Flipping Your Breaker & Resetting Your GFCI

Though it’s not something you’ll need to do often, resetting a circuit breaker may come up occasionally. The good news is that it’s a simple process you can handle yourself.

For a visual guide, YouTube has helpful tutorials on resetting GFIs/GFCIs and other breakers.

• How to flip your breaker: CLICK HERE.
• How to reset your GFCI: CLICK HERE.

You’ll typically find your circuit breaker in one of a few locations:

• Inside the unit in a hallway
• Laundry area
• Inside a closet

Flipping A Breaker

Circuit breakers are usually housed in metal boxes, though sometimes they’re painted to blend in with the wall. Start by checking low-traffic areas, such as inside a closet. Once you locate the metal box, open it to reveal rows of switches, which are the “breakers.”

The tripped breaker will usually be in the middle position, neither fully “off” nor “on,” and it may appear slightly out of line with the others. This switch is the tripped breaker. 

Then:

1. Turn The Breaker Fully OFF.

Firmly push the switch to the OFF position. (Some breakers won’t reset unless you do this first).

2. Flip It Back To ON.

Then, push it firmly to the ON position. You should feel it click into place.

3. Check The Power.

Go back to the room or appliance that lost power and confirm it’s working again.

If the breaker trips again and you still don’t have power, unplug and turn off all devices in your apartment—one of them could be overloading the circuit. Then, try resetting the breaker again. If it trips a second time, do not force it. Give us a call, or submit a request on the tenant portal, and someone from our team will come and take a look.

Resetting A GFI/GFCI 

Similar to a regular breaker is a GFI, also called a GFCI—which stands for Ground Fault Interrupter. This type of breaker is designed to protect you from electrical shock by monitoring the flow of electricity. It continuously monitors the electrical current, and if it detects an imbalance, it will shut off power instantly. 

You’ll typically find GFIs in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry areas, and anywhere water is present. You can identify them by the “TEST” and “RESET” buttons on the outlet face:

• RESET restores power
• TEST ensures the protection is working

To reset a GFI/GFCI, simply press the RESET button until you hear a click—power should return immediately.

If the power still doesn’t come back, don’t force it—just give us a call. 

Next, here’s a helpful section that can help you avoid a potential $10 charge—we typically charge around $10 to replace a battery in many cases.