This cheap smart plug can cause house fires, Which? warns
2 October 2020, 10:05 | Updated: 2 October 2020, 10:08
A smart plug that was available on Amazon has been found to be a fire hazard, according to a new investigation by consumer watchdog Which?.
The Hictkon smart plug has since been removed for sale from the online retailer.
The plug has dual USB ports which means consumers can use it to charge their mobile devices while simultaneously using the plug socket to power something else - but the investigation found that its live connection was too close to an energy-monitoring chip, which rendered it a fire hazard as it could cause electrical discharge.
While the product was labelled “CE”, which would normally indicate that it had passed European safety standards, Which? said this could be misleading given that some Chinese companies use a similar label to mean “China export”.
