r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Warm_Web3768 • 17h ago
Ruined by Technology Plug got stuck at work
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u/alexiusmx 14h ago
For y’all recommending OP get pliers to pull the thing out. Are y’all missing the word “work” in the title? Let office admin know and move on.
They’ll get an electrician to prevent the 1% chance OP messes up and dies. It might not be because they’re super worried about OP’s safety, but because a corpse in the workplace means more paperwork and having to train their replacement.
And sure, I bet they like OP a bit and would rather not have them die. But that’s secondary in the decision tree.
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u/Bikkusu 10h ago
Office admin is just going to call Gary
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u/alexiusmx 9h ago
Good thing Gary is a carpenter, electrician, gardener, and janitor. I don’t think office admin calls him, Gary just spawns into action.
Nobody has ever seen him sitting idle waiting for the next office fix.
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u/MrMansaMusa 17h ago
Meh just pull it out, whats the worst that can happen... it only has electricity once it completed a full circuit :)
*for legal reasons, this is humor
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u/Kasaeru 17h ago
You're completely right, aside from high voltage black magic. Electricity does need a complete circuit for current to flow. You can even grab onto a power line so long as no part of your body forms a path to ground.
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u/blaghed 17h ago
There we go, then. Totally safe to put your tongue there, OP. Just be sure to float.
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u/feoranis26 12h ago
Not necessarily true with AC, everything always has some stray capacitance to ground and some current will flow. Even if you are floating, if you touch that pin wou will feel some tingling.
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u/Dormammu____ 17h ago
Put one finger in the right hole and pull out the other prong
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u/SpicyTeddy07 17h ago
Something tells me you're definitely not an electrician
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u/MrMansaMusa 17h ago
Im the fireman of the family, never messed with the electrical sockets but touched my palm on a frying pan and an iron as a kid! Also started many fires....
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u/Schnupsdidudel 13h ago
50% / 50% chance.
Unless it's a Clinic with an IT-Net, then 100% correct.
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u/Luna_Engineer 15h ago
Jump, pull it out while in the air, land, if you get zapped you werent quick enough 😂
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u/Warm_Web3768 15h ago
This must work, since you are an engineer
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u/Greedy-Army-3803 15h ago
An engineer on the moon though, so they have more time in the air to get the pin out.
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u/Sizeable-Scrotum 17h ago
It's at work, don't bother touching it. Someone else's problem
If at home, just grab insulated pliers and pull it out. Maybe a glove too for good measure
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u/xzElmozx 17h ago
Or for even better measure just turn the breaker for that room off lol
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u/Asahi32 16h ago
Or that house
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u/Sizeable-Scrotum 16h ago edited 12h ago
Yeah that's better, but I can never remember which room is which breaker.
I should definitely start mapping this sometime but I can't be bothered to
Also if I turn it all off I get everyone complaining "tHe WiFi Is DoWn", "WhY nO oVeN", "PlS tUrN pOwEr On I hAz ViDeOcAlL"
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u/Nick0312 16h ago
This happened to me just last week, the grounding pin on one of the outlets at work simply disappeared, it wasn’t in the socket, plug, and no where around the area. so i told the shift lead and moved on.
Ofc it’s been a week and nothings changed so I hope it’s not a problem and that my shift lead actually remembered to do somthing about it/tell management
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u/-soulking- 15h ago
Yeah report it at least or you’ll have some idiot trying to pull it out when they wanna charge their phone
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u/teabagsforlife 17h ago
Just use some metal pliers to pull it out.
(Please dont do that, this is obviously a joke)
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u/Free_Carry4371 17h ago
Pliers are usually made up of metal. As long as those have insulated handles, they’re fine i guess
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u/nosniboD 17h ago
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u/welshdude1983 15h ago edited 14h ago
The plastic bit on the bottom of the pins are there to stop your fingers accidentally touching the pins while pulling the plug out. Ive had a cheap charger pin come out of the plastic bit once. If its built to actual safety standards it is the superior plug
Edit. To the person who deleted your reply. They found that a childs smaller fingers could touch the metal before they were fully clear of the contacts in the socket. Hence the half plastic cover at the base of the pin
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u/sleepyotter92 17h ago
Is that an extension cord?
Unplug it and then get something like pliers to pull it out
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u/pm_me_meta_memes 17h ago
That’s gotta be a fake Apple charger
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u/suentendo 16h ago
Yep. Apple's chargers are overpriced but they don't cheap out on safety (also because Apple would be extremely liable). The fake ones are cheaply made, don't have the same electronics design and components inside, sometimes even have ballasts to add weight etc.
