--- title: "GE Profile F3: a touchpad key has read as held down for a full minute" description: "What F3 means on GE Profile F3: a touchpad key has read as held down for a full minutes, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all." url: "https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f3/" --- # GE Profile F3: a touchpad key has read as held down for a full minute On GE Profile built-in, countertop and drawer models the control watches every key. ## What F3 actually means. On GE Profile built-in, countertop and drawer models the control watches every key. When one reads as pressed for over a minute, it stops and shows F3 instead of acting on it. GE points to liquid on the panel as the common cause; a membrane that has worn through or a stuck key does the same. GE Profile microwave display · also shown as KEYPAD SHORTED – SERVICE MAY BE NEEDED What to do when F3 shows on the microwave ### Kind of code Control board and touchpad The electronics that read the keys and run the cycle have flagged a problem with themselves: a key that the control sees as held down for too long, a membrane keypad worn through or swollen by steam, a lost link between the keypad and the board, or a board that failed its own check after a surge. A breaker reset now and then clears a glitch; a stuck key or a code that comes straight back points to the keypad or the board. ### Usually leads to Microwave control board and touchpad repair Tracing a dead display, keys that do not answer or a code that keeps returning to the keypad, the ribbon, the relays or the main board, and replacing only the part that failed. ### Shows up as What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You A microwave error code may be a letter and a number on the display, a lock or demo word, a row of dashes, or a beep with a blinking clock, and it can show while the microwave still heats or block every key until it is cleared. ### Make GE Profile GE Profile microwaves repaired where they hang or sit, whether it is the vent fan, the cavity lamp, the keypad or the heat that gave out. ### Source GE Profile PEB7227 built-in and PES7227 countertop microwave owner's manual Printed in the manuals of the PEB7227 built-in, the PES7227 countertop model and the PEM31. The PWL1126 microwave drawer uses the words KEYPAD SHORTED instead of the code. ## Before you book, in this order. Each step comes from GE Profile's own guidance for F3 on its microwaves. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit. 01 Press Cancel/Off to clear F3. 02 Dry the panel with a soft cloth and leave the door open for an hour so any moisture behind the keys can evaporate. 03 Try a short Cook Time run. If F3 returns with a dry panel, book a visit so the touch panel and its ribbon connection can be tested. ### Still there? It usually turns into [microwave control board and touchpad repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-control-board-and-touchpad-repair/). Book with the code and the model number. ### What not to do F3 is not a heating or magnetron problem, and the microwave cooks normally once the key releases. On the GE Profile drawer the same condition is spelled out as KEYPAD SHORTED – SERVICE MAY BE NEEDED rather than F3. ## What you may notice with it. The microwave problems F3 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the microwave before anyone is booked. [All problems](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/) Before you call ### [What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/) [All 7 causes, cheapest first](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/) It also comes with - [**Microwave Touchpad Ignores Key Presses**](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-touchpad-not-responding/) - [**Microwave Won't Turn On at All**](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-not-turning-on/) Problem ### What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You 7 causes, cheapest first Where F3 usually leads ## Microwave control board and touchpad repair. **Control board, keypad membrane or display · moderate to highest.** Book a visit [What the job involves](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-control-board-and-touchpad-repair/) ## GE Profile microwaves. GE Profile microwaves repaired where they hang or sit, whether it is the vent fan, the cavity lamp, the keypad or the heat that gave out. [GE Profile microwave repair](https://microwaverepair.center/brands/ge-profile/) More GE Profile codes [PF](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-pf/) [ERR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-err/) [LOC](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-loc/) [OVEN TOO HOT](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-oven-too-hot/) [FOOD](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-food/) [F1](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f1/) [F2](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f2/) [F4](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f4/) [F5](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f5/) Control board and touchpad on other makes [Bosch E-xx](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bosch-e-xx/) [Café KEYPAD SHORTED](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/cafe-keypad-shorted/) [Dacor C-F0](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/dacor-c-f0/) [Fisher & Paykel F + number](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/fisher-and-paykel-f-number/) [Gaggenau Exx](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/gaggenau-exx/) [JennAir E03](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/jennair-e03/) [KitchenAid F2](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f2/) [Monogram F3](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/monogram-f3/) [All 27 codes of this kind](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/#family-board) GE Profile builds this ### Microwave hood combination The microwave that hangs from the wall cabinets above the burners, heating food in its cavity while its own fan, light and filters handle the steam and grease rising from the pans beneath it. GE Profile builds this ### Built-in microwave A microwave set into a tall cabinet or a wall of cabinetry at eye level, either a countertop body wrapped in a trim kit or a true built-in model, including speed and convection microwaves that brown as well as heat. GE Profile builds this ### Microwave drawer A microwave built under a counter or into a kitchen island that opens like a drawer at the touch of a key, with a motor and gears sliding its cavity out toward you. ## In GE Profile's own words > A key has been activated for more than 60 seconds. [GE Profile PEB7227 built-in and PES7227 countertop microwave owner's manual](https://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--q2IyLIA0--/b65896cf0716705e41c03de44aaba0c516c0997b.pdf) [GE Profile PEM31 countertop microwave owner's manual](https://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--GtAyInqT--/ff57badc3913908f16fe34270e1a90db1cd5ae19.pdf) [GE Profile PWL1126 microwave drawer owner's manual](https://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--dg-1JEqK--/933142fe6a81d992126dca41ef000d4cb3879bbf.pdf) Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Printed in the manuals of the PEB7227 built-in, the PES7227 countertop model and the PEM31. The PWL1126 microwave drawer uses the words KEYPAD SHORTED instead of the code. ## GE Profile F3 microwave repair, where we come out. The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered. 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Press Cancel/Off to clear F3. If it comes back, it needs a visit. ### Why does F3 show up after I clean my GE Profile microwave? Cleaner or water that runs behind the key membrane can hold a key closed. Dry the panel, give it time, and F3 usually stays away; spray the cloth, never the panel. ### Can I keep using a GE Profile microwave that shows F3 now and then? Yes, as long as it clears and cooks normally. If F3 starts appearing on its own with a dry panel, the touch panel is failing and should be replaced before keys stop responding altogether. ### Does F3 on a GE Profile PEB7227 mean the control board is bad? Not usually. The touch panel is the more common culprit, and it is a separate, cheaper part than the board, so it is tested first. --- **[Read on the site: GE Profile F3: a touchpad key has read as held down for a full minute](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-f3/)** **[Book a visit with MicrowaveRepair.center](https://microwaverepair.center/schedule/)**