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—What you are noticing

When a socket stops working

A dead socket is one of the most common electrical calls. A few safe checks tell you whether it is the appliance, the circuit or the socket itself.

Before assuming the socket has failed, it is worth ruling out the obvious. Plug a lamp or phone charger that you know works into the same socket. Try the original appliance in a different socket in another room. Look at the distribution board to see whether a breaker or RCD has switched off. Those three checks, none of which involves opening anything, answer most of the question.

This guide describes what people notice and what is safe to do. It does not diagnose your installation; only someone who has seen it can.

If the socket is still dead with a known-good appliance and nothing has tripped at the board, the problem lies in the socket, its connections or the cable feeding it. That is where safe owner checks stop. Opening a socket faceplate exposes live terminals on other circuits as well as this one, and loose connections behind a socket are exactly the kind of fault that needs to be found and fixed properly rather than pushed back into the box.

01In short

The points that matter most

  • Test with something you trust

    A lamp or charger known to work separates a faulty appliance from a faulty socket.

  • Look at the board

    A tripped breaker or RCD explains a dead socket, and often others with it.

  • Stop at the faceplate

    Unscrewing a socket is not a safe owner check; the terminals behind it can be live.

02Detail

What an electrician will check

  • Whether the circuit is live

    Testing at the socket and at the board shows whether power is reaching the outlet at all.

  • The connections behind the faceplate

    Loose or heat-damaged terminals are a common cause and need repairing, not just retightening if they show damage.

  • Other points on the same circuit

    A socket that feeds others can leave several dead at once, which changes where the fault is searched for.

03Checklist

Before you get in touch

  • Note which socket and which room

    And whether any nearby sockets or lights also stopped.

  • Note what happened just before

    A plug pulled out hard, a spill, a new appliance or a storm are all useful to know.

  • Take a photo of the board

    With the cover closed, showing the switch positions and any labels.

04Questions

Questions people ask

Is a dead socket dangerous?
Often it is simply a tripped circuit. If the socket is discoloured, smells hot or crackles, stop using it and switch that circuit off.
Can I reset the breaker myself?
Resetting once is reasonable. If it trips again, leave it off and have the circuit checked.
Why does the socket work sometimes and not others?
Intermittent faults often point to a loose connection, which is worth having checked before it overheats.

05Related

Related guides

This guide sits under troubleshooting. All topics are on the guides page.

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Socket still dead?

Tell us which socket, what else stopped and what you saw at the board. A photo of the board helps.

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