the top.

Skip the stock images that appear on the top, they are not free.

Under “Results for [keyword]” you will find all the photos and images that match your search query.

You can further refine your search by utilizing the filters on the top-right section of the window.

Once you’ve found a wallpaper for your Chromebook, just hover over the image and click on the download button that appears once you hover over it.

download-chromebook-wallppaers-legally-free

After the download is completed, you can click on the “SHOW IN FOLDER” link on the notification that pops up. Alternatively, go to files > Downloads.

Right-click on the downloaded image and “Set as wallpaper” the same way we learned earlier.

Your Favourite Chromebook Backgrounds?

Do you use the default wallpapers from Google or have a go-to place to change the background on Chromebook? If you do, please let us know in the comments down below.

If we find other good websites to legally download free Chromebook wallpapers from, this article will be updated accordingly. For more Chromebook and windows tips and tricks please subscribe to our newsletter.

Prajwal is a senior editor @Windowslovers. A Tech enthusiast who loves to read and write articles that aid users in getting the most out of their gadgets and tech it easy.

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