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u/busytransitgworl PURPLE 14h ago
Had a faulty MacBook charger (back in 2009), my Mac was out of warranty, I still called them and explained the issue. It was absolutely hassle-free with them and they took this matter seriously.
And I believe there was also an iPhone charger back in the 2010s that was a fire risk(?), there was a big recall programme, they replaced the charger without any issues.
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u/SilverSafri 10h ago
Yep, they’re good with replacing faulty stuff. Battery in my out of warranty almost 4 year old watch turned into a spicy pillow so much that it pushed the screen out, I went in to ask about replacement cost (trying to figure out if I wanted to pay for replacement or buy a new watch). I got entire watch replaced with a new one for free, cause they said the battery was faulty and it’s on them even out of warranty (probably helped that apparently it was a known issue for some units of that particular model).
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u/Davenator_98 14h ago
Can't you just get a regular charger which isn't shitty and just plug in a USB to lightning cable?
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u/4Floaters 10h ago
if its a surge protector unplug it if its not find the breaker and turn it off
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u/dominant486 15h ago
There are 165 people debating on a 10second problem.get a pair of insulated plyers and pull that pin out.its just a pin. No rocket science
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u/_DoubleDutchess_ 15h ago
Especially if you flick the trip switch for the socket loop first.
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u/dominant486 15h ago
To do it safe yes, but with the right tool , i skip that part. If its an office building good luck finding the right breaker.
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u/sksauter 11h ago
Had to do a double take to check the title of the subreddit while scrolling...
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u/DuckShapedGoose 17h ago
Unplug it or turn off the entire circuit in the breaker box then pull it out with pliers.
If it has a switch, that may not be enough to turn it off. Cheap power strips only switch one of the two wires going in and then it's basically a 50:50 gamble whether that's live or neutral.
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u/Papa_de_clement 17h ago
I had the same issue with the "protective pin" the only plastic one for 3 pin uk type of plug. It stuck clean in the wall plug and has been there since. I still haven't figured a way to get it out.
Anyone one clever here with a good idea ?
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u/TwinSong 16h ago
Maybe turn off the mains supply and unscrew the socket front to access it? Basically something similar to replacing the socket except not changing the wiring. It might help if you attached a photo of it here in case anyone has an idea.
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u/Electronic-Tree-9715 13h ago
Take it to an Apple Store, they might be able to replace it. Unless it is a fake.
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u/Gabriel_Science 11h ago
It looks like a fake one, there is not the usual text where it should be.
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 15h ago
50% chance nothing will happen when you touch it. 100% chance if you're in the EU and all your sockets are up to code and have been checked by yourself with a socket checker. (Because brown, live, is on the right)
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u/NightmareWokeUp 14h ago
This is switzerland but the logic is the same, it SHOULD be neutral, but effectively treat it like its live.
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u/Ybalrid 12h ago
They are obviously in Switzerland, which while not being in the EU, has pretty safe infrastructure.
In this case this prong is in the Neutral side of the plug.
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 12h ago
Thank you! Now apparently everyone else thinks I'm insane, guess I'm not alone.
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u/Ybalrid 11h ago
The fact that this is in an office and looks modern enough is reasuring on the idea that this is probably the neutral side.
However since this is at work, there's insurance reasons for OP to not touch anything and just go report the issue to whoever manages the building itself. Even if you are confidently sure that this side is neutral.
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u/Wasabi-Historical 10h ago
How can you tell it's Switzerland and not Brazil? Their plugs are really hard to tell apart.
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u/abouttogivebirth 13h ago
Pretty sure that's also a desktop extension cord so the whole thing can just be unplugged before pulling the prong out
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u/fettklotz 14h ago
Not true There is no code that enforces L has to be on the right side. It just has to be consistent.
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u/karlito30 14h ago
Yes there is. This is in Switzerland, the code (NIN) requires the live to be on the right.
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u/Malecord 9h ago
Where did you buy those? AliExpress? Amazon recalled those usb chargers a few weeks ago. Never buy electric stuff from non western sellers. It's done in China anyway, but they are responsible and they do checks.
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u/PapersNRoach 16h ago
Damn, if only they’d have adopted the British 3 pin plug, best in the world 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
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u/welshdude1983 15h ago
This happend to me on the train with a uk plug . It was a cheap charger off ebay .i was worried about leaving it and the train was so busy the conductor couldnt get through to report it to them. I managed to lazzo my usb cable round it tight enough to pull it out after about 20 minutes of fiddling about with 240v danger spike
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u/PapersNRoach 15h ago
Quite often those cheaper ones are Chinese knockoffs not actually made to BS 1363, not saying faults can’t happen but for something like this to happen with a BS plug you’d need 3-4 things to go wrong at once. Source: I do PAT/EET
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u/busytransitgworl PURPLE 14h ago
I have, very much unfortunately, got Type F at home, it's safe-ish, but damn, BS 1363 is just peak and I wish my flat was equipped with that.
