How to Install Chrome on Raspberry Pi: Step By Step Guide

The tiny supercomputer, i.e., the Raspberry Pi supports multiple Operating Systems like Android, Windows, Linux Distros and others. All these platforms too can handle various web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc. But, today we will talk only about one of the most used and popular Raspberry Pi Web Browser – Google Chrome. In this step by step guide, I will show you how you can quickly install Chromium on Raspberry Pi.

But, before proceeding

One thing you should know that the Raspberry Pi does not have any special support from Chrome means Google has not designed specific Chrome version for Raspberry Pi. And so, many developers use the Google Chromium which is the Open Source version of the original browser for their Raspberry Pi devices. The main reason behind this may be that the Google Chrome is the fastest growing and vastly used internet browser all over the world.

Let’s go with the process now.

Install Chrome on Raspberry Pi

We will see three methods here on how to install Google Chrome browser on Raspberry Pi.

1) Using Raspberry Pi Command Prompt

2) Using the GUI

3) Using Exagear Desktop

Note: As the latest and fastest Pi member – the Raspberry Pi 3 is already available and being used, I will also show the process considering the installation on Pi 3.

Things you will need to install Chromium on Raspberry Pi:

1. Raspberry Pi board (as mentioned, Pi 3 recommended)
2. Power supply for Pi
3. Micro SD card with preloaded Raspberry Pi OS
4. Raspberry Pi display
5. USB WiFi adapter (if you are not using Raspberry Pi 3)
6. Internet connection
7. USB keyboard and mouse

Before proceeding to the steps, I assume that you have made all the necessary attachments of the accessories to your Raspberry Pi board.

Method-1: Using Command Prompt

Step-1: Open the command terminal on your Raspberry Pi desktop and type

sudo apt-get update

This command will update the packages on your system.

Step-2: Now, install the Chromium browser by entering the command below

sudo apt-get install chromium-browser –yes

This command line will install the latest binaries of Chromium web browser on your Raspberry Pi PC. If you are using the Raspberry Pi for the first time, then I strongly recommend using this method. You will start immediately if you are connected through the SSH on Raspberry Pi.

Method-2: Using GUI (Graphical User Interface)

Step-1: Start your Raspberry Pi system and connect to the web

Step-2: On the Pi desktop, click on the default web browser icon

Step-3: Go to Google Chromium official download page and follow the steps

After you download and finish the installation process, go to Menu > Internet option.

There you will see an option of ‘Chromium Web Browser.’ Click on it to run Chromium on Raspberry Pi.

Method-3: Using Exagear Desktop

The Exagear Desktop helps you to run the full x86 Linux environment. Though the older version of the software was not able to provide faster performance due to the lower capability of the Raspberry Pi compared to the modern PCs, the upgraded Exagear Desktop is all prepared to ensure you will get the desired output.

There are three main steps to run Chromium on Raspberry Pi using Exagear Desktop:

1) Configure the OS

2) Install Exagear Desktop

3) Install Chrome on Raspberry Pi

Let’s check the detailed and step-by-step process below:

Step-1: Configure the Raspberry Pi OS

The Raspbian is the official Raspberry Pi Operating System, and I advise you to use it, especially, if you are a rookie in the field. Now, you may be aware of the swap space in Linux environment. It is a small amount of memory which stores some inactive pages when the RAM is full.

By making the necessary changes in the configuration file, you need to increase the swap space of your Raspberry Pi device. By default, the Raspbian OS has 100MB of swap space, and you need to improve it to 2000MB for this process.

Enter the command below in the Raspberry Pi terminal

sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile

Now, the configuration file will be opened. Look for the line mentioned below and change it as shown later:

CONF_SWAPSIZE=100

CONF_SWAPSIZE=2048

Save and then close the configuration file. Restart it to apply changes.

Step-2: Install Exagear Desktop

Now, it is the time to install the latest version of the Exagear Desktop. Make sure you download the packages with the license key. Enter the command below in your Raspberry Pi terminal:

tar -xvzpf exagear-desktop-rpi3.tar.gz

sudo ./install-exagear.sh

The above command will activate the Exagear Desktop after installing it on your Pi device. Now, you’ll need to launch the x86 guest system. Enter the code lines as stated below:

exagear

/opt/exagear/images/debian-8

This will start the shell on the guest system image. Now, to make sure that you are in the guest environment, enter the command below:

arch

I686

To update the binary files before the launch, enter the command line as below:

sudo apt-get update

Step-3: Install Chrome on Raspberry Pi

In this final step, we will download and install Google Chrome for Raspberry Pi. Enter the lines of codes as mentioned here:

wget http://mirror.retrosnub.com/apt/google/pool/main/g/google-chrome-stable/google-chrome-stable_48.0.2564.116-1_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_48.0.2564.116-1_i386.deb

and then

sudo apt-get install –f

Wait till the browser is installed on your system. And that’s it. The process is done. Now, exit from the terminal and enjoy surfing the web using Google Chrome on Raspberry Pi PC.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial guide and will use it as a reference. If you know any other method on how to install Chrome on Raspberry Pi, then share your words in the comment section below.

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