April Fools (from your IT department)

The 2025 Ultimate April Fool’s Office Prank Guide from IT

Ah, April Fool’s Day—the one time a year when office mischief is not only tolerated but expected. As your outsourced IT department, we have a unique opportunity to leverage our digital expertise for some lighthearted mischief fun. If you’re looking to add a little harmless chaos to your office, here’s a guide to some of the best office April Fools pranks that will leave your coworkers scratching their heads.

1. Keyboard Key Swap

For those using a standard keyboard, carefully pop off a few keys and rearrange them. While a good typist will probably not notice for weeks, this prank is diabolical for the hunt-and-peck typers– you know who they are! Bonus points if you swap common keys like “R” and “S” or “E."

2. The Vanishing Mouse

A simple but effective prank: unplug a wired mouse or remove the batteries from a wireless one. Another great option for a low-tech co-workers is to place a small piece of tape over the mouse sensor to disable tracking.

3. Monitor Mayhem

Go into the display settings and swap monitor placements. Your coworker will be mystified as their cursor disappears into the void every time they try to move it.

4. The Five-Second Timeout

Set their screen timeout to an absurdly low setting—like five seconds. Just as they start reading an email, boom, screen goes dark. Mwahaha.

5. The Desk Disruption

Physically move someone’s entire desk just a few inches up (or down, if possible). Not enough to be immediately obvious but just enough to make them feel like something is off, or to make work feel more uncomfortable than usual.

6. Tilt and Confuse

Slightly tilt their monitors to throw off their visual balance. Not enough to be noticed at first glance, but enough to be frustrating over time.

7. Resolution Roulette

Change the resolution of each monitor so nothing looks quite right. Either everything is ridiculously tiny or hilariously oversized— or just enough different to make them question their sanity. Perfect!

8. The Sinking Chair

Tape the lifter on an adjustable chair so it immediately sinks as the person sits down. It may not take them long to figure out the prank, but it will be 100% worth it for that first carnival drop.

9. Autocorrect Mayhem

This one is epic: If you have access to their word processor or email settings, add some hilarious autocorrect replacements. Set their autocorrect to change “yes” into “definitely not” or “meeting” into “nap time.” You know your co-workers! Use some of their most frequently used words to make for the best April Fools experience.

10. The Upside-Down Screen

For Windows users, press Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow to flip the screen view upside down. (Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow flips it back.) On a Mac, head to System Preferences > Displays and adjust the rotation settings. You're welcome.

11. Fake Software Update

Set their wallpaper to an official-looking “Installing updates… 0%” screen. Watch as they wait… and wait… and wait. We recommend setting timers and trying multiple users. Take video and marketing will thank you!

12. The Haunted Printer

Send random print jobs to a nearby printer with confusing or cryptic messages like “I see you…” or “Your chair is haunted.” Creepy?

13. Language Swap

Change their keyboard language settings so that nothing they type appears as expected. Bonus frustration for switching it to something obscure like the Dvorak keyboard layout or another language altogether.

14. The Phantom Typist

If you have remote desktop access, occasionally take control of their mouse or type a random message while they’re watching. Just enough to make them question their sanity. Again, bonus points for video of reactions on this one.

15. The Longest Load Time Ever

Take a screenshot of their desktop, set it as the background, and then hide all icons and taskbar. Watch them frantically click at unresponsive shortcuts. Raise your hand if this has happened to you.

Prank Responsibly!

April Fool’s Day is all about good-natured fun. Keep it lighthearted, reversible, and above all, safe. If your coworker looks genuinely stressed, be a good sport and undo your prank. Now, go forth and spread some harmless tech chaos!