If you know how to change your Chromebook’s wallpaper and themes, you can customize the desktop and Google Chrome. You can even choose one of your images for the Chromebook background.

Chromebook Themes and Wallpapers

Chromebooks are lightweight laptops made primarily for productivity applications and browsing the web. In addition to several pre-installed wallpapers, the Chrome Web Store has tons of free themes that alter the appearance of the Google browser. While many models are available, the Chrome OS interface is standard across all devices, so the steps for changing the wallpaper and theme is the same for all Chromebooks.

Instructions in this article apply to laptops with Chrome OS, regardless of who made the device.

How to Change the Wallpaper on Chromebook

To choose a different desktop background for your Chromebook:

You don’t need a Chromebook to customize the Google Chrome theme. You can also create Chrome themes.

  • Select the taskbar menu in the lower-right corner of the desktop, then select the Settings gear to open the Chromebook settings.
  • You can also access the Chromebook settings from the menu in the upper-right corner of the Google Chrome browser.
  • Go to the left pane of the Settings window and select Personalization.
  • Select Wallpaper.
  • The Wallpaper app displays thumbnails of pre-installed images. Select the categories in the left pane to browse through the options.
  • Select Daily Refresh to have Chrome OS choose a random wallpaper from the category each time you start your computer.
  • Select the wallpaper you want to update the desktop immediately.
  • Some images display information about the photographer. Select Explore under the photographer’s name to visit the owner’s website.
  • If you prefer to use one of your images as the desktop background, select My Images. You’ll see thumbnails of all the images in your Downloads folder. Select the one you want to update the desktop immediately.
  • Select Center Cropped at the top of the menu to crop the image to fit the screen.

How to Change Themes on Chromebook

To download and install a new theme for Google Chrome:

Select the taskbar menu in the lower-right corner of the desktop, then select the Settings gear to open the Chromebook settings.

You can also access the Chromebook settings from the menu in the upper-right corner of the Google Chrome browser.

Go to the left pane of the Settings window and select Personalization.

Select Wallpaper.

The Wallpaper app displays thumbnails of pre-installed images. Select the categories in the left pane to browse through the options.

Select Daily Refresh to have Chrome OS choose a random wallpaper from the category each time you start your computer.

Select the wallpaper you want to update the desktop immediately.

Some images display information about the photographer. Select Explore under the photographer’s name to visit the owner’s website.

If you prefer to use one of your images as the desktop background, select My Images. You’ll see thumbnails of all the images in your Downloads folder. Select the one you want to update the desktop immediately.

Select Center Cropped at the top of the menu to crop the image to fit the screen.

  • Open Google Chrome, select the three dots in the upper-right corner, then select Settings from the drop-down menu.
  • In the left pane of the Settings window, select Appearance.
  • Select Browser themes.
  • The Themes section of the Chrome Web Store opens in the Chrome browser. Scroll down the page to browse through hundreds of options and select the theme you want.
  • Select View all next to a category to see all the themes in that specific category.
  • Select Add to Chrome. Once installed, the new theme is applied to the Chrome interface immediately.

How to Reset the Chrome Browser Theme to the Default

If you don’t like how the new theme looks, select Undo below the search bar to switch to the previous theme.

Open Google Chrome, select the three dots in the upper-right corner, then select Settings from the drop-down menu.

In the left pane of the Settings window, select Appearance.

Select Browser themes.

The Themes section of the Chrome Web Store opens in the Chrome browser. Scroll down the page to browse through hundreds of options and select the theme you want.

Select View all next to a category to see all the themes in that specific category.

Select Add to Chrome. Once installed, the new theme is applied to the Chrome interface immediately.

You can also return the browser to its original theme from the Google Chrome settings. Go to the Appearance section and select Reset to default next to Browser themes.

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