‘I Heard Screaming’: Kids Are Trying To Make Their Laptops Explode On Purpose In Dangerous Viral Trend

An incendiary trend involving laptops and fueled by social media has gripped various school kids across the U.S., sparking fires, warnings, and juvenile criminal charges.

Several teenagers have been tampering with their school-issued Google Chromebooks by inserting objects capable of conducting electricity into the laptops’ charging ports, causing the laptops to short-circuit and burn, according to authorities. The illegal act is also a social media trend, they said.

“I was two rooms away from the room with the challenge. I heard screaming,” Tristan Peeples, 12, attending Wilson C. Riles Middle School in northern California, told news outlet KCRA 3 in an article published May 8. Peeples was discussing the TikTok challenge that a classmate had attempted.

The classmate’s computer smoked but did not go up in flames, Scott Loehr — superintendent of the Center Joint Unified School District to which the Roseville-based middle school belongs — told the outlet. A teacher quelled the potential fire outbreak with a fire extinguisher and evacuated the classroom.

“I heard that people in my school were going around and putting lead into their laptops. I was like, ‘OK, well, that’s stupid,’” Serena Peeples, Tristan’s sister, told the outlet.

Each Chromebook at the middle school costs $500, the outlet reported.

“You’re dummies and doing stuff that is not safe,” Tristan reportedly warned classmates engaging in the challenge.

“This is dangerous. It could be more threatening than people think,” Loehr told KCRA. “You see this harmless challenge, you think, ‘On TikTok?’ It’s not harmless.” (RELATED: TikTok Escapes Responsibility For Death Of 10-Year-Old Victim Of ‘Blackout Challenge’)

“It’s not all fun and games. It is a very serious thing that could cause some very significant damage or injury,” Loehr added.

School administrators launched disciplinary proceedings against the student, who faces a five-day suspension, Loehr told the outlet.

“As of May 5, 2025, authorities have documented multiple instances of what is being called the ‘Chromebook Challenge,’ where students insert items such as pencils and other metallic objects into device charging ports, causing short circuits,” the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal said Thursday.

“These incidents have resulted in sparks and smoke, with some cases leading to battery ignition due to thermal runaway, prompting emergency evacuations and disciplinary actions at schools across Maryland,” the Fire Marshal’s Office added.

The challenge appears to be about supposedly testing Chromebook’s durability, according to the YouTube knowledge channel Know Your Meme.

The Burlington Vermont Fire Department warned Friday that the practice was injurious and potentially fatal because lithium-ion batteries are “sensitive to physical damage, overcharging, and overheating” and misusing electronics containing such batteries could ignite sudden fires or cause explosions.

A 15-year-old boy in Eastern Heights Middle School in Elyria, Ohio, faces felony charges of arson and vandalism after allegedly tampering with a Chromebook device Friday such that both the device and an area of the classroom floor were burned, the Elyria Police Department (EPD) said. No one was injured and the school staff evacuated the classroom before an officer arrived, the EPD added.

“This behavior is not only reckless but [also] criminal,” EPD Chief Jim Welsh said in the statement.

Another school kid in Plainville Middle School, Connecticut, was injured after having allegedly stuck a pair of scissors into a laptop, causing the device to emit smoke, WFSB reported. The student was hospitalized and referred to a juvenile criminal court to face charges, school authorities told the outlet.

Parents and school staff needed to warn their wards and students against viral social media trends, pursue policies to disincentivize participation in the challenge, and foster a culture and environment of safety and responsibility, authorities said.

TikTok appears to have blocked the “Chromebook Challenge” search term from yielding any content other than a warning about the perils of certain online challenges and a link to protective resources, as of the time of this report.