The Chromebook Challenge Is Making Teens Set Their Laptops on Fire

Somewhere between nihilism and boredom, a new TikTok trend was born—one that involves teenagers deliberately setting their Chromebooks on fire. Not metaphorically. Literally.

The so-called #ChromebookChallenge encourages students to shove paper clips, pencil lead, or aluminum foil into their school-issued laptop’s charging port until it short-circuits and starts to smoke. Then, hope the fire alarm goes off. Bonus points if it gets uploaded before the firefighters arrive.

Connecticut has become the unofficial capital of this insanity. Last week, Newington High School was evacuated after one student’s laptop started spewing toxic smoke mid-class. “The room at the time of the fire was filling with smoke,” Newington Fire Marshal DJ Zordon told NBC Connecticut.

“The batteries…once they burn, they’re producing this toxic smoke.” Other incidents were reported in Cromwell, Derby, Southington, and East Fishkill, New York—each time, the same pattern: a kid tries the challenge, the laptop overheats or melts, and the school goes into emergency mode.

“It causes a lot of disruption,” Zordon said. “The school has to be evacuated, firefighters respond… it takes resources from any other emergencies that might be happening at that time.”

What is the Chromebook Challenge?

The videos are spreading under names like #ChromebookDurabilityTest and #FStudent, typically featuring students jamming metal into their laptops while laughing over captions like “anything but schoolwork.” TikTok says it removes over 99% of dangerous content before it’s ever reported—but the fact that this one made it to real-life school evacuations suggests something slipped through the cracks.

Dr. Maureen Brummett, superintendent of Newington Public Schools, confirmed to NBC that this wasn’t some battery malfunction. “We were able to do an investigation…and it became clear that the damage was done intentionally,” she said. “It’s destructive, expensive, and dangerous.” The school’s insurance won’t cover intentional damage, meaning the cost of every toasted Chromebook falls back on the students (or their parents).

Cumberland Police in Rhode Island issued their own warning on Facebook, writing: “What may seem like a ‘fun experiment’ online can quickly turn into something much more serious.” You know, like electrical fires, property damage…criminal charges.

Middle schoolers already seem exhausted by the whole thing. “There really is no point,” 11-year-old Ari Sinclair told WJAR News. And we couldn’t agree more.