Electric shocks from rear of TV, normal?

Snoots101

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Hi guys,

I have a new TV and noticed over the weekend that whenever my bare skin touches the rear metal back of the TV, I get small electrical shocks from it, like a sting.
This effect repeatedly happens and doesn't go away after a few touches like my experience with static.
I have spoken to Toshiba customer service and they said it is static and if I need to touch anything at the rear of TV, to turn it off first.

Is this something familiar with any users here? And should I not worry about it, is it safe?

My TV is a

Toshiba 50UK3163DB 50-inch.​


Thanks in advance.
 
Likely the TV is double insulated (two core mains wire connection). No earth on it so the issue is normal, not dangerous and the advice to disconnect from mains before connecting/disconnecting things is correct.

Troubleshooting - Why am I getting a 'tingle' when connecting A/V products? explains reasonably well.

If it's not double-insulated... then the above doesn't apply.
 
It is probably worth getting it checked out, I had a Sony VCR a while back that was doing the same but the shocks were really bad. I checked it with a DMM and was getting 120V between the chassis and other earthed components. I decided to bin it in the end.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, rodders yes it is double insulated it has the symbol your link showed so its confirmed. Lynx, Tiffany, kapkirk it does shock other people too but its only a low shock like a good shot of static discharge.
Think I'll stick with it for now, have several sources now saying it's normal.
 
If you don't have continuity between any metal part you can touch on that TV & the Earth pin of the Power plug, it's a bad design.
Based on this & my past experience with Toshiba, I wouldn't buy another one of their products.
 
If you don't have continuity between any metal part you can touch on that TV & the Earth pin of the Power plug, it's a bad design.
Based on this & my past experience with Toshiba, I wouldn't buy another one of their products.
TV's sold here in the UK are usually double insulated as Rodders53 stated. They use a switched-mode power supply are not earthed and are perfectly safe.
I believe you’re in the US where things may be different.
 
Wow, that is Shocking!@
and not just figuratively

Double-Insulated & unGrounded just seems like a recipe for issues when connecting any other piece of gear.
I had enough trouble with a Ground Loop when connecting a ThinkPad to my TV.
TV is well-grounded, ThinkPad has only two prongs on the Power plug.

Sony went the same direction with the Playstation & yes I have experienced Ground Loops with those, as well.
 
120V at no amps is not an issue ON A DOUBLE-INSULATED device. It will be virtually zero current. Not measurable with most voltmeters as the meter impedance will effectively short the voltage to zero.

120 V is actually common it's exactly half the UK 240V mains supply: Electric shock off tv and sources

🤓 Double insulation is common enough in the USA and has a Technical Standard under the US Underwriter's Laboratories system: UL Standard | UL 1097

Ground (earth) loops should be easier to resolve with double insulated devices. Often there was a bodge made by some to 'lift' one on a device (and rely on the signal path grounds for fuse-protection faults :eek: )
 

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