Leviton USB Charger / Outlet Review – Model T5630

By Todd Fratzel on Electrical

USB Outlets Now Standard Equipment For Homes Small and Large

Today almost every household has a combination of mobile devices that feature power chords that derive their power from USB ports connected to computers and other electronic equipment. In our household there are multiple phones to charge, several iPad’s, and even an occasional rechargeable battery pack.

The real problem with the USB chargers is the size of the transformer on the end of the chord that reduces the voltage for the phones. Combine that with the fact that many people have more than one device that they charge on a daily basis and you quickly grow a “farm” of chords and transformers plugged to your wall.

So now there’s a really cool solution and it’s fairly inexpensive and very easy to use.

Leviton USB Charger / Outlets

Leviton is selling a few products that can really help out in the USB charging arena. They recently sent me one of their USB Charger/Outlets to try and their Mobile Device Station.

Warning: Working with electricity can cause serious injury or death. If you’re not familiar with electrical work please consult a licensed electrician.

Installation was very easy as I followed these steps.

  1. Turn off power to the circuit that will be worked on.
  2. Remove the old receptacle and straighten out all the wires.
  3. Install the new Leviton USB Charger/Tamper Resistant Outlet. Be sure to install the black wires to the black terminals and the white wires to the white terminals and also the ground wire to the grounding screw.
  4. If you also purchase the Mobile Device Station then install it to a double gang outlet cover with the included screws.
  5. Install the double gang cover plate to the single outlet box.
  6. Turn the circuit breaker back on.

The Mobile Device Station basically widens the existing single outlet and allows you to install their phone holder. The holder can hold a SmartPhone while it’s charging. This definitely clears up some desk space.

More Space, Charge 2 Devices and Still Have A Power Receptacle Available

As you can see in the adjacent photo, I now have a phone charging on the wall braket, an iPad plugged in and still one outlet available for any desk devices that may need power. No special chords needed, no special adapters just an all new outlet with an excellent feature.

I’m very impressed with these new charger/outlets. I’ll be placing several of them around the house to take the brunt of our charging needs. Priced at $20 they will likely sell very well!

The Mobile Device Station is also a neat idea but it’s not as crucial. Priced around $11 this too is a good value.

If you’d like to buy these you can online at several stores including the links below to Amazon:

About the author

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

All posts by Todd »

Not what you're looking for?

Search for more articles here. Enter keywords like, 'insulation' or 'kitchens' etc to find your topic.

6 Comments

  1. 2.1 amps is the same output as the power brick for the iPad. I’m betting that was a design choice. Any less and the iPad would charge slower. It should charge your phone really fast. PC USB slots are around .5 amps.

    • Todd says:

      Yup….but I did find one issue…just waiting to hear back from Leviton. Apparently this will only charge one USB device at a time…seems a bit useless to me having two ports if in fact that’s the case.

  2. Jay says:

    I’m a bit of a novice, so apologies if this question seems basic.

    I’ve shutoff the power to the outlet, so working with it is not a problem. When I start disconnecting the wires to straighten them, I noticed that there are two black wires, two white wires and one ground, each connected to their own terminal with a screw. On this Leviton T5630-W outlet, there are only three terminals with screws: one white, one black (hot) and one ground.

    Do I connect both black wires to the one “hot” terminal? And, do I do the same for the two white wires, connecting them to the one white terminal? (Assuming ground is the same, as well?)

    Thanks, in advance.

    • Todd says:

      Jay – I didn’t remember this when I installed the ones I reviewed, however I’m not all that surprised. Sounds to me like you’ll need to create pigtails for the hot and neutral wires. basically you attach a short 3rd wire to each pair with a wire nut, then attach the end of the new wire to the back of the outlet. Trying to attach two wires to a terminal at the same time isn’t really a good idea as one or both can come loose. Good luck.

  3. Will says:

    One nice thing about the Decora Mobile Device Station is that it can be mounted on either side of the outlet. Looking at the your phone in the first picture the micro USB port is on the side and interferes with using the receptacle. This would be an easy change to just the plate.

  4. Steve Malavolta says:

    I have a leviton T5632-BW USB receptacle. I replacing a regular outlet that has a line and neutral power and then a another and neutral off to another outlet. If I connect all 4 to the new outlet, both neutral and both lines to the right connections it actually discharges my phone. If I only connect the power in lines and leave the outgoing line out of the circuit it works fine….Is there a solution to this?

Leave a comment

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2009-2023 Front Steps Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Home Construction & Improvement™ is a Trademark of Front Steps Media, LLC.