With Android app support slowly trickling into the Chrome Dev channel, there are plenty of folks who would normally use something more stable on their Chromebook running it. That means there are more of us to find bugs, and we all should report them. That's how we can help make Chrome better!
Reporting a bug in Chrome is easy, but you need to make sure what you are seeing is really a bug and see if it has already been reported to best help the developer team. Here's what you should do.
- Ask for help on the Chromebook Central Help Forum. This is an official support channel, and besides the helpful volunteers you'll encounter, Google employees monitor the discussion. Checking in here first makes sure that others can see the same issues you're having, and can help tell you if the bug has already been reported. There's no use in reporting a bug the team already knows about if you can help it.
- Check the Bug Reporting Guidelines for Chrome page. This will tell you everything you need to know, and what you might want to attach to the report to make it better.
- Check the current bug listing to see if it has already been reported. If so, you can "star" it to let the team know you're seeing it too. The list is long and confusing, but the search tools can help sort things.
- Finally, to report a bug you can click the "New issue" button at the top left of the bug tracker page. You'll be asked to sign in and be given a few simple instructions to help everyone.
You can also report an issue right when it happens. If you hit a snag that needs reporting, open the settings (click the status area by your account picture) and choose "About ChromeOS" from the top of the page. In the new window that opens, click the "Report an issue" button and you'll get a form to fill out that can include relevant information about what was happening for the Chrome team.
Also, remember the one thing you should never do — leave a bad review at Google Play when an Android app misbehaves. You are willingly using experimental software while you're on the Dev channel, and giving an Android app that doesn't work as expected a one-star review or writing complaints in the review text doesn't help anyone. The app developer can't fix anything until Chrome OS with Android support is a little more mature, and pushing down his Play Store rating isn't cool. If you still see the same issues when things go stable, then feel free to talk to the developer. But still, a one-star review filled with profanity never helps.
You will find bugs on the Chrome Dev channel. You're supposed to find bugs on the Chrome Dev channel. Now you know how to report things so you can make the Stable channel better!
