What is the square thingy on the ceiling in the bathroom?

And I don’t mean the air vent (on the left), but the square thing on the right: https://ibb.co/ftq19Fm

Today, when I came home, I noticed there was a little bit of dirt on the floor in the bathroom. I usually keep my bathroom pretty clean so that was a bit odd. On top of that, it seemed like the toilet seat has been moved, and jolted out of the hinges that keep it in place (like someone has been using it???). So I used an app to check for hidden cameras, and it looks like the square thingy emits lots of magnetic field (same as my iPad and other devices). Am I just paranoid or is there a possibility there could be a hidden camera there? There’s no way I’m opening this thing without knowing what it is. Help please, I’m freaking out rn 😰

UPDATE: I called the police, there is noone in the vent, thank you for the panic attacks. I’m gonna confirm with my landlord tmrw if he (or one of his hench/repairmen) hasn’t come here without permission and let you know. I’m going to (try) to sleep now.

UPDATE 2: I called the landlord, apparently he quit the company (without anyone telling me ofc), but the renting company assured me there was, in fact, noone in my house yesterday and that they’d let me know in advance if someone were to come. So IDK what that was, if I’m just super paranoid or the person who lives there was out or something 😂🤷🏻‍♀️. But thanks for everyone who’s helped, even those who spooked me enough to call the cops 🫡.

26 comments
  1. It’s the access to the pipe spaces above the unit bath. It sounds very much like someone went up there. If no one else is supposed to have access to your home, perhaps call the police and have them look before you look yourself.

  2. If you push it up, it usually has behind it the switch that routes your internet connection to all the ethernet ports in your house.
    This also includes the connection for your doorbell camera and so on.

  3. Push it from below, open it and look inside. There is a narrow space for tubes and cords. It should not emit a magnetic field (unless you are measuring the fan), so with the displaced toilet seat it sounds like someone placed a device there.

  4. If in doubt, call the fuzz. You have evidence that someone either entered your property without permission or broke in. If the landlord didn’t want to justify themself at midnight then they shouldn’t have been a prick and let themself in without notice. If it isn’t the landlord then your safety and privacy are infinitely more important than their restful sleep.

  5. a) Perhaps there was an earthquake, which could explain why some things might have moved/shifted?

    b) The walls/panels of most bathroom units are ferrous. Magnetic stuff works great on them. =) It’s probably not emitting any “magnetic fields”.

    c) That hatch opens up to the space above your bathroom unit. When the ventilation fan in my unit broke down, the repair person had to reach into that space to replace it. You just have to push up, and shift the panel, to open it… you’ll probably need a step ladder (or something to stand on) to get into that space. More often than not, it’ll be pretty dusty up there.

    d) While your landlord/building maintenance may have the keys/access to your apartment, they won’t enter your apartment without your permission/first notifying you.

  6. >So I used an app to check for hidden cameras, and it looks like the square thingy emits lots of magnetic field (same as my iPad and other devices)

    First of all, take these apps with a massive pinch of salt. Most phones have exceptionally limited ability to detect minor magnetic fields, often interfere with themselves and even if it did work and detected something, it doesn’t mean there’s a device there. Electric cabling and steel supports and all sorts of other things can register magnetic changes.

    >There’s no way I’m opening this thing without knowing what it is

    Why not? It’s just a hatch door, it’s not going to explode. Open it, poke your head in, look around and close it again. It is highly unlikely you’ll find anything of interest but then at least you’ll know one way or the other.

  7. Can’t you at least call some friends to check it with you?

    Buy some cameras with SD cards on Amazon, just in case. They can record the whole day or just if they detect movement. This way you also will get proper evidence, if in fact someone is getting inside your apartment.

  8. It’s a portal to the world between worlds. You can move to different timelines, locations and universes. I once got lost for 10 years.

    JK: It’s a hatch to an access area. You might find some pipes and wires.

  9. i have no idea op but i would absolutely tape that thing up and sleep with a locked door until morning.. we have a little bit of wood in our closets ceiling that keeps ending up crooked, opening up into the ‘attic’ area. we have a pretty traditional house and im coming to regret all my Grudge jokes

  10. It’s just the access hatch into the ceiling space above your shower unit. Most of these prefab bathroom units I’ve seen have one.

    Possible someone came into your place and stood on the toilet to access the hatch. Most likely a tradesman or maintenance staff that needed access to utilities. Check with your landlord/property manager to see if this is the case.

    I’m skeptical it was for nefarious purposes or they would have tried to hide the fact they were ever there in the first place. Still understandably unsettling to have a stranger in your house without you being informed.

  11. Sometimes if there’s a lot of wind that hatch will open, and the dust up there will fall inside the bathroom. Happened a lot on an old apartment I lived.

  12. That’s a technical maintenance access door of the unit bath.
    From what you are saying someone went there to do something.
    There should be no problem to open it up and check it, unless you are afraid of bugs (some might have crawled in there).
    Regarding your toilet, it should also be easily taken out or disassembled (the makers usually make it easy so you can clean under the seat) to check if there is any problem.

  13. I hope OP is safe.

    The situation they’ve described feels like a “he’s under you bed!!” type horror story.

  14. I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but there has been more than one case of [a random person “living” in that empty space above the bathroom ceiling](https://www.ntv.co.jp/gyoten/articles/324olho7mp8k57a81bw.html), and coming out whenever the apartment owner leaves/sleeps.

    If you feel like someone might have been there, I’d make 100% sure it’s all checked out.

  15. A landlord who has henchmen is my kind of landlord. Cue Yakuza theme music.

  16. If there is sufficient pressure differences in your home and in that, for lack of better term, crawl space, it can shift or lift. Are would then rush into the space until the air pressure difference alleviates itself, and then drop again.

    In the shower rooms they usually insulate iirc. shouldn’t be much room to move about.

  17. You may have someone living in your ceiling although that might not be possible unless he/she has an entrance/exit other than the exit thru your bathroom ceiling. Tonight, listen carefully for any appliances being turned on/off. If there is someone there then at some point they will make a mistake and give themselves away. They may already have.

  18. I don’t want to scare you unnecessarily, but only recently there was a man arrested because he repeatedly entered a woman’s apartment through the bathroom using his relative’s bathroom on the same floor. Depending on the building, there may be an attic and the space above the apartments is only separated by flimsy walls.

    If I were you, I’d at least tape that hatch off somehow to make sure you know in case it was moved. I hope there’s another more likely explanation though!

  19. My guess is someone was up there doing maintenance, came down into your unit by mistake and went back up as soon as they realized. The damage on your toilet seat sounds like someone stepped on it and used it as a step to get back into the duct. On the front of the renting company or maintenance department, nobody was scheduled to enter your unit, so to them nobody entered your unit. Dosent change the fact that somebody may have entered your unit via that duct by mistake.

    ​

    If you’re worried about this and want to set up surveillance you can take a few white threads and tape them across the access hatch (square thing) with one piece of tape adhering the thread to the hatch itself. Purpose of this is to create a trip wire surveillance that you can use to know if someone has moved the hatch or not. If someone moved the hatch and entered your unit, the threads would be out of place the next time you see them.

  20. As per your update 2, I had suggested calling the cops because I worried about someone planting a video camera or the like. Everything you described pointed very strongly at someone having been up there. I would still be very concerned about this.

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