2.1amp is still slow charging.

OMG, why are people saying that in a couple of years these will be under powered for the latest technology? Are these the same people that spend £300+ a year on a phone to ensure they have the latest and greatest spec, but are now complaining about spending £15 on a socket to charge the above said top tech?

Wat. What sort of devices are you buying to come with cheap adapters? The last charger I saw that was below 1A was a 0.7A model with the samsung galaxy S1. Chromecasts come with 1A, my blackberry priv came with 1.3A, oneplus one was 2A, nexus 4 was 1.5A, nvidia note 7 (cheap and got rebranded a lot) was 2A with 1.6A actual output, shield tablet is 2A, nexus 6p is 3A, you get the idea.

Also separate note, 'fast chargers' generally mean they're using some fast charging tech like qualcomm's quickcharge (proprietary) or USB Power Delivery (open) to supply a voltage higher than 5V, up to 20V in fact.

Not me no, but my dad is. :smiley:

you must be an electrician you clever clog.

Better off people get themselves what they think is best for your individual circumstances. Some people may not want the additional multiport charger kicking about - these sockets are a nice tidy way of still being able to charge devices especially overnight. Is it optimal? Probably not but neither is having a dedicated space to a multi port + multiple cables for many.

Dangit! Wish I'd spotted that.

I'll be switching a few of mine (currently a mix of brands, one BG that is faulty) for MK ASAP, I have no confidence in other brands.

One thing people need to note is if you ever have an electrical IR (insulation resistance) test performed on the house (e..g house sale or PIR) then all the USB sockets will likely need to be removed as it will give unreliable readings (and possible will blow the electronics that drive the sockets due to the nature of the test).

Quality does cost. You've got to decide if it's worth the difference. They were £20 at Screwfix a couple of weeks ago - might be worth hanging on to see if they drop in price again soon.

Mmmm Mk ones £24.49 at screwfix. Am I being ripped off or am I buying quality and hence safety?

haha yeah i guess that isn't the best way of inspecting the item. But one way it seemed to click in fine, the other was bit more dodgier .. but yeah not the best test!

I've got the plastic usb 3.1 amp one from Aldi and it seems good quality.

Were you trying to press the switch through the see-through plastic packaging? You can't really test it that way.

It's not that slow.

Costco currently sell a twin pack of the BG double sockets with 3.1a for £14.98 if anyone is a member.

LAP 3.1 Amp versions here starting at £12.48 for white up to £16.99 for various brushed aluminium versions. They are 3.1 Amp and not 2 Amp so more relevant for today's devices.

http://www.screwfix.com/search?search=lap+3.1a

These any good? They look smart

The ones at Aldi, i mean I only looked at one but they looked cheap. the switches didn't click in properly

I refurb'd a house entirely with BG sockets, fuses, light switches etc.

They are absolutely brilliant and the quality really good.

The electrician who fitted them was so impressed with the quality and the price that he now fits BG products for clients who ask him to provide the products.

2 years on I've not had a single failure.

That's an odd thing to say when the fault clearly lies with faulty equipment. In case I wasn't clear, the two switches that failed are due to poor workmanship and/or cheap components, you can actually feel that the switch isn't doing it's job properly when you press the switch up or down. They don't have a the clear click or feel of the switch doing what it's supposed to do, hence the reason that it doesn't do what it's supposed to do. With regard to the failed socket, something obviously failed inside, and whatever it was (probably a bit of plastic or something), got stuck preventing the plug going in. None of this would point to me needing to have my house rewired.

If you want to buy these products, go ahead, I'm just sharing my experience, and based on this experience, I personally wouldn't buy them again.

If I was you I'd be thinking of a complete rewire of the house :confused:

Cheap and nasty, have these, and have had three failures already. Two simple switches that just don't switch off anymore, electricity flows regardless of switch position (a pain as these were for the under cupboard lighting in my kitchen). Replaced first one, then second one developed the same problem pretty quickly. Also have a two gang mains socket where something happened to it whereby I just couldn't get a plug to go all the way in on the left socket anymore. Replaced this as well, and the replacement is ok so far, but the number of failures across a pretty small no. of unit is pretty shocking (not literally I should add). I have one dual socket with USB, that one seems ok so far.

Assuming your Samsung phones are QuickCharge certified (you can check here & here), you'll need a QuickCharge 2.0 / 3.0 certified one to be able to achieve that - like these ones on Amazon US. Not seen them in this country yet.

https://www.amazon.com/TOPGREENER-TU1152QC3-Charger-Qualcomm-Certified/dp/B01L8448CM

No

Will these still fast charge Samsung phones
At fast speed ??

As more and more of these USB wall sockets become popular it would be helpful if folks who have purchased them measured the USB mA output and then updated the thread. For Android users you can do this using an app called Ampere. Just because it says 2.1 / 3.1 doesn't mean you're going to get that.

I have a USB twin wall socket with max 2.1 amps, like this one, but the most I have ever seen is 300mA!! Compare that with the 1500mA I get from my Blackberry travel charger.

these are perfect for slow charging over night

1. Cut giant hole with oscillating multi-tool.
2. Insert knock-out box (also known as backbox)
3. Run twin + earth cable from either a nearby socket, or a new circuit from the consumer unit to the socket.
4. Wire to socket
5. Screw faceplate to backbox.
6. Flip circuit breaker...

Or you know, condense it all into -> hire an electrician.

FYI Folks I have these... standard UK knockout boxes will probably NOT be recessed enough. Thats why most of these USB sockets come with a shim, a plastic faceplate that extends the depth. Or you can take out the old knockout box and replace it with a deeper one.

You need an electrician if you don't know if you need the box behind!

I've got these.

The USBs are good for book readers etc but not for phones and iPads as the charge rate is so slow.

