USB wall charging flat plate review

With a daily need for charging, smartphones and tablets end up causing more USB and Lightning cable mess than old-fashioned rotary dial phones with their curly cords.

Wall power sockets in every room of the house are being taken over with plugs for USB charging cables, meaning you need to disconnect the kettle just to charge with your iPhone or Android. Or you go to plug your charge cable in to a plug and find someone else in the house just started charging their device – leading to a very modern-day ethical dilemma.

The answer could be this product: a wall plate that includes both 3-pin power sockets and USB slots.

If one of these looks like it will solve some problems in your house, you can buy one for around £20.

I prefer not to buy electrical equipment from sites such as eBay or even the Amazon Market Place (Amazon direct products should be legit) as you can never be too sure how safe these mostly Chinese imports are.

The ScrewFix LAP 13A 2-Gang Switched Socket & USB Charger Port Brushed Steel Flat Plate costs £19.99 and looks nicer than the more plasticky Group Gear plate, but this will be a subjective judgement.

It features an integral moisture protection gasket and angled, in-line terminals, and comes supplied with backed out captive screws for easy installation.

Installation isn’t difficult depending on the placement of the plate and your own ability to wire up electrical equipment.

I stupidly decided to fit mine as a replacement to a wall plate under a cupboard in a darker corner of my kitchen. It was a bit of a struggle, especially when I left the plastic surround off the first time.

But if you have ever switched a wall plate before you’ll know it can be fiddly but isn’t head-scratchingly complex.

Turn off your house electricity, double-check power is off, and then remove the existing plate before switching to the new one.

Source: www.pcadvisor.co.uk