[Bug Report & Solution] Root Cause of Grayed-Out ADB Debugging on Debian 13 (Trixie): Broken Google Repository
Hello Chrome OS Engineering Team, After extensive troubleshooting regarding the "Enable ADB debugging" toggle remaining grayed out on managed devices, I have isolated the root cause. It is not an Admin Policy issue, nor a user error. The issue is a missing dependency in the Google Package Repository for Debian 13 (Trixie), which prevents the installation of cros-guest-tools. Without cros-guest-tools, the Chrome OS Host cannot verify the container's integrity or establish the necessary bridges, leading the OS to lock developer features (ADB) as a security fallback. Here is the technical breakdown and the required fix. 1. The Environment Host: Chrome OS (Version 131+) Guest: Debian 13 (Trixie) - Current Stable. Repository Config: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cros.list deb https://storage.googleapis.com/cros-packages/142 trixie main 2. The Error When attempting to install or update the integration tools via sudo apt install cros-guest-tools, the package manager fails with a hard dependency error: The following packages have unmet dependencies: cros-guest-tools : Depends: cros-im which is a virtual package and is not provided by any available package Running sudo apt search cros-im confirms that this package does not exist in the trixie RELEASE of the repository. 3. The Diagnosis The cros-guest-tools meta-package depends on cros-im (Input Method integration). In Bookworm (Debian 12), this dependency is satisfied (likely by cros-im-default or similar). In Trixie (Debian 13), the cros-im package has not been published or linked in the repository index. 4. The Solution (Action Required from Google) The repository maintainers need to push the missing input method packages to the Trixie DIRECTORY immediately. Required Action: Please ensure cros-im-default (or the architecture-specific equivalent) is added to: https://storage.googleapis.com/cros-packages/142/dists/trixie/main/ Once this dependency is resolvable: cros-guest-tools will install correctly. The Host<->Guest handshake will complete. The "Enable ADB Debugging" toggle will unlock in the Chrome OS Settings. Please escalate this to the Cros Packaging team. Best regards, Christophe RouxStability vs. Features: The Unique Philosophy of Chrome OS
Hello, There is a distinct difference in how Google manages Android versus Chrome OS, and as a developer, I think it is important to recognize why the Chrome OS strategy is superior for productivity. The Android Approach: Android is a commercial product first. It focuses on features, consumer appeal, and running on everything. The priority is "It works now." The Chrome OS Approach: Chrome OS started small and humble. It has grown slowly, not by chasing trends, but by building a foundation of trust and robustness. I see this robustness daily in the Crostini environment. Recently, upgrading my VM from Debian 12 (Bookworm) to Debian 13 (Trixie) was a pleasure—a real upgrade requiring no reinstallation. This level of stability is rare in the OS world. It proves that Chrome OS is engineered with a long-term vision of quality. The Risk The current rumors about new operating systems or "Android on PC" threaten to undermine this stability. If Google tries to make Chrome OS behave too much like Android—rushing features at the cost of stability—we lose the "high quality" segment. My Request Chrome OS is currently the best bridge between desktop computing and Android mobile development. I urge Google to maintain this "slow and steady" strategy. We don't need a flashy OS; we need a trustable one. Keep building the high-quality, robust platform that Chrome OS has become.
