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It's usually phantom power triggering your tester because it doesn't place any load on cable it can detect voltage at tiny amperage. It gets picked up by cables running alongside each other. Fancy multimeters can discriminate it from real voltage.
On the other hand, in your case it seems like a faulty socket. Socket testers are well worth having especially if they make a noise. You can plug them in and then switch off circuits at the consumer unit until the tone stops.
Airhead
why would an electrical socket have low power?
we have a double socket that is branched off another (working) double socket and it doesn't work. I put a volt finder tester on it today and it lit up so there must be some power. then I got a lamp and plugged it in but it didn't come on despite the tester saying there was power in the cable. the lamp works elsewhere.
we got the electrics updated about 6 years ago but I'm not sure these sockets have ever worked. they're not in a very convenient location so I've ignored it but now I've realised that it's probably the only place that the kids wouldn't hear a turbo trainer from their bedroom.
is it likely to be something as dumb as loose connections in one of the sockets?