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I am replacing a 3 prong wall plug outlet receptacle with a new one that also has USB ports built in. The old outlet had 2 black wires and 2 white wires attached and a ground wire. The New outlet has only one screw for black and one for white. Should i pigtail both blacks together and both whites together? Thank you for your advice.

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Look at each side of the old outlet. There will be copper tabs connecting the two screws that can be broken off. If the tab is intact, then connect them together.

If the tab is broken, connect to only one of the wires and leave the other disconnected (put a wirenut on the wire. Make sure the nut is small enough to grab onto the wire securely). Make sure to use the wires from the same top or bottom of the outlet.

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    +1- adder: If the tab is intact and you connect them together, do so with a wire nut and a short pigtail to attach to the new receptacle; tucking the nuts and joined wires into the back of the box. Do not attach both directly to the terminal screw of the receptacle.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Apr 13, 2019 at 23:42
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    It’s also possible the terminals on the new outlet are designed for either 1 or 2 wires to connect on the single terminal, but we’d need the model number or a picture to tell whether that is in fact true.
    – Tyson
    Commented Apr 14, 2019 at 0:15

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