Posted 13 October 2023

Wall socket with USB ports

I am looking to replace a double wall socket and I have seen those with USB ports integrated sold very cheaply at Wickes for example.

Anyone used these before and can comment on how good they are compared to an adapter? I can't understand why the sockets are so cheap when the adapters are so expensive. There is one for £1 at Wickes flagged up on the deals section, all be it, it is a single socket, for £1

hotukdeals.com/dea…612
Community Updates
New Comment

11 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. oldcodger's avatar
    Had one for years,no problems, only thing with them is that that are a very slow charging output, so if you need fast charging then they are not for you.
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    thanks for the comment. that would make sense as to why the adapters are so expensive compared to these sockets! i knew there must be something in it as products are cheap for a reason.
  2. C0mm0d0re_K1d's avatar
    Don't bother, they are the old original type of slow usb port that don't support the latest fast charging protocols.
  3. gravy_davey's avatar
    They're really good. For me they're a must have to the point I often forget to take a USB power brick when I go away.
    I have had a couple issues where after a few years the socket wouldn't use the right charging protocol so only charged at around 0.5 amps. I've installed a few of these sockets in the places I've lived over the years, wouldn't say its common but does happen.
  4. Somersett's avatar
    Having electronics in your wall socket is a REALLY bad idea. USB power circuits have an absolutely horrific failure rate. Not an issue when you can just bin the charger and replace.

    As certain people will tell you, safety regulation went out of the window in the UK years ago. It is up to the punter to be smart. And part of being smart is to understand many gimmicks are just a very poor idea.
  5. slimy31's avatar
    We had one that whined all the time. Now we've also had plugin chargers that whine, but plugin chargers can be unplugged.... guess what you can't do with the wall socket version?

    And as mentioned I've not seen a high powered one, although I did see a USB C version recently. I've no idea of it's power output though, I've not gone back to them after that first experience.

    You can get extension leads with USB ports as well, not sure whether that might be an alternative for you?
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    i was just interested in these usb sockets and wondered what is the catch as they seemed to be so cheap compared to your adapters. i have never had an adapter whined, that sounds rather worrying! i wouldn't be using an adapter that makes a noise when in use as it sounds like it is faulty and is likely to damage the device or cause a blooming fire
  6. guilbert53's avatar
    But a wall socket that has USB C on it rather than the one shown in your picture (USB A).

    USB C is now the new standard and will gradually replace USB A

    On mobile phones / tablets that has already happened.
  7. EndlessWaves's avatar
    They're the same thing, the ones built into sockets are just more effort to replace when they fail or become obsolete.

    They're not normally cheaper, the £1 ones are just clearance. The next cheapest price at wickes for example is £9.75.
's avatar