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u/Relevant_History_297 11h ago
That's the absolute weirdest thing Brits are patriotic about. Unwieldy, hurt as fuck if you step on them, and take up wax too much space in extension outlets. Plus do you really think their temu versions are any more sturdy?
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u/EdelWhite 11h ago
That style (type-J plug) was on track to actually be the worldwide standard at some point.
The UK plug is bulky for no reason whatsoever.
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u/Lord-Megadrive 17h ago
Surely you could just dump some super glue into the hole and then push the plug in there and leave for a few mins and then pull the plug out. The plug is broken anyway.
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u/Silkies4life 16h ago
This is a power strip right? Unplug it and pull that little guy out with a good pair of pliers, and if they don’t come out toss it and replace it because that’s dangerous even if you tape it off and label it bad.
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u/kappi1997 16h ago
Looks like it is integrated into the table but yes might find it plugged into another plug when following the cable in the cable channel
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u/Ponderkitten 16h ago
Theres been a metal plug sticking out of an outlet, all holes, for a month or two at my job. In a publicly available outlet at toddler hand height. I reported it to my manager and gm when I found it and so for nothing
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u/nugz_mc-g 10h ago
Looks like a power bar you can uplug to remove the stuck stem? One trick I used to use at the Apple store when people's headphones would get stuck in the headphone port and break off is use the inside of a standard ballpoint pen (the hallow end of the ink chamber) - it fits around the stem perfectly to be able to pull out the stuck stem.
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u/RevolutionaryEar9866 10h ago
How old is this charger and do you have the receipt? You might be able to claim warranty on it
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u/surroundedbybadideas 17h ago
Could you insulate a pliers and pull it out?
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u/Redstone_Army 17h ago
Technically yes, but theres still a pretty small risk of death left, hence you don't recommend it to randoms
Some pliers are even rated for something like this, but because the risk is not something like losing 50 bucks or destroying the pliers, but death is why the standart method is to not go that route at all.
Turning off the breaker (and making sure its the right one) and then using pliers (insulated one in best case) would we what you generally recommend online.
For me for example, i know in our sockets live is the right one and we got quality pliers here, so id just take the pliers and get it out.
If you recommend that to someone, moral responsibility kinda shifts to you so just dont
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u/NiLu0910 14h ago
With quality pliers do you mean the up to 1000V insulating ones by Knipex or the normal Knipex Pliers?
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u/TheGoldenTNT 17h ago
Most halfway decent pliers should be insulated. Unless you buy cheap
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u/Dormammu____ 17h ago
Plug the other prong in and then pull both out with your hands like a man. :)
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u/0thedarkflame0 17h ago
Looks like a swiss type J plug.
If this is at work, not at home, there's a chance it's a delta connection not a star connection, in which case you'll be handling an actively fluctuating line.
Definitely something you should handle with insulated tools or unplugged.
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u/Top_Paint7442 15h ago
50% chance you can pull this out without getting a shock.
I would try to stick the fake charger in again en pull it out with an angle. Or disconnect the wire from the chargepoint en pull it out with pliers.
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u/ElegantOliver 15h ago
I once walked into a meeting room in an expensively finished office and found similar.
Except it was a UK plug where the back has pulled off revealing both live and neutral. And it was in a cable box in the middle of a desk, exactly where people might blindly reach in...
Still took weeks to get maintenance to fix it!
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u/BespokeAlex 15h ago
This seems like a table plug. So there must be some connection behind this that you can remove.
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u/Duct_TapeOrWD40 15h ago
We have to power cycle half the LAB to remove one of these "by the book" way. It caused a little bit of chaos.
Then, our rejected order for insulated pliers, screwdrivers, etc... was "somehow" immediately re-approved.
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u/SSupermassiveahole 15h ago
I had this happen once and didn’t realise, so I went to plug out the charger and grabbed both metal rods still stuck inside, it felt like touching those electric fences they use on farms.
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u/Vanbursta1 14h ago
Well that's not at all dangerous, it needs to be removed, turn socket off, if you can't then insulated pliers and be careful.
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u/QuirkyPhoton 14h ago
If you're insulated you can literally just pull it out with your fingers, but better be safe and use nose pliers.
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u/JustARegularPawn 17h ago
Oh the urge to touch the metal thingy