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9 Ways to solve Chrome Google Classroom connection issues

Are you a parent trying to get Google Classroom to work?

Follow these steps to make it work!

You’ve had a hard day, and the last thing you want are our kids to have difficulty connecting to Google Classroom.

Sometimes it just won’t work! But it’s got to be fixed!

As good parents, you can’t afford for your children to fall behind at school, not complete and submit their homework and use “lack of connectivity” as an excuse to play games.

Frustratingly the school is unable to help. They say it works at school with no issues, but at home, it’s definitely slow and even times out.

I’m a parent too and I struggle to find any solutions on the internet. So I made my own steps to troubleshoot.

Read my steps to fix Google Classrooms on my son’s device.

Use Google Chrome, not Safari or Edge

Before we start troubleshooting, the most common question asked is: “Why do we have to use Google Chrome as the browser”?

Technically you don’t have to use Google Chrome, you could use Safari or Edge.

However, schools want you to use Google Chrome because they firmly believe this is the most compatible browser with Google Classroom. In theory, this makes sense because Chrome and Classrooms are both Google products.

In addition, Google has the functionality of saving User id’s and their Passwords for educational websites and applications. This is a very helpful function for students and teachers as it saves time and effort when logging in.

Google products should integrate seamlessly with each other, but as we know, they sometimes don’t.

Before switching from Chrome to a different browser, check with the school first. Each teacher and school have their preferences, and some are steadfast with using Google Chrome.

Step 1. Check Internet Connectivity

I have found the easiest way to check Internet Connectivity is to open several browsers and try to connect to websites that I commonly use.

  • Open Chrome and enter a website that you are familiar with. Try and connect.
  • Open Safari or Edge and enter the same website you entered in Chrome. Try and connect.
  • Make sure you can load the website by click on some of the pages.
  • Repeat using websites that you know should not be blocked by firewalls or VPN.

If you cannot connect on either browser, you have an internet connectivity issue.

Find out more >

Step 2. Check home VPN and Blocked Website settings

I and many other families use private VPN applications to block inappropriate websites.

Sometimes, these can clash with Google Classroom access.

  • Check the internet provider home log in.
  • Check the private VPN application.
  • Remove filtering that may disrupt Google Classroom access. For example: permit access or remove from banned list Google.com and YouTube.com.

If you find Google sites have been blocked for your child’s device, remove the filtering.

Find out more >

Step 3. Clear Chrome Cache, Cookies, History

Warning: Record all User ID’s and passwords that your child uses for school. They may be deleted after performing the below steps.

  1. Open Google Chrome on your child’s device.
  2. Click on the three vertical dots on the top right corner of the window.
  3. Click on “More tools” and then select “Clear browsing data”.
  4. A new window will appear. In the “Time range” drop-down menu, select “All Time”.
  5. Select the all the types of browsing data to clear, including “Cached images and files”, “Cookies and other site data”, and “Browsing history”.
  6. Click on “Clear data”.

If you clear cache, cookies and browsing history, this will remove any inadvertent clashes various website settings.

Find out more >

Step 4. Uninstall Chrome and reinstall

Warning: All bookmarks, favourites will disappear, as well as saved User IDs and Passwords. Make record of these before proceeding.

Uninstall and reinstall should have the same effect as clearing history, caching and cookies, however it is absolutely a sure fire measure.

Mac Users:

  1. Open the Finder application on your Mac.
  2. Click on the “Applications” folder in the sidebar.
  3. Find the Google Chrome icon and drag it to the Trash bin on your Dock.
  4. If prompted, enter your Mac’s admin password to confirm the action.
  5. Once Chrome is uninstalled, visit the official Chrome website (https://www.google.com/chrome/) to download the latest version of Chrome.
  6. Click the “Download Chrome” button on the website.
  7. Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install Chrome on your Mac.

Non Mac Users:

  1. Open the Start menu and go to “Settings”.
  2. Click on “Apps”.
  3. Find Google Chrome in the list of apps and click on it.
  4. Click “Uninstall”.
  5. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation process.
  6. Once Chrome is uninstalled, go to the Google Chrome website (https://www.google.com/chrome/) to download the latest version of the browser.
  7. Click on the “Download Chrome” button and follow the prompts to install the browser.
  8. Once installation is complete, you can open Google Chrome and start using it.

If you uninstall and reinstall this will definitely clear ALL potential clashes with Google Classroom setting.

Find out more >

Step 5. MacBook Air

Make sure have System Hardware Accelerator Activated

If you are using a MacAir Book, checking the following settings:

  1. Open Google Chrome on your child’s device.
  2. Click on the three vertical dots on the top right corner of the window.
  3. You and Google: Syncing is “Turn off”.
  4. Memory saver: Performance – Deactivated and Energy Saver – “Turn on only when my battery is at 20% or lower”.
  5. Search engine: “Google”
  6. Accessibility: All options are Deactivated.
  7. System: Use hardware acceleration when available: Activated.

Find out more >

Step 6. Turn off AirDrop for MacAir Book

AirDrop is a function that allows Mac devices to connect to each other with the use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

To turn off AirDrop:

  1. Click on the Finder icon in your Dock.
  2. Click on “AirDrop” in the left sidebar.
  3. In the AirDrop window, click on “Allow me to be discovered by” at the bottom of the window.
  4. Select “No One” from the drop-down menu.
  5. Alternatively, you can select “Contacts Only” to limit AirDrop access to people in your contacts list.

Once you’ve changed your AirDrop settings, your MacBook Air will no longer be discoverable by other devices nearby. You can always turn AirDrop back on by repeating these steps and selecting “Everyone” or “Contacts Only”.

Step 7. Turn off Bluetooth for MacAir Book

Bluetooth is a function that may disrupt internet connectivity. Make sure this is turned off.

To turn off Bluetooth on your MacBook Air, you can follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple menu icon in the top left corner of your screen.
  2. Select “System Preferences” from the dropdown menu.
  3. Click on “Bluetooth” in the System Preferences window.
  4. Click on the toggle switch next to “Bluetooth” to turn it off.

Alternatively, you can also turn off Bluetooth from the menu bar by clicking on the Bluetooth icon (looks like a stylized “B”) in the upper right-hand corner of your screen and selecting “Turn Bluetooth Off” from the dropdown menu.

Once Bluetooth is turned off, you won’t be able to connect to any Bluetooth devices until you turn it back on again.

Find out more >

Step 8. Wait till tomorrow

This may sound like a ridiculous step, however, I have found this to work on one occassion.

  • My son’s MacAir Book suddenly lost all connection to Google Classroom and Google Docs.
  • I tried all the above steps, but nothing worked.
  • So we waited till the next day.

Surprisingly, the next day, there were no problems with connecting to Google Classroom or Google Docs from home.

Wait till next day and try again.

Step 9. Last Resort

Throw the device in the bin.