Upgrade Google Chrome

Summary

Dell platforms with Ubuntu preinstalled ship with Google Chome. However, users may encounter a problem when trying to upgrade it.

Platforms impacted

• Inspiron
  • 7380 7580 5480 5580 5488 3280 3480 3580 3583 3780 3482 3582 3481 3581 3584 3781 3585 3785 3782 5583 5584 3670 3470 5390 5590 7590 7790 7591 5490 5590 3490 3590 3790 5494 5594 3595 5391 3590 3493 3593 3793 5493 5593 3671 3471
• Vostro
  • 5481 5581 3480 3580 3583 3582 3481 3581 3584 3670 3470 3070 5390 7590 5490 5590 3490 3590 5391 3671 3471 3491 3591
• Precision
  • 3530 5530 7530 7730 3541 3540 7820 7920 T5820 3431 R7920 3930 5540 7540 7740 3630
• Latitude
  • 3300 3400 3500 7300 7400 5401 5501 5300 5400 5500 5420 5424 7424 3310 3190 3311
• Optiplex
  • 7770 7470 5270 3070 5070 7070 7071 7080 5080
• XPS
  • 9370 9380 7390 9300
• Cheng Ming
  • 3980

Which version of Google Chrome has this issue

The factory image with the google-chrome 73.0.3683.103-1 or earlier has the issue.

Solution

• You will see the error message from the Software Updater, when there is an outdated Google Chrome installed.

  

• Please ignore the warning messages, and run first full upgrade, the Google Chome keeps outdated.

• Software Updater will inform the user that there are still packages to upgrade, and the user finally got the latest Google Chrome.

Details of the issue

Google hosts an archive for the Chrome package, and Google keeps updating the GPG key of the archive. That will block the user with the archive key in the old chrome package.

Canonical introduces a new package oem-somerville-partner-archive-keyring to ship the partner's keyring, including the latest keyring for the Google Chrome archive. The new package will and only be installed in the factory image, which will be pulled by upgrading the somerville-meta package.

Under the hood

1. After the OOBE, the user has an outdated Chrome and a deprecated archive key installed.
2. apt-get fails, because it can not validate the Google archive.
3. apt-get upgrade installs the new somerville-meta and oem-somerville-partner-archive-keyring on demand, which has the google archive key.
4. The user can access the google archive without the apt error. The user can upgrade to the latest chrome version after an apt upgrade.