- 1). Turn off the power. You may do this by disconnecting the fuse or flipping the breaker for the room you're working in. If you aren't confident in the labeling of your breakers, it is best to flip the main breaker. This will turn off power to your entire home.
- 2). Remove the outlet cover by loosening the screw in between the plug-ins. There will be two screws securing the old receptacle, one at the top and one at the bottom. Remove those, then gently pull out the receptacle and loosen the screws that are securing the wires on each side. Pay attention to where the wires are placed, as you will wire your new receptacle the same way. Write down the configuration if necessary.
- 3). Remove the metal outlet box by loosening the two screws in the back of the box. Use a screwdriver to punch out one of the tabs in the back of the new outlet box. Choose the tab that will allow you to pull the wires through while lining the box up with the existing screw holes in the wall. Pull the wires through the hole, and attach the box with wood screws.
- 4). Identify your wires. There will be three types of wires coming out of the wall: a neutral wire (insulated white), a hot wire (insulated black) and a ground wire (bare copper). Depending on where the outlet is in the circuit, and how the previous outlet was wired, there may be one or two of each wire.
- 5). Loosen the screws on the sides of the new receptacle. Use the pliers to bend the exposed ends of the wires in a clockwise direction. Attache the wires in the same configuration as the previous receptacle was wired, with one exception: Newer receptacles have a green screw on the bottom corner for the ground wire. Attache the ground wire there, even if it was attached near the white wire on the old receptacle.
- 6). Secure the new receptacle with screws at the top and bottom. These screws go through holes on the tabs at the top and bottom of the outlet box. Install the new outlet cover.
Source...