Currys said that people relocating or furnishing second homes may find out that the technology they rely on at home does not work in other countries.
Engineers for the company found that differences such as varying radio frequencies, manufacturer programming and variations in electrical power are rendering many UK products unusable in places such as France and Spain
It said that in particular, the majority of DAB radios will not work because the frequency used abroad is different to the one in the UK.
Televisions are also said to be a problem, as older ones will not pick up foreign stations and some modern ones will not work at all.
Lower electrical power in some other places such as Turkey and Portugal mean that people cannot run as many gadgets in the home as they are used to in the UK.
John Wright, electrical engineer at Currys, said: “Whilst with many household electrical and technology products it’s just a simple matter of swapping the plugs, others may only offer limited use or in some cases will not work at all.
“People who are purchasing product to take abroad should always check with the manufacturer or experts in store first to make sure they are not left disappointed.”
Currys’ top tips include taking adaptors for different plug fittings, using converters or transformers where necessary and making sure that a television is a multi-tuner and was purchased before 2003.