Is there a bug in my wall/outlet?

[Anonymous]

I have an outlet in my apartment that never worked and it’s the only outlet facing upside down.

I bought a detector recently. Turned off my phone and laptop, put them by the front door. Got some base reads in my room and swept my room. The alarm box, fan & light, circuit breaker, the rest of the outlets. Waited till traffic died down by my window I was only getting maybe up to two or three on the wand. I was getting higher reads on my bed. I checked under the bed I didn't see anything. I swept around the walls and floors. I get to that outlet that never worked and the wand sounded. I took off the faceplate of that outlet and another outlet that didn’t have a level. The non-working outlet has a larger space behind it than the other. I turned off the circuit to my room and it still has a strong reading. When a helicopter just flew overhead it was fluctuating again.
I turned on my cellphone and walked passed it with the wand I was only getting a mid read. I only got a high read on my phone when I was scrolling. I also put it in the cabinet and still only got a mid read.

Is there any other reason why the outlet and piece of wall might be giving me high reads?

[MrOracle]

Typically, when there is an upside-down outlet (compared to most/all of the others), it's because (usually) one of the two outlets is connected to a wall light switch. The purpose is so that you can plug in a lamp and control it from the switch. In most cases, the other socket is like a normal outlet - always on - but I have occasionally seen it where both outlets in the pair are connected to the switch. So, maybe plug in a lamp and then test the switches on the wall and you may find that one of them turns the light on and off. This setup is common in places where there aren't built-in overhead lights.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3AAKEeDcZ34

This has been a standard (part of the electrical code) since the 1990s, so while older homes that haven't been rewired since may not follow it, any newer build will have these upside down outlets if that outlet is controlled by a power switch (unless, of course, someone has come behind them and changed it, which is also possible - you never know what a random electrician or "maintenance person" will do years after something was built).

Anyway, in all likelihood, this is why you have a "non-working" outlet (the wall switch that it's connected to is off).

[andreasderjuengere]

If the outlet is ' made in China', then this is perfectly normal.
Just use the others, or consider moving out.

[Blueeyes81]

Why not just call an electrician and save yourself the paranoia.

[Asker]

That’s my next step bc I don’t know. It’s in my apartment unit. I asked it to be fixed the maintenance never fixed it or sent an electrician. It could just be crap wiring as this building wasn’t built right and the power shuts off constantly.