Why your laptop gives you electric shock and how to fix it

Jan 24, 2024

Some of us have had the unpleasant experience of getting shocked by our laptop or better yet a tingling sensation caused by small jolts of current coursing through your body. This mostly happens when your laptop is plugged in and it has to have a metal-based casing. You might even be getting shocked from touching the tip of your charger. If you happen to fall into this category, there is a simple way to solve this problem. However, let's take a look at what might cause the issue in the first place.

Current Leakage: This happens when current escapes from its intended circuit or crosses the boundary created for it by the way of insulation. In other words, an exposed wire in your laptop might be touching the case of your laptop resulting in you getting shocked. Your laptop will have to have a metallic casing and then the adapter has to be unearthed which we will explain in the next segment.

Faulty socket wiring: There are some cases where the socket you plug into, is not properly wired as regards to grounding or earthing. Your sockets usually have three holes; the one by the right is the hot one where electric current comes out from and float through whatever you plug into it and then exits via the hole on the left (neutral).

The hole at the top/bottom is connected to the earth and is meant to serve as a balance creating an alternative exit which in this case would remove the current from the metallic case of your laptop. To check for yourself, a tester should only light up when you put it in the right hole. If you put it in the left hole or the on the one at the top and its lights up, then there is a problem with that socket.

Faulty AC Adapter: One of the reasons you might be getting an electrical shock from your laptop could be the power adapter. There might be a case of exposed insulation or you’ve been using it for long and that's just its way of telling you to get a new one – pun intended.

Read More: Add more RAM or upgrade to SSD, what's the best way to improve your laptop performance

Get a three prong power adapter: Just like your socket, some AC adaptors are also earthed which is the purpose of the third prong. This provides an extra layer of protection by taking out any rogue current that might end up shocking you or doing damage.

Unplug your laptop before connecting accessaries: This is more like a way to avoid getting shocked rather than a fix. Anyways, if you want to plug anything to your PC while it plugged in, you should try and unplug it before doing so.

Try another battery: Another straight forward way to get rid of electric shock from your laptop is to get another battery.

A faulty battery can cause a problem in your laptop's circuitry which might cause electrical shock when you touch the metal part of the casing.

The kind of electrical shock discussed here is not fatal and it might not even be so obvious and could be felt as a tingling sensation. In both cases, half of the problem mostly can be solved by just proper earthing in the socket or charger.

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