Plugging in is getting me down ( just a little)

I was thrilled to find some USB ports in our new build.
Not so thrilled when we bought new iPhones to replace our 2020 ones. They’ve got different ports so had to buy tiny adapters ….

eazybee

It is finding sufficient sockets for all these extra chargers that is my problem.

Oh so agree… I use extension cords for almost everything as I live in an old house with oddly placed plugs and not many of those! Trouble is you should not use extension cords for higher power gadgets. I burnt one extension plug out by using a large fan heater in the bedroom. There are only two mains plugs in the room …one behind a wardrobe for permanent energy plugged in for TV ( and the heater extension) and the other on the opposite side of the room which takes the bedside lights, sleep apnoea machine, phone and tablet plugs, hair dryers etc. not really suitable for hair dryers as they keep cutting out . Luckily, as with the heater, good extension plugs have cut outs if fire threatened, but it’s not a good situation!

fancyflowers, in the current tech world, I do not think you will ever get away from plugging things in. Even cordless items need to be plugged in at sometime, even if it is only once and continues to charge once you connect it to the charger. You can get extension leads which are operated by way of a remote control, but you still need to put a plug in them, in the first instance. In an ideal world and in order to cover your needs, I assume you are looking towards products which charge themselves without ever having to plug them in and they are powered in the same way as a mobile phone gets it's reception signal. Alternatively, try to purchase products which have a solar panel included, which charge in artificial or day/sunlight. You will never every have to plug these in. The basic kettle and toaster used to be a new gadgets and for many they are still lifesavers, because users never get tired of the endless plugging in, or turning switches on/off.

Well, you've got a choice. Go back to the dark ages, don't use gadgets, buy batteries, or embrace technology.

KKOB

Well, you've got a choice. Go back to the dark ages, don't use gadgets, buy batteries, or embrace technology.

I don't think I actually have a choice! Today's society needs all these gadgets. I don't dislike the gadgets themselves, but I wish that someone would invent gadgets whose batteries last much longer. (Off to plug in my phone.....)

KKOB

Well, you've got a choice. Go back to the dark ages, don't use gadgets, buy batteries, or embrace technology.

Also, please remember that there is a real person reading your comment.

A few years ago, I booked an Airbnb in Paris for DH and I, DS, two DDs and husbands and five DGC. It was quite an old house, and had less sockets than we’d have liked. Between us, we had quite a number of chargers ( to put it mildly ). It became like musical chargers. I’d go back to check that my device was charged, to discover that someone had replaced my charger with their own! Very frustrating. I wonder how much it affected the owner’s electricity bill!

I wish all chargers had the Maker's name on them!! I have various products, some of my late husband's that I would like to use, but although I have a bag full of chargers and plugs, I cannot partner the two together!! My Sharp stick vacuum charger etc is marked, meaning I can always match the correct one when needing to recharge the equipment.
I am sure it wouldn't take too much to mark them.

Plugs with charging cables attached should always be switched off at the wall socket when not in use, the risk of a tragic fire is very real and never, ever worth the risk. This applies whichever type of connector it uses, merely disconnecting the phone or whatever device has charged doesn’t cut off the mains electrical connection. Wall sockets have switches for a reason!

TanaMa

I wish all chargers had the Maker's name on them!! I have various products, some of my late husband's that I would like to use, but although I have a bag full of chargers and plugs, I cannot partner the two together!! My Sharp stick vacuum charger etc is marked, meaning I can always match the correct one when needing to recharge the equipment.
I am sure it wouldn't take too much to mark them.

Weren’t the EU going to bring in legislation to make chargers universal? Or was that just for phones?

the few i have are attachedto power strip
turn off when done
no fires

We have two towers and good quality wires but wires that work in one tower don't always work in the other - and vice versa. Also two gadgets have a maximum limit of 1 amp and its a devil to find an appropriate charger.

We're going on a cruise after Christmas and there is just one electric socket in the cabin - and no usb outlets.

Anyone got any advice on a tower or similar that's versatile AND reliable?

eazybee

It is finding sufficient sockets for all these extra chargers that is my problem.

As many chargers are just a USB on one end without a plug these days, we changed two of our double sockets for ones with 2 USB points as well as 2 plugs

KKOB

Well, you've got a choice. Go back to the dark ages, don't use gadgets, buy batteries, or embrace technology.

On that subject, I have a wallet full of plastic cards. Standing in my local Tesco behind a modern man with just a few items who had to keep wandering to the Window to get his clubcard on his phone to appear, and then had to go outside to get his banking app opened while the queue built up behind him. I waited patiently because I was not in a hurry, but lots of tutting and changing lanes went on. Me, card one, card 2 and gone!

TanaMa

I wish all chargers had the Maker's name on them!! I have various products, some of my late husband's that I would like to use, but although I have a bag full of chargers and plugs, I cannot partner the two together!! My Sharp stick vacuum charger etc is marked, meaning I can always match the correct one when needing to recharge the equipment.
I am sure it wouldn't take too much to mark them.

It is the same with kitchen devices. I have more plugs than sockets and was always having to swap the cables around, so I invested in a labeller. Each power plug and charger cable has the name of what it is for. It makes life a lot easier.

Ditto and all the different cables!

You need a session pairing up all the chargers, plugs and cables with their respective devices and another session labelling them all, then you wrap a velcro cable tie round each to keep them all from tangling together. You also need to be an OCD filing addict prepared to wrap each one up again once it has been used and tidy the box/bag/drawer at frequent intervals.
Whatever happened to all the time we were supposed to gain from buying all these efficient devices?

Earlier this year I bought a recliner sofa and armchair for my new snug.
Because the recliners are powered the side has USB points for my gadgets so I leave the leads, you don’t need heads, permanently in them.
As soon as I sit down I attach them to my phone and IPad.
The vacuum cleaner is plugged in in the utility room to recharge after use.
I am mostly tech free apart from those.

We always used to take an extension lead when we went away. Two SLR cameras to charge plus phones!

henetha

One brilliant thing about my robot vacuum cleaner is that it plugs itself in after cleaning and tells me it's 'charging'.

That is brilliant. Mummy’s little helper🤣

MayBee70

Going away anywhere is a nightmare, too, making sure you haven’t forgotten to pack the right chargers!

Not to mention someone nicking your Kindle charging cable at a big family get together! It was a red cable, too - to match my Kindle case! I never did find out who took it. 🤬

It's all better than shelling out £5 notes for non-rechargeable batteries.

what is a leg massager? I think I could do with one

JaneJudge

what is a leg massager? I think I could do with one

Are these the machines that Ian Botham advertises?
And Clare Balding?

Apparently one of the joys of private hearing aids is to plug them in. My SIL has these and her charger would no longer work and she was told she had to return them to the store she had purchased them from. She was nowhere near the store at the time and had to put up with no hearing aids for a week or so. Give me a small card of batteries that can be easily taken anyway. Also do not want a rechargeable vacuum cleaner for the same reason. Phone, iPad, toothbrush, lawn mower battery, Yes I understand the plug problem and agree. Wouldn’t fancy an electric car either.