ChromeOS Android Settings
Android Settings
The Android Runtime on ChromeOS inherits most of its settings from the ChromeOS settings, however there are a few settings that must be controlled from within the Android settings application. You can access the Android settings by following the steps below: - Open the ChromeOS Settings Application - Select "Apps" - Select "Google Play Store" - Select "Manage Android preferences"
Throughout this section, you will notice that most of the items below can be controlled in the ChromeOS Settings application. The reason for many of the duplicate settings is to increase compatibility with Android applications that access some of these settings. Early builds of ChromeOS that included Android support lacked the level of integration that modern versions of ChromeOS. These older builds required users to manage the Android settings in the Android Settings application instead of the ChromeOS settings application.
In most cases, you will likely never have to look at the Android Settings.
Network & Internet
ChromeOS manages the network settings on your device. However, the Android VPN settings located in the "Networks & Internet" provides a far superior way to add VPNs over the built-in ChromeOS VPN settings. Once an Android VPN has been set up, you can activate and manage it directly from the ChromeOS VPN option in the Quick Settings Panel.
By default, you will only have the option to configure a PPTP VPN; However, you can add countless free and commercial VPN clients via the Google Play Store.
Apps & Notifications
The apps and notifications is an alternate way to manage Android applications installed on your device. All the features in the Apps and Notification settings can also be managed in the ChromeOS Settings.
Sound
The sound settings allow you to enable Do Not Disturb mode and set the default alarm sound. The Do Not Disturb feature can be managed in the ChromeOS quick settings. The default alarm sound will be used if you install applications that set a timer, such as an alarm clock application or a timer.
Storage
Android and ChromeOS use a shared storage pool instead of directly allocating storage to each platform. The Android settings application displays the total used and free space on your device in total. This is the same information that can be viewed in the ChromeOS settings application.
The Storage setting in Android does include a file manager to allow you to browse the Android file system directly, this can also be done in the ChromeOS File Manager.
Privacy
The privacy settings within ChromeOS are inherited from ChromeOS; however, you can still view and modify Android application permissions directly from the privacy menu.
Accounts
Google accounts are automatically inherited from ChromeOS. However, many other applications use the Android account manager, such as Amazon and Microsoft 365. Generally, these applications handle the authentication within the application itself and will add them to the Android Accounts manager. Most users will not need to modify the values in the Android Account Manager. However, the option is there if you need to remove an account or disable background synchronization.
Accessibility
Android applications inherit most Accessibility settings from ChromeOS; however, Android does have one setting unique to Android, specifically the Font Size, which controls the size of the fonts within Android applications. All other controls should be performed within the ChromeOS Accessibility Settings, such as the Screen Reader or High Contrast Mode.
The Google Setting opens the Google Account Manager which allows you to control details specific to your Google Account such as Ad preferences.
System
All the settings within the System application should be managed from ChromeOS, however the backup function within the settings application is useful to force a backup of Android, specifically the applications that store your data in the Google Cloud.
About Device
The About Device section of the Android Settings will show you information such as the version of Android that your device is running and the security patch dates.