All microwaves make a beeping noise to let you know your food is ready. But sometimes, the beeping sound can get super irritating, especially if it doesn’t have any signs of stopping any time soon. So, what do you do with a microwave that continuously beeps?
When your microwave won’t stop beeping, you can do a soft reset, perform a quick break routine, unplug and replug the microwave, ensure there’s no power deficit, or call a technician. These issues usually happen because of firmware glitches or problems with the internal sensors.
In this article, I’ll cover why your microwave is continuously beeping to help you understand some of the possible problems you’re experiencing with your appliance. Then, I’ll share a handful of tips and tricks to help you stop the beeping noise.
Why Your Microwave Is Continuously Beeping
Microwave ovens use microwave radiation (which gives them their name) to heat your food. Despite the fact that it’s a common fixture in household appliances, it’s worth noting that microwave radiation is dangerous and should be handled carefully.
For that reason, microwave oven manufacturers include safety precautions like a beeping sound. If these ovens didn’t make that sound, you’d have a recipe (no pun intended) for disaster. Of course, if the oven is beeping all the time (and especially when you don’t need it to), that can grate on anyone’s nerves.
With that out of the way, here are some of the common reasons your microwave is continuously beeping.
The Food Is Ready, and It’s Time To Take It Out
The most common reason a microwave makes a continuous, repetitive beeping sound is to alert you that your set timer has run out and it’s time to take the food out of the microwave. In a normal microwave, the beeping sound should stop once you take out the food.
However, in some cases, the microwave might not register that you’ve taken the food out. When that happens, it keeps beeping, which (as I’ve said) can get really annoying. This mostly happens because of an internal glitch.
The Door Is Not Closed Properly
Because microwave ovens deal with high levels of microwave radiation, it’s super important that the door is properly closed when you turn it on. If the door isn’t correctly closed and you try to turn on the device, the microwave will start beeping.
That said, it’s also possible you’ve properly closed the door, but the microwave still makes the beeping noise. In this case, the sensor that detects whether the door is open or closed might not be working.
Reopening and forcefully closing the door should solve this problem. If not, you might need to replace the sensor.
The Microwave Is Not Getting Enough Power
Microwaves are high-voltage appliances. They need the extra power to generate microwave radiation. However, if the microwave isn’t getting the power it needs, it can start beeping to alert the user about the insufficient power. This issue mostly happens when you try to operate the microwave during a brownout.
There’s Some Internal Fault
The microwave can start beeping to alert the user of internal issues. If you notice that the beeping sound follows a particular pattern, you can check the user manual to see what it means and how to fix it. Some microwave ovens also show you an error code on the display board along with the beeping noise to help you diagnose the problem.
Fixing the underlying issue should stop the beeping.
How To Stop a Microwave From Beeping Continuously
Perform a Soft Reset
If your microwave is beeping because of an internal glitch, a soft reset should help solve the problem. Most microwave ovens should have a dedicated “RESET” button on the display board. For models that don’t have a reset button, you can try holding the “OFF” or “CLEAR” button for 3 seconds to do a soft reset.
If that doesn’t work, consult the user manual to see how to soft reset your microwave oven.
Do a Quick Break Routine
Sometimes, the microwave oven chamber sensors function as though there’s something inside the oven even when there isn’t, causing it to start beeping. You can stop this by doing a quick break routine.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do the quick break routine:
- Take a cup of salt/sugar water solution and place it inside the microwave.
- Put the microwave on low and set it for 15 secs.
- Once the timer runs out, take out the cup.
- Press the STOP or CLEAR button.
This should reset the sensors and stop the beeping noise.
Unplug and Replug the Microwave
If a soft reset or the quick break routine doesn’t work, you can try hard resetting the microwave oven.
To do this, follow the steps below:
- Turn off and unplug the microwave.
- Wait for 30 mins. This’ll eliminate any electricity inside the microwave’s processors and sensors.
- Plug the microwave back into a power source and turn it on.
This should solve the beeping noise if it was due to an internal glitch.
Make Sure the Microwave Gets Enough Power
If you believe the microwave is beeping because of a power deficiency, try to plug it into another outlet that isn’t too crowded. However, if the power deficit is happening because of brownouts, I’d recommend not using the microwave at all. But if you have to, ensure the microwave is hooked up to an inverter to avoid power interruptions.
Call a Technician
If none of these fixes work, there might be an internal issue with either the circuitry or the sensors, causing the beeping sound. Replacing the faulty component with a new and working one should fix the issue; however, I strongly advise that you call a professional to handle this one.
Even if you’re a highly experienced DIYer, tinkering with a microwave oven is risky as it’s literally a radiation generator. If anything happens to the magnetron, it can cause a nasty accident.
Key Takeaways
If your microwave is continuously beeping, it’s likely because of an internal fault or a sensor glitch. To stop the beeping sound, you can reset the microwave or do the quick break routine. It also helps to ensure the microwave is getting enough power.
If all these options fail, call a technician to troubleshoot the problem.
Steve Rajeckas is an HVAC hobbyist with an avid interest in learning innovative ways to keep rooms, buildings, and everything else at the optimal temperature. When he’s not working on new posts for Temperature Master, he can be found reading books or exploring the outdoors.