I picked up a stack of school Chromebooks and kept a few Dell Chromebook 3100 models for tinkering. I wanted cheap thin clients for a home automation lab. The goal was simple. Make the devices useful without fighting Google management or throwing good kit away. This guide shows what I did, with practical steps and configs you can copy.
Start by sorting and confirming serial numbers. 1) Record serials and note any that still show as school-managed. Managed devices need the school admin to deprovision them, so get that sorted first. 2) Powerwash clean those that aren’t enrolled. Use Settings > Advanced > Powerwash and follow the prompts. 3) For models you want to repurpose, enable Developer Mode only if you plan to install a full Linux image; it voids local security and wipes data. 4) Test battery health and screens; set aside units with bad batteries for wired use or parts. For software, my go-to is Chromium OS Flex for a lightweight, Chrome-first thin client. If you want a traditional thin client, install a minimal Debian or Ubuntu LTS, add a lightweight desktop, and run an RDP/VDI client such as Remmina or FreeRDP. If kiosk use is the goal, configure a browser in kiosk mode to point at Home Assistant or a dashboard. Keep the Main Keyword in mind: Chromebook thin clients work well when the device mostly needs a browser or an RDP client.
Network configuration decides whether these thin clients feel solid or flaky. Give each device a DHCP reservation so the IP does not hop. If you run VLANs, put thin clients on a trusted VLAN that can reach your home automation servers but is separate from random IoT traffic. Allow mDNS or Bonjour between VLANs if device discovery matters. For remote desktop, only expose ports on the LAN; do not open RDP to the internet. If you require remote access, terminate it through a VPN or SSH tunnel. Use WPA2 or WPA3 on Wi‑Fi, and test with the Ethernet port first for initial setup to rule out flaky wireless drivers. If you run Pi‑hole or a local DNS, add DNS entries for your automation servers so browser shortcuts resolve reliably.
Testing and validation are short and ruthless. Boot each device into the chosen image and run these checks: browser connects to the Home Assistant dashboard within five seconds; RDP/VNC client establishes a session that has acceptable latency for your use; audio and cameras (if needed) work through the client; power profiles keep the device awake on a wall mount. For a wall panel controlling lights, pin the browser to full screen and disable sleep. For virtualisation, use these Chromebooks as thin clients into a local Proxmox or ESXi VM running the heavy services. Use RDP for Windows VMs, SPICE or TigerVNC for Linux VMs, and test clipboard and file transfer if you need them.
Practical deployments I use: a wall-mounted panel running Chromium in kiosk mode pointing at Home Assistant; a few units as remote desktop clients to a compact VM farm running Node‑RED and Home Assistant; and one as a display for camera feeds on a TV. Common failures are slow eMMC storage, flaky Wi‑Fi drivers, and batteries that won’t hold charge. If storage is painfully slow, move critical services off the client and keep the client stateless. If the device refuses to deprovision, escalate to the original admin; do not try to bypass enterprise locks.
Takeaway: collect serials, get deprovisioning done, choose Chromium OS Flex for browser-first thin clients or a minimal Debian for full RDP setups, lock down your network with DHCP reservations and VLANs, then run tight tests for responsiveness and sleep behaviour. Do that and those Dell Chromebook 3100s turn into cheap, reliable Chromebook thin clients for home automation, virtualisation access, kiosk displays, and quick remote desktops.
