Bosch [Key symbol]what it means

A Bosch or Siemens microwave with a key symbol on the display and a keypad that does nothing is locked rather than broken, and BSH publish both the reason and the release: the appliance childproof lock has been activated, and you deactivate it by holding down the button with the key symbol until the key symbol goes out. Bosch’s manuals put a time on it and name the button for each range. On the freestanding FFL023 family the lock is set and cleared by holding the stop button for approximately four seconds with the appliance switched off, and the display shows the word SAFE rather than a key.

On the built-in compact ovens with a microwave function, the HMG776 family, you press and hold the key field for approximately four seconds, or follow the on-screen prompt until the graphic on the ring fills. The Serie 4 built-in microwaves in the BFL523 and BFL524 family have no childproof lock at all — their manual has no such section — so a Serie 4 that ignores every button is not locked and needs the E-3 or Exx pages instead. Worth noticing what BSH’s database menu promises and what their answer delivers. The menu label offers help with a padlock, an L, a key, a hand or the letters SP with a key symbol — five different things a BSH appliance might show — and the answer covers the key symbol only. So if your display shows a padlock or an L or SP, BSH have named your symptom in a menu and then answered a different question, and the key-symbol procedure is the best available starting point rather than a documented match.

The reason this earns a page is the same reason it earns one on every brand: a locked microwave is indistinguishable from a dead one unless you know what to look for. The clock is present, the interior light comes on with the door, and every single button is inert. People replace appliances over this. The lock also tends to arrive unannounced, because arming it is one button held for a few seconds, which is what happens when a child explores the fascia or when somebody wipes it down. Nobody remembers doing it, because from their point of view nobody did. Bosch’s manuals do not say whether the lock survives a power cut, so do not treat a symbol that is still there after unplugging as proof of a fault: the release is the same held button either way.

1. 1

   Look for the symbol on the display before assuming anything is wrong. A key, a padlock, an L, SP or the word SAFE all point at a lock rather than a fault.

2. 2

   Find the button carrying the key symbol on the fascia. On some models it is a dedicated key and on others it is a secondary function printed beside another button. On a freestanding Bosch showing SAFE, the button is stop.

3. 3

   Hold it down for about four seconds. Keep holding — BSH’s instruction is to hold until the key symbol goes out, their manuals say approximately four seconds, and a tap will not do it.

4. 4

   Watch the display rather than counting. Let go when the symbol or the word disappears, then press a number to confirm the panel responds.

5. 5

   If the symbol will not clear after several attempts, check the instruction book for your exact model — BSH document one release for a menu that lists five symbols, and not every range has the lock at all.