⚠️ Important Note
Signagelive's Chrome IWA is releasing on June 1st, therefore, if you are reading this article prior to this date, you may find that some installation steps are missing. From June 1st, you'll be able to install the Chrome IWA.
Google is in the process of removing support for Chrome Apps on ChromeOS (as we have previously reported here), which means the existing Signagelive Chrome App will need to be retired in line with this change. To ensure you can continue running Signagelive on your ChromeOS devices, we have built a new client – the Signagelive Chrome Isolated Web App (also referred to as the Signagelive Chrome IWA).
This article outlines what the Chrome IWA is, why we’re moving to it, and what it means for you as a Signagelive customer.
What is the Signagelive Chrome IWA?
The Signagelive Chrome IWA is the new client application for running Signagelive on ChromeOS devices. It replaces the legacy Signagelive Chrome App and is built on Google’s new Isolated Web App framework – a more modern, web-centric standard that Google is using as the long-term successor to Chrome Apps on ChromeOS.
For the most part, the Chrome IWA works in the same way as the Chrome App – you’ll activate Players, publish content, and manage your devices just as you do today. There are some differences and current limitations to be aware of, which are covered in our FAQs and Known Limitations for the Signagelive Chrome IWA article.
Why is Signagelive moving to the Chrome IWA?
Google has confirmed the following deprecation timeline for Chrome Apps in Kiosk mode on ChromeOS:
July 2025 (Stable) / April 2026 (LTS) – User installation of Chrome Apps is restricted. Only admin-installed Chrome Apps will be supported.
July 2026 (Stable) / April 2027 (LTS) – Support for Chrome Apps in Kiosk mode is removed from the platform.
February 2028 (Stable) / October 2028 (LTS) – Chrome Apps are removed from ChromeOS entirely (end of life).
Once Chrome Apps are no longer supported in Kiosk mode, the Signagelive Chrome App will stop functioning on affected devices. The Signagelive Chrome IWA is our replacement client, ensuring service continuity for our Chrome OS customers.
Please Note
Signagelive only supports ChromeOS devices running the LTS (Long Term Support) channel. As such, the deadline you should be planning around is April 2027 (when Chrome Apps in Kiosk mode are removed on the LTS channel) but we recommend moving to the Chrome IWA at the earliest possible convenience to minimise disruption.
Who is the Chrome IWA for?
The Signagelive Chrome IWA is supported on enterprise-enrolled ChromeOS devices managed via Google’s Chrome Device Management (CDM). Non-enrolled devices are not supported.
If you’re currently running the Signagelive Chrome App on enterprise-enrolled ChromeOS devices, you’re in the right place. You will need to plan a migration to the Signagelive Chrome IWA ahead of the April 2027 deadline.
What do I need to do next?
To prepare for the move to the Signagelive Chrome IWA, we recommend reading the following articles in order:
How to install the Signagelive Chrome IWA on ChromeOS – covers the steps for adding the new client to your Google Admin Console.
How to install the Signagelive Companion Chrome Extension – the Companion Chrome Extension is a mandatory companion application required for the Chrome IWA to function correctly.
How to migrate from the Signagelive Chrome App to the Chrome IWA – walks you through migrating your existing activated devices to the new client.
FAQs and Known Limitations for the Signagelive Chrome IWA – outlines current restrictions and answers to common questions.
Please Note
Migration of your devices is controlled entirely by you via your CDM Google environment. Signagelive cannot trigger migration on your behalf. We strongly recommend a phased migration approach, particularly for larger networks – more guidance on this is included in the migration article above.