How to Connect A Phone to Chromebook Using Phone Hub

Published 2022-11-07

Synchronization between gadgets/devices is one area where Google needs to catch up to Apple. Apple products such as the MacBook, iPhone, iPad, and others work together smoothly to share files, messages, video chats, and more. But Google is catching up; and the “Phone Hub” of Chrome OS represents a significant improvement in this direction.

ChromeOS feature called Phone Hub enables you to connect and manage Android smartphones from your Chromebook seamlessly. Using Phone Hub, one can access your phone’s internet, see your phone’s notifications, access your smartphone’s photos on Chromebook, and so on. This tutorial will cover how to connect a phone to a Chromebook via Phone Hub.

How To Connect A Phone to A Chromebook Using Phone Hub

Phone Hub is Google’s method for collaborating and working with Chrome OS and Android. The purpose of the functionality is to make transitioning between Google devices seamless and to enhance the compatibility of Chrome OS with Android. Setting up a Phone Hub is simple because everything is integrated into the operating system.

Key Points to Consider While Connecting A Android Phone to A Chromebook Using Phone Hub

Your Chromebook should be running on OS v71 or later. Open “Settings” > At the bottom, click on “About Chrome OS.”
Your Android smartphone should be running on Android version 5.1 or later. To check the version of Android OS open “Settings” > tap on “About Phone” > click on “Android version.”
The Chromebook and the Android smartphone must be connected to the same Google account.

Set Up the Phone Hub

Open the “Settings” application on your Chromebook and tap on “Connected devices.”
On the right side of the page select the “Set up” button right in front of “Android Phone.”
Devices that are connected to your Google account will be immediately detected and shown by the setup wizard. Choose “Accept & Continue” to move forward.
On the following page enters your Google account ID & password and tap on “Done.”
Again tap on “Done” on the following page.

Your phone and Chromebook are now connected. You will now find a Phone Hub symbol on the bottom right corner of the status bar of your Chromebook. If the Phone Hub icon doesn’t appear in the status bar enable it manually from the settings of the Chromebook.

Open “Settings” > Connected devices > toggle the switch on in front of the “Phone Hub” and select your smartphone.

Under the Phone Hub option, you will find three more options which are: Recent Chrome tabs, Recent photos, and Notifications. Turn on these options to view any recent tabs and photos you just opened on your smartphone directly on your Chromebook and to see your smartphone’s notifications on your Chromebook.

Uses of Phone Hub

There are a lot of ways you can use your Android phone and Chromebook together by connecting them through Phone Hub. Let us check some of them.

Once you tag on that phone (Phone Hub) icon from the status bar of your Chromebook a box (window) will appear and you will find three options which are as follows:

Enable Hotspot: Gives you internet connectivity while you’re on the go. Your Chromebook will use your cellular network.
Silence Phone: You can guess it by the name. Can silence your phone using your Chromebook.
Locate Phone: Rings your smartphone to help you find it.

To use more functions, like Smart Lock, Wi-Fi Sync, Instant Tethering, and Messages, click on the “Setting gear” icon.

To Wrap This Up

So, this is how you can easily connect your Android phone to your Chromebook using Phone Hub. Connecting a phone to a Chromebook is easy once you know how. You don’t need any special software for this or any other devices — everything can be done from the Chromebook itself.

Share it with your Android user friends who also own a Chromebook and let us know any questions or suggestions regarding the same in the comments below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flipboard, and Pinterest.