Friendly PSA: Hisense TV Causing Electric Shock

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2672849

Thoughts for people deciding on a new tv.

OP posted:

We bought a Hisense TV about a month ago. My girlfriend has told me she has been shocked by the tv twice when brushing up the side of the tv. She claims it felt like touching one of those 'novelty' pens that you press down. I don't think it's static either, as she claims the electric current was a constant stream. Is this something we should be worried about?

Another user replied:

hi iv got a h7 hisense tv and it is a fault with the tv that they are trying to hide I got mine and after 3 days I noticed that the metal surround was electrocuting me when I went to put in a flash drive or I touched the top of the tv I contacted them and was told to return the tv asap so I did and got another one and the new tv is exactly the same I even checked it with a multi meter and its pushing out 9 volts not enough to hurt u but enough if it touches your wrist to make u pull away I thought maybe iv just got another dud so iv been to two jbhifi stores and checked there display one and both of them did the same thing so its a fault they don't want to admit to or they will have to do a factory recall on all the tv s as it could hurt a child

Some other user gives similar experience and quick fixes

I had this problem, and I did manage to find a solution that worked for me.

TLDR: problem went away when I plugged a TV antenna cable into the TV.

Details:
I had this problem with a Hisense 50N6.
I plugged my laptop into it, using an HDMI cable. Suddenly all the metal trim on my laptop was constantly zapping me as I tried to type. Investigation showed all the HDMI ports gave me the same problem, as well as component, USB, the frame, the screws on the TV. As soon as it was plugged in, and switched on, the voltage was there.

I got one of those powerpoint testing devices from bunnings to check that the GPO was wired correctly, and also tested on a number of other GPOs I could reach with an extension cord. All good.

I was afraid to connect any other device I cared about to the TV, in case a current running through the device would eventually cause damage.

I spoke to JBHifi, and they said I could just bring it in and swap it over, in case there was some problem with that actual unit. When I took it in, I actually upgraded to the 50N7 while I was there.

Got the replacement TV home, same problem, the screws, frame, ports all gave me a nasty zinging, and it wasn't static electricity, it was constant, and it hurt. Not that I touch these parts normally, but just worried about expensive devices (laptops, xbox, apple tvs) connecting to it.

I tried Hisense customer support. The guy was not that great, told me to do a factory reset, which changes the software settings but wouldn't fix any problem like this, I figured. It didn't fix anything.

What ended up fixing the problem was some advice I found somewhere on the internet about earthing the tv. Up to this point I hadn't run a TV antenna coaxial cable into the tv. I had no plans to view free-to-air, and I didn't even have a cable that reached. However when I bought a cable and hooked it up to the existing antenna cable, the problem disappeared instantly.

I'm definitely not an electrician. I don't know if it's a general Hisense problem, or I was unlucky twice, but it was an unpleasant problem. Connecting to a grounded cable seems to have given a path to the ground, and removed the problem.

Another user posted a link to a comment that said:

I can feel a weird sensation from the back of my ipad when it's charging, which could be described as a tingle.

I've seen a number of comments about that. The effect is usually most noticeable if you very lightly draw your fingertip across the casing surface. When you do this (whether iPad or any other double insulated unit that produces tingles from its metal casing) your skin momentarily makes and breaks contact with the surface as it slides. If you press your finger firmly against the panel and hold it there you will typically feel nothing, or hardly anything.

The reason for this is that your body's relatively large capacitance with respect to earth is swamping the small stray capacitance that creates the free floating voltage (say the 110V reported), and holding it down to a low value, e.g. 25V. Even if half a milliamp of current is flowing, you don't notice, or hardly sense anything, and it is quite safe.

When a small capacitance at a high voltage is discharged into a large capacitance at a lower voltage, momentarily the current flow is a much larger pulse than the average current over time. So when a fingertip brushes the surface, continually making and breaking contact, what your fingertip nerves feel is a stream of brief current "strikes" that translates into a "tingle". But the amount of energy being transferred to your body can not be any more than is happening if you press your finger firmly and feel nothing.

Last comment in the thread

Any serious current or RCD breaker trips of course need to be checked – but this sounds like what Mbozo posted above – ie it's normal & harmless "tickle current" that's very common with double insulated (but not grounded) devices.

It feels worse when you lightly brush past it because it intermittently contacts through a tiny point on the skin vs holding the device with your hands (larger area, solid contact).
Connecting an antenna or other cable or gear that is grounded stops this. Switch everything off at the wall first so the tickle current doesn't tickle….

TL;DR check that your tv doesn't have any grounding issues with electrical current or be prepared to find ways top fix it solve it I.e connect an antenna or cable or gear with proper grounding to stop this