45 Hilarious Tech Fails That Prove Your Gadgets Secretly Hate You
Technology was supposed to make our lives easier, but let’s be honest—sometimes it feels like our gadgets are plotting against us. From chargers that stop working at 1% battery to printers that refuse to print until you beg them, technology has its own ways of testing our patience. If you’ve ever stared in disbelief at your cracked phone screen or screamed at a laptop mid-update, this collection of 45 frustrating and hilarious tech fails will feel painfully relatable.
These are the moments that make you question if your devices are just defective—or if they have a personal vendetta against you. Either way, let’s take a deep breath, laugh at these ridiculous mishaps, and be grateful that at least this time, it didn’t happen to us. Or did it?
#1. Coworker thought my mug warmer was a charger
Oops Coworker thought my mug warmer was a charger. Not a charger.🔌
Source: jmadden80
#2. Never broke a phone before I’m my life, first day I get my new one with no insurance I drop it 4 feet and this happens
Source: AellyA
#3. This person dropped their phone in a bike chain while riding
Source: basshead541
#4. Cell phone exploded
We were playing hide and go seek with our 3 children (ages 8, 10, 12). It was 11pm, we let them stay up late, something we don’t do often. We were playing kids against parent and we had the BEST hiding spot. We we’re going on like 15 minutes of them searching! Then we hear screaming… “fire! There’s a fire”. I’m thinking “they’re just trying to get us to come out”…. We sat down there while they screamed for a good minute.
Then I got pissed because I’m like “they should know better than to pretend there’s a fire”. So I storm upstairs, ready to lecture these kids about how they should never pretend that there’s a fire when there’s not. As I go up the stairs I see smoke. Lots of smoke…… We had plugged in an old cellphone because my daughter wanted to play with it and the thing exploded. What a night… kids are traumatized and I feel guilty.
Source: NoDig1830
#5. charger broke while my phone is at 2% right before going on a 7 hour bus trip
Source: Enderspider546
#6. So after saving about 5 months, I bought my first second handed gaming laptop so I can study and work on my editing hobby. Yesterday my top shelf fell and snapped it in half.
Source: marokotov
#7. Phone slipped out of my pocket while mowing and I didn’t notice until the music in my AirPods stopped
Source: Reddit User
#8. The way this USB charger broke off in the wall.
Source: the85rush
#9. In three days, my phone’s mic stopped working, my headphones broke and my laptop died
Source: ThosePixels
#10. A packet of mayonnaise burst in my purse and filled my phone’s charge port
Source: kattattak_76
#11. Use of an unofficial charger
Source: Soulsicle123
#12. Ordered a new right-arrow key for my laptop for $8, but they gave me a left-arrow key. I can’t place it in upside-down because the corner of the right-arrow slot is slightly cut off.
Source: crazyberns
#13. With my remaining 3% battery on my phone, I post this
Source: DirePegasus
#14. My coworker left his phone under the industrial paper cutter
Source: hecht0520
#15. My wife’s iPhone was dangling from her pocket while karting. – Phone still works though, including the camera.
Source: KilllerWhale
#16. She wanted to play with the laptop
Source: Poncecutor
#17. My brother cut my laptop charger and is mad I didnt react
Source: 4rfs
#18. Had an epileptic seizure with my computer on my lap…
Source: GinjaNinja1027
#19. Came home to find my charger sipping my water
Source: Magen137
#20. Thought my backpack was waterproof as it started pouring while I was walking outside. It was not. Finals are in 4 days – Screen shut off after a few minutes then the laptop started smoking
Source: Limp-Regular-2589
#21. I walked 2 and half hours from my school and back to get a chrome book for homework and they gave me the wrong charger.
Source: Chupbluearrow
#22. Lost my Apple Watch a few days ago.. boyfriend just found it
He said he heard a big crunch yesterday when leaving for work but wasn’t sure what it was.. oops!
Source: SKYERlM
#23. Gave my younger brother my laptop so he could watch a movie on Netflix, here’s how he returned it an hour later:
What’s the worst is that this is a laptop I use to take notes during lectures at my Uni, and now I have to figure out whether to replace the screen or try to use it in this state…
Source: Galgan_
#24. I totally forgot that having ‘now playing’ as a face on your Apple Watch isn’t just for music, but just the last ‘media’ you might have watched that day. It’s the new watch, too, the one that doesn’t turn off the screen. Cringe for me and the amount of customers who likely saw this today.
Source: BalboBigggins
#25. Travelling back to work and my bag gets caught in a car fire. All medical equipment, garmin watch, Xbox, projector and countless clothes up in smoke. Let my week get better…
Source: Jim-Jams
#26. When your charger melts your smartphone overnight…
Source: UniverseGuyD
#27. My phone case didn’t come with this pattern…..
Source: volcs0
#28. Lost my phone at a construction site today. Found it a little later…
Source: Old-iesi
#29. My new laptop was delivered! But, that’s not my house.
Source: kvoyhacer
#30. AUGH! We just want to give our old phone to our friend’s kid for his diabetes monitoring app! Trying to reset it resulted in…this
Source: Ruffffian
#31. Coworker of mine chopped his phone in half today
Source: Major_Day
#32. BF’s kid busted my still working 12 year old phone… – So many pictures lost..
Source: Darkchyldeone
#33. My mom smashed my phone
Source: stampfercamper
#34. My wife always takes my charger so I have a solution
Source: Abitrary
#35. 10-month-old iPhone (that has never been dropped or exposed to extremes of temp) suddenly decides to do this 😩
Source: lueesa
#36. It’s my first summer in Arizona. Left my laptop in my car. Lesson learned.
Source: CarbonWood
#37. My sister plugged this into her phone. A few minutes later it stopped spinning, and now her phone wont turn on
Source: grsercer6
#38. this watch I bought used on eBay
Source: thefringeseanmachine
#39. Literally took my phone case off for the first time in a year to see this. I have no clue when or how it happened.
Source: OneSaucyDragon
#40. My computer charger blew up in my hands and cut out power to almost all of my house
Source: GemStoned23
#41. Phone charger ended up in a bladder
Source: vada_pongal
#42. Have been wanting to give digital art with procreate a try, so got a second hand iPad. Was greeted by this during setup.
Source: Bango-Skaankk
#43. I couldn’t find my phone but it was connected to the bluetooth so I figured it was somewhere in….or out of the car.
Source: schelie
#44. My friend dropped his iPhone on the treadmill this morning. It got eaten by the belt…
Source: Reddit User
#45. My dad refused to use the case I bought for him. He dropped his phone a few days later and the LCD was damaged
Source: Im_Tsuikyit
We all have stories of technology betraying us at the worst possible moment. Maybe your GPS decided to reroute you straight into a traffic jam, or your laptop crashed during an important presentation. Whatever the case, we want to hear about it! Share your worst (or funniest) tech fails in the comments—because misery loves company.
And remember: next time your phone screen shatters, your Wi-Fi vanishes, or your laptop updates for three hours, just take a deep breath. At least now, you have the perfect excuse to go outside.
