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Not all browsers handle websites the same, and if they don't support your operating system or browser, you could be denied access. Luckily, you can spoof the user agent on Chrome OS to make it look like you use a completely different system.

Websites identify incoming connections by their user agent---a line of text sent in the HTTPS header with the browser name, version, and operating system. The reason they do this is to determine how to render the page specific to your device. One of the more common uses is to differentiate the desktop view from a mobile layout. However, sometimes you might need to spoof the user agent to trick a site that claims it's incompatible with your browser.

Related: What Is a Browser's User Agent?

How to Change Your User Agent

To get started, open Chrome, click the three dots, and then select More Tools > Developer Tools. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Shift+I on the keyboard.

Click the three dots, point to More Tools, and then click Developer Tools.

Click "Network Conditions," located at the bottom of the Developer Tools pane.

Click the Network Conditions tab at the bottom of the Developer Tools pane

If you don't see this option, click the menu icon, and then select More Tools > Network Conditions to enable it.

Click the menu icon, select "More Tools," and then click "Network Conditions."

Under the User Agent section, uncheck "Select Automatically."

Click the menu icon, select "More Tools," and then click "Network Conditions."

Chrome offers a long list of pre-configured user agent templates you can select from the drop-down menu.

Click the menu icon, select "More Tools," and then click "Network Conditions."

If there is a specific user agent you want to use that isn't listed in the drop-down menu, you can copy and paste a custom one into the text field underneath.

Enter a custom user agent into the text field below the drop-down menu

Afterward---with the Developer Tool pane still open in the current tab---go to any website, and the user agent is set to the custom one you specified until you close Developer Tools.

Go to a website with the Developer Tools still open to view it using the specified user agent

You can even get a little creative with it!

Specified user agent indicating it's really just Chrome on Chrome OS

User agent spoofing is a temporary setting that stays active only while Developer Tools is open and in the current tab. After you close the Developer Tool, your user agent goes back to the default selection by Chrome.