--- title: "What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You: Causes and Fixes" description: "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…" url: "https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/" --- # 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. ## What it usually means. A code is the control board's report on one of its self-checks. On a microwave those checks cover a short list: whether the door switches agree with each other, the humidity or cook sensor and what it reads, the temperature around the cavity and the magnetron, the vent and cooling fans on a hood combination, stuck or shorted keys on the touchpad, the board's own memory and power supply, and, on a drawer, the motor and the switches that track its position. Several of the characters are not failures at all: the control lock, demo or showroom mode, a Sabbath setting on built-ins, and a clock waiting to be set after an outage. Every maker keeps its own code language, so the same two characters can mean a sensor on one make and a stuck key on another, and the model number decides. The code pages on this site sort every make's codes into those families, which is the quickest way in. What no code ever calls for is opening the outer case: the capacitor behind it stays charged. The 7 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 Which characters show, exactly, and could a letter be a number, like an O read as a zero? 02 Does the code appear at once, when a key is pressed, or partway through a cycle? 03 Does it come with a beep, no heating, a fan that will not stop, or a drawer that halts? 04 After the breaker has been off for five minutes and back on, does it return, and how soon? 05 What is the model number on the label inside the door frame, or on a drawer's frame? ## Check these before you book. Microwave error code: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Write down the characters exactly, and whether they blink or hold steady. 02 Close the door or the drawer firmly and try a single key; an open door or a stuck key is a common reason. 03 Match the code to your make on the code pages here or in the manual, using the model number. ### Also worth checking - Reset the board once: breaker off for five minutes, then on, and note whether and when the code returns. - Leave the outer case closed whatever the code says; the parts it points to are checked on a visit. ### How soon does it need a visit? A code alone can usually wait for a scheduled visit. If it comes with sparks, smoke, a burning smell, a tripping breaker or a unit that heats with the door open, follow that page first, then book. ## The causes, cheapest first. 7 things what a microwave error code is telling you turns out to be, from a mode or setting, not a failure to heating or magnetron temperature code. [The cost guide](https://microwaverepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 no repair ### A mode or setting, not a failure Control lock, demo mode, a Sabbath setting and a clock that wants setting each show characters of their own. The manual lists them and the press that clears each one. No repair: check it yourself 2. 02 low to moderate ### Door switches that disagree The board compares the switches every time the door moves. When one reports the door closed and another open, it stops and shows a door code rather than heat. [Fixed by microwave door switch and latch repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-door-switch-and-latch-repair/) [See microwave door won't latch shut](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-door-not-closing/) 3. 03 low to moderate ### Humidity or cavity sensor reading wrong A sensor that reads open or shorted, or never sees steam during a sensor program, sets a code on many models; timed cooking often still works while sensor settings do not. [Book a diagnostic visit](https://microwaverepair.center/services/diagnostic-visit/) 4. 04 low to moderate ### A fan that did not report in Hood combinations watch their vent and cooling fans, and a stalled or slow motor sets a code, sometimes with the fan running on at full speed. [Fixed by microwave vent fan and filter repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-vent-fan-and-filter-repair/) [On a microwave hood combination](https://microwaverepair.center/types/over-the-range-microwave-repair/) 5. 05 moderate ### A stuck key or a board check that failed A key held down by moisture under the membrane, or a board that failed its own memory test, shows a code at power-up or as soon as a key is touched. [Fixed by microwave control board and touchpad repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-control-board-and-touchpad-repair/) 6. 06 moderate ### Drawer motor or position switches On a drawer, the board times each opening and closing. A drawer that took too long, stopped short or never reached its switch sets a code of its own. [Fixed by microwave drawer mechanism repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-drawer-mechanism-repair/) [On a microwave drawer](https://microwaverepair.center/types/microwave-drawer-repair/) 7. 07 moderate to highest ### Heating or magnetron temperature code A code about heat around the magnetron, or no rise in temperature during a cycle, points to the high-voltage side or its cutout, and a visit settles which. [Fixed by microwave magnetron repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-magnetron-repair/) [See microwave runs but food stays cold](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-not-heating/) 8. What it costs ### Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side Open the cost guide ## What else it could be. Most often confused with microwave touchpad ignores key presses, then microwave display dark, dim or scrambled. [All problems](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/) Codes that come with it - [`LOCK` Bertazzoni · Mode, not a failure](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-lock/) - [`DEMO MODE` Bertazzoni · Mode, not a failure](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-demo-mode/) - [`SERVICE` Bertazzoni · Power and supply](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-service/) - [`ERROR` Bertazzoni · Sensors and temperature](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-error/) - [`WELCOME PRESS CLEAR AND PRESS CLOCK` Bertazzoni · Power and supply](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-welcome/) - [`E-xx` Bosch · Control board and touchpad](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bosch-e-xx/) [146 more codes, by make](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/) Also related - [**Microwave Door Won't Latch Shut** 6 causes](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-door-not-closing/) ### Microwave Touchpad Ignores Key Presses 6 causes ### Microwave Display Dark, Dim or Scrambled 6 causes ### Microwave Runs but Food Stays Cold 7 causes ## The makes it happens on. 18 makes on this site; what a microwave error code is telling you can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 18 brands](https://microwaverepair.center/brands/) ## What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You, where we come out. 9 metros, each with its own page. 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Can I keep using it? Often, if the code concerns a sensor or a fan and nothing smells or sparks. A door code, or a heating code with a buzz, is a reason to stop until it is checked. ### Why does the code come back after I reset the breaker? The reset clears the board's memory, not the cause. If the same code returns, the board has found the same problem again. ### Is a lock word on the display an error? No. It is the control lock, which many owners switch on by accident. Holding one key, often stop or cancel, for a few seconds releases it on most models. ### Does a sensor code mean the microwave cannot heat at all? Usually it can still heat on a timed setting; only the sensor programs stop. A timed cup of water shows whether the rest is working. --- **[Read on the site: What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You: Causes and Fixes](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/)** **[Book a visit with MicrowaveRepair.center](https://microwaverepair.center/schedule/)**