Most modern PCs and printers are already grounded automatically through their power cords and the building wiring; you usually should not add extra DIY grounding beyond what the electrical system provides.

Core idea: what “grounding” really is

For devices like PCs and printers, grounding means giving fault current or static charge a safe, low‑resistance path away from the metal chassis and into the building’s safety ground and, ultimately, the earth.

  • Desktop PCs and many printers use a 3‑prong plug; the round pin is the safety ground (protective earth).
  • Inside the power supply, that ground wire is bonded to the metal chassis, so any stray voltage on the case is dumped safely to ground instead of through you.
  • Proper grounding also helps with electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) that could damage or disturb electronics.

If your electrical installation is up to code and your outlets are correctly wired, your devices are “grounded” just by being plugged in.

How to ground PCs and printers correctly

1. Use properly wired grounded outlets

This is the normal, code‑compliant way and the only method recommended for non‑experts.

  1. Make sure the device has a 3‑prong power cord (most desktops and many office printers do). The round pin is ground.
  1. Plug it into a properly grounded wall outlet or a grounded surge protector / UPS that itself plugs into a grounded outlet.
  1. If you suspect bad wiring (tingles when touching the case, frequent shocks, odd behavior), use or have an electrician use an outlet tester to confirm hot/neutral/ground are wired correctly.

If the building doesn’t have a safety ground at the outlets, the safe fix is upgrading the wiring with a common ground from the panel, done by a qualified electrician—not ad‑hoc ground wires to pipes or rods.

2. Grounding laptops vs desktops

  • Laptops with a 3‑prong power brick are grounded through that brick’s ground pin.
  • Laptops with a 2‑prong (double‑insulated) brick don’t have a safety‑earth connection; they are designed to be safe without it, so you generally don’t add a separate ground.
  • Desktops: the PSU earth pin is bonded to the metal case and that is your main ground reference.

Printers follow the same idea:

  • Larger office printers often have 3‑prong cords and are grounded like desktops.
  • Smaller home printers often use 2‑prong supplies and rely on double insulation instead of a protective earth.

What you should NOT do (common unsafe “hacks”)

People online sometimes suggest DIY grounding tricks. Many are risky or pointless.

  • Do not drive your own separate ground rod and run a wire from it directly to just the PC case or printer chassis.
* This can create a “different” ground potential than the rest of the house wiring and introduce strange failure modes or shock hazards for other devices on the same circuit.
  • Do not tie ground to random metal objects (balcony railings, radiators, etc.) unless you know for certain they are part of the building’s bonded grounding system and it’s done to code.
  • Do not ignore tingling or obvious voltage on a case and “fix” it just by adding another ground wire; that can mask a real fault and potentially increase current flow in a dangerous way.

If you feel a shock or your device’s case measures significant voltage to neutral or earth, that indicates a wiring or equipment fault that needs proper diagnosis, not a DIY workaround.

Grounding vs “grounding yourself” (ESD protection)

Many forum discussions conflate grounding the device with grounding yourself while working on it. When you build or repair a PC or open a printer:

  • The goal is to equalize your body’s charge with the device so static doesn’t jump into sensitive components.
  • Safe ways to do this:
    • Turn off and unplug the PC or printer, then leave the power supply switch off but the cord plugged in if you are using the outlet ground and know the outlet is correctly grounded.
* Touch an unpainted metal part of the chassis periodically while working to equalize charge.

* Use an antistatic wrist strap connected through a high‑resistance lead to the chassis or a grounded point, or an ESD mat designed for electronics work.

You generally avoid hard‑wiring yourself directly to earth ground while working on powered, live equipment, because that increases shock risk.

If your building has no ground

In some countries or older homes, wall outlets may only have two conductors (hot and neutral) and no ground pin. Realistically, you have three options:

  • Upgrade the wiring:
    • Have an electrician run a proper safety ground from the distribution panel to your outlets, bonded correctly to neutral/earth at one point.
* This is the only fully safe and standards‑compliant solution for permanently grounding PCs and printers.
  • Use double‑insulated or 2‑prong devices where possible:
    • Some printers and many small electronics are designed for this and are safe without a protective earth.
  • Reduce static and nuisance shocks in other ways:
    • Use an antistatic mat for your work area, keep humidity moderate, avoid dragging feet on carpets, or lightly mist synthetic carpets with an anti‑static solution to cut static buildup.

DIY ground wires to balcony railings or ad‑hoc rods in the yard can seem to work but are unreliable and not considered safe or code‑compliant grounding for appliances.

Mini FAQ and example

Example situation:
You have a desktop PC and a USB printer, both with 3‑prong cords, and sometimes you feel a tiny tingle touching the case.

Reasonable steps:

  1. Plug both into the same good‑quality, grounded surge protector.
  2. Use an outlet tester (or have an electrician use one) to confirm the wall socket is wired correctly with a functioning ground.
  1. If the outlet checks out but tingles persist, have the PC and printer inspected—there could be leakage or a fault, and simply adding extra “grounds” can be dangerous.

TL;DR: For “how do you ground devices, such as PCs and printers?” the correct answer is:
Use a properly wired, grounded outlet and approved power hardware; do not add separate DIY grounds to rods, pipes, or railings, and fix wiring or equipment faults instead of trying to “band‑aid” them with extra wires.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.