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Socket tester RCD test

Updated: 22 October 2026

The button sits under your thumb, and a click from the consumer unit feels like a pass. A socket tester RCD test is narrower than that. The button injects a leakage, listings here say above 30 mA, and a trip only shows that some residual-current device opened. It does not time the opening, and it does not prove the earth wire. This page is about that button on the plugs in our [socket tester comparison](/hub/measuring-equipment/socket-tester). Lamp codes stay on the [socket tester lights meaning](/hub/measuring-equipment/socket-tester/sub/socket-tester-wiring-faults) page. The class split is on the [socket tester buying guide](/hub/measuring-equipment/socket-tester/sub/socket-tester-buying-guide). Products Compared editorial team, 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The button sits under your thumb, and a click from the consumer unit feels like a pass. A socket tester RCD test is narrower than that.

Our top picks

Martindale Martindale BZ101 Buzz-It

Best overall

Martindale Martindale BZ101 Buzz-It
8.4/10about £17.34
View offer
KAIWEETS KAIWEETS HT106E

Best value

KAIWEETS KAIWEETS HT106E
6.9/10about £11.99
View offer
YEREADW YEREADW HT107E

Alternative

YEREADW YEREADW HT107E
5.0/10about £12.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the button is doing
  2. 2.What a trip does not prove
  3. 3.The chance you trip the wrong thing
  4. 4.Which plugs in this set claim a button

What the button is doing

Pressing the button leaks current from line towards earth, above the 30 mA figure on many domestic RCDs. The HT106E listing says it simulates a ground fault. The HT107E and the Proster kit claim a test above 30 mA. A trip means a device opened. You get no milliamp reading and no stored time. The plug is not the T button on the RCD. BEAMA says that button should be pressed at least every six months, because a plug can open a different device. Plugging in safely is on the how to use a socket tester page.

What a trip does not prove

A trip does not measure disconnection time, and nothing in this set logs milliseconds. The IET's Wiring Matters, July 2022, treats an instrument test as a different act from pressing a button. A trip does not prove the protective conductor or the earth electrode. BEAMA says the RCD's own test circuit does not check those. It does not fill in an Electrical Installation Certificate. If nothing trips, the socket may have no RCD, the button may not inject what the title claims, or the device may be faulty. A YEREADW review calls the threshold way off and gives no milliamp figure. Note it and stop.
Martindale Martindale BZ101 Buzz-It

Testsieger

Martindale Martindale BZ101 Buzz-It
8.4/10about £17.34
View offer

The chance you trip the wrong thing

The practical risk is a dark house. The HT106E listing warns that a normal receptacle may trip the house wiring. Miiqxx reviews say an easy press can open the main device in the consumer unit. Press it only when you can reset the board, and do not rest a thumb on it as you insert the plug. If the device will not reset, call a competent person. The BZ101 and the KEWCHECK 103 do not have this button. If you only want a pattern and a tone, you do not need a control you might press by accident.

Which plugs in this set claim a button

The HT106E states an RCD test and the house-trip warning, at £11.99, with 4.6 from 1,700 ratings. The HT107E claims above 30 mA at £12.97, and reviews dispute the threshold. The Proster kit claims the same 30 mA line, with early-failure notes after the button was used. The QUIWILL HT97E says GFCI, US wording, beside 120 V and 260 V. DUSEKI and Grosion put RCD in a highlight or the title only. If the row does not describe a button, do not invent one. A trip is still only a device opened.

Common questions

If I press the button and the power goes off, has the RCD passed?
A device opened, which means it responded to a leakage the plug tried to apply, often described as above 30 mA. That is a functional clue, not a BS 7671 pass. You have no trip time, no measured current, and no proof of the protective conductor. Reset the device, note which one opened, and stop if it will not stay reset.
What if nothing trips?
The socket may have no RCD, the button may not inject what the title claims, or the device may be faulty. On the YEREADW, one review calls the threshold way off and gives no milliamp figure, so the plug is part of the doubt. Do not keep pressing. If you expected a 30 mA device to open and it did not, ask a competent person rather than declaring the RCD failed from the button alone.
Will it trip the whole house?
It can. Miiqxx reviews say an easy press trips the nearest device and, in one report, the main device in the consumer unit. The HT106E listing warns that a normal receptacle may trip the house wiring. Test only when you can afford the lights to drop, and do not lean on the button as you insert the plug.
Is 30 mA the right figure for a UK socket circuit?
Many UK socket circuits are on a 30 mA RCD or RCBO, which is why these listings say above 30 mA. The button does not measure that current, and it does not prove the device is the 30 mA type you think it is. Some circuits are on a different device, or on none. A trip tells you which device saw the current. It does not certify the rating.
Does this replace the test button on the consumer unit?
No. BEAMA describes the button on the RCD itself as the routine check, at least every six months, and even that check does not prove the earth path. A plug injects from the socket and may open a different device. Use the RCD's own button for the check the manufacturer describes.
Can I record this on an Electrical Installation Certificate?
No. The form asks for instrument tests and disconnection times. A button press has no millisecond value and no loop impedance. The IET's 2022 note treats those instrument tests as separate from a functional button check. You can note that a plug tripped a device. You cannot write that up as a BS 7671 result.
Why do some listings say GFCI?
GFCI is the US name for a residual-current device. It appears on the QUIWILL HT97E beside a file that says both 120 V outlets and 260 V. It is not a stricter UK test. Treat that wording, on a listing that never says BS 1363, as a reason to doubt the plug.

Related pages

Best socket tester UK

Socket tester

Socket tester buying guide: the earth loop comes first

How to use a socket tester without calling a glow a pass

Socket tester lights meaning: use this legend only

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures captured with these eleven listings. The price bands are this set, not a market average.

  1. Electrical Safety First, Best Practice Guide 8, Issue 2 (February 2015) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. HSE: electricity FAQ (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. ESQCR 2002, regulation 27 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. SP Energy Networks: voltage changes (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Martindale BZ101 data sheet (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Kewtech KEWCHECK 103 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. BEAMA RCD handbook 2018 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk, Martindale BZ101 listing (retrieved 21 October 2026)