How to run Honeygain on Chromebook

NOTE: NO OFFICIAL SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED FOR THIS SETUP YET! IF FOR SOME REASON YOU ENCOUNTER ANY ISSUES DURING THE INSTALLATION OR SET UP PROCESS, HONEYGAIN SUPPORT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ASSIST YOU

To install Honeygain on your Chromebook, there are two options:

  1. Turning on Developer Mode
  2. Installing Linux and turn on ADB debugging

The latter option is more complicated, but it lets you stay on a stable Chromebook version, however, not all of the Chromebooks support Linux ADB debugging.

Option 1: Turing on Developer Mode

The process is really simple, but it wipes all of your internal data (power-wash) so make sure to back up necessary and important data from internal storage. Most of the information and settings will be transferred as it is synced with your Google account (apps, settings, preferences, etc.)

PLEASE NOTE: To enter developer mode, instructions may vary from device to device, however, it should be a similar process and Chromebook will somewhat guide you, but if you are not sure or unsuccessful please refer to the list attached below for more instructions on your Chromebook and how to enter developer mode:

https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices

To switch to developer mode:

  1. Turn off your Chromebook
  2. Hold ESC+refresh (F3) keys while you are turning the Chromebook on
  3. You will be prompted to a screen on which, the device will ask you if you want to turn off verification (to enter the developer mode), hit ENTER, after it restarts, the system will ask you if you want to turn verification on.

IMPORTANT: if you hit space, you will turn verification on and it will switch off developer mode. To keep developer mode on you have to bypass that screen by pressing CTRL+D every time the device is being turned on.

After you successfully booted into developer mode, you will set up your Chromebook as it was new by entering account details, preferences, and other settings. Now you only need to open the Honeygain APK file, which you can always download from our official website here, and go through the installation.

Option 2: Installing Linux and turn on ADB debugging

You will need to install Linux on your Chromebook, this step is quite easy and some of the users already have it turned on. For this, you DO NOT have to be in Developer mode, neither on Developer Channel.

  1. Open settings
  2. On the left, you will see the navigation bar and the option 'Linux (Beta)'
  3. Under this section you will have an option to 'Turn on' Linux infrastructure within your Chromebook, it might take a few minutes, but the set-up process is straightforward
  4. After the successful installation of Linux (Beta), this section now has few options to choose from, what we are looking for is 'Develop Android Apps'- click it
  5. Within that menu, you can now toggle the 'Enable ADB debugging' feature- turn it on.
  6. This is where it gets more complicated, you have to turn on Terminal (simply by searching it within your Chromebook apps
  7. Install ADB platform-tools by entering the following command: 
    sudo apt install android-tools-adb -y
  8. After installation, you need to connect Linux to the Android system by entering this command: 
    adb connect 100.115.92.2:5555
    Remember: you need to be connected to the internet while doing this. If the terminal shows either; "Permission Denied" or "Command not Found" try running the command and try step 8 again: adb start-server
  9. A window should pop-up saying "Allow USB debugging?". Tick "Always allow from this computer" and click "Yes"
  10. Download the Honeygain APK from our official website here and move it into a folder within your File Manager: Linux Files (it should be within your 'My Files' sub-folders)
  11. Once again, open the terminal and type the command: 
    adb install honeygain_app.apk
  12. That's it! You should have Honeygain along with your other Android apps!
    To mention, the app is running on Android Run Time and it is not using Linux container, therefore, performance should be similar or the same as your other apps installed from Play Store

PLEASE NOTE: Some Chromebooks are missing the 'Develop Android Apps' section from Linux (Beta) menu, it might be still possible to bypass that step (step 4 and 5) and still successfully turn on ADB debugging, but do it at your own risk ask some of the Chromebook manufacturers are not supporting this feature for mostly unknown reasons, therefore OPTION 1 is an easier solution, but you have to power-wash your Chromebook.



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