As someone else stated, if you had to ask that, then you really need to get someone in to do it for you. Add to that, metal faced sockets are a lot more dangerous than plastic sockets if not installed correctly.

That's expensive! Only £6.50 normal price each on electricity online.

What's an electrician ? :neutral_face:

​if you're asking this, I'd suggest you get an electrician in

https://www.mkelectric.com/Documents/2015%20Catalogue%20Update/Catalogue%20PDF/UKMK393-0315-EN_USB_FINAL.pdf

It's on the first page.

You can buy them from loads of places such as Amazon or screwfix.

White ones with twin USB are £8.99 in Aldi.... Bought 2 last night for kitchen island

Any recommendation where from?

Where is that auto disconnect quote from - couldn't see above

Aldi selling just one of these for £15 so this is a good deal!

Ah indeed. My mistake.

How do you install this on your wall??

My point was that these aren't even present-proof let alone future-proof - as I explained, if I was charging my 2 year old tablet and 10 month old phone through these ports at the same time, they'd charge at less than half speed - in the case of my tablet, it would take nearly 3x as long.

Better off just getting a good external mulitport USB charger.

OMG, why are people saying that in a couple of years these will be under powered for the latest technology? Are these the same people that spend £300+ a year on a phone to ensure they have the latest and greatest spec, but are now complaining about spending £15 on a socket to charge the above said top tech?

Try ZLT

https://www.electricalcounter.co.uk/products/Switches+%26+Sockets/Nexus+Metal/Nexus+Metal+Brushed+Steel

The MK ones claim to auto switch off when no USB cable is connected, thus using zero standby power.


I would say this feature is a must.

Just curious, new home and never changed these before. My new house has all single sockets. Do I need some sort of backing/insert for these? Thanks

Wickes have 3.1A and for the guy who asked for a single socket they have that too...

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Slimline-1-Gang-Socket-Twin-USB-White/p/143332

Guess what... you can also unscrew it from the wall.

This deal is for a twin pack, your link is to a single item.

Voted hot!

But Amazon have a similar product for £13.84 Masterplug NBS22UB Brushed Steel Twin Socket with USB Charger Ports - Black Insert https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KMVYJX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gaoLybJR3AX9R

Ordered thanks

Good quality, always use BG as my first choice (electrician by trade). I have the screwless versions of these in my own home, personally I think they look alot neater, but they do cost more!

Cold - no USB-c. If I'm screwing something to the wall I want it future proof !

All of these comments on 2.1A not being future proof. Can you actually get 3A built in?

It's like holding off on your next car because one day they might release a version of said car that runs on tap water.

this is the old model they have a 3A one available now

Yup, the step down converter coil that transfers the 240v power to > 5v and 2.1a for the USB outlets constantly draws power, even when nothing what so ever is plugged into it.

Never been a fan of these USB Sockets since they eat up electricity all the time, even when not in use.

Mmm, iirc the 6P doesn't support any quick charging technologies so just uses the new 3A limit of USB type C to its advantage and hey, 15W is enough to go pretty quickly. Apparently the Pixel and Pixel XL actually support Power Delivery so negotiate with the charger, though even then they only aim for 15W and 18W (2A @ 9V?) respectively.

easy to convert a single socket into a double?

This years nexus's are 3amp so they can charge quickly.

I you're a competent DIY'er then £7.50 a pop (or £5 for the plastic versions) and 5 minutes of time isn't the end of the world. Then again if your going to be paying an electrician to do it then look at something a bit better.

Whilst it might be questionable whether or not these have enough amperage for modern devices as they are under par already (My iPad Air 2 charges at 3a as shown by my USB tester) there is no question that it won't be long before these are going to be way under par. So if I had my iPad & Droid plugged in, already it would be charging at well under half the rate.

Using QC 3.0 at present which does 9v at 2.4a on my Droid.

Give it just a year or two and these things will only be charging all your devices at a fraction of the speed of your bundled charger. It seems to me that these are the sort of things you'd want to future proof, at least for a little while, due to the effort in changing them over.

I mean it's fine for overnight charging, but I'd rather just get a good plug-in multi USB.

Wat. What sort of devices are you buying to come with cheap adapters? The last charger I saw that was below 1A was a 0.7A model with the samsung galaxy S1. Chromecasts come with 1A, my blackberry priv came with 1.3A, oneplus one was 2A, nexus 4 was 1.5A, nvidia note 7 (cheap and got rebranded a lot) was 2A with 1.6A actual output, shield tablet is 2A, nexus 6p is 3A, you get the idea.

Also separate note, 'fast chargers' generally mean they're using some fast charging tech like qualcomm's quickcharge (proprietary) or USB Power Delivery (open) to supply a voltage higher than 5V, up to 20V in fact.

Yep, a miniscule amount but they are never fully off. Same with all USB wall sockets, I've not seen a switched one yet.

So do these use power when nothing connected?

Yeah this are not that good had some slow charge never use the usb any more

Slow charging is better for the battery too

Sharing 2A isn't a problem considering most chargers people use are only 1A anyway. I don't see the major issue.

I don't know about that. Most modern devices use more than 1A and will show "slow charging" if you use less than 2.1A.

Depends what you plan to plug in I guess.

Thanks, won't be buying now!

just collected yesterday silver one. just wondering why the original price of silver is 25 and white is 15 and now both reduced by 10 and 5, apart from color i am not seeing any difference am I missing anything?

what amps does this give when two devices are connected? DO both get 2.1A ?

white ones available aswell for £9.99

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5586220

In the process of refurbing the house, ordered 10 sets. Might be overkill but you can never have too many sockets. Thanks OP, it was worth procrastinating.

Why are there never any single USB socket offers? Good find though

good price. I got these when they were 2 of 25 at wickes

ordered