Sharp E02 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
Low temperature protection — the odd one. The appliance has stopped because a temperature reading was implausibly low rather than high.
Take care
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Sharp E02
We do not pass enquiries to a repair firm, so there is no form here. When you book a qualified appliance engineer, tell them the make, the model and the exact code or message on the display, and ask whether they carry parts for this make — that is what turns one visit into a repair rather than a quote.
What E02 means
This is the code that puzzles people, and the puzzlement is reasonable: a microwave stopping because something is not hot enough sounds like a contradiction. Sharp’s wording is that when the oven enters the low temperature protection mode the display will indicate E02 and stop operating, cancelled with STOP/ECO, and they say no more than that. The mechanism becomes obvious once you know what the appliance is measuring. A combination model has a temperature sensor because convection cooking needs one, and the control reads it as a resistance.
If that reading corresponds to a temperature far below anything physically possible in a cavity that is supposed to be heating, the control has two conclusions available: either the heat is not being produced, or the sensor is not connected. Both are worth stopping for, and neither is safe to guess at, so the appliance stops. The platform this code belongs to names exactly those two things in its own table — the lead of the temperature sensor not installed properly, and the grill or convection function not working. So E02 is most often either a disconnected or broken sensor circuit, or a heating element that is not heating. That is the practical test, too.
If the microwave function works normally and only convection or grill produces this code, you are looking at the oven side of a combination appliance rather than at the microwave side, and that is a materially cheaper conversation than most microwave faults. Cold really can be a factor at the margins — an appliance brought in from a van in winter, or one in an unheated outbuilding, may read genuinely low from a cold start — but that clears itself once the appliance warms and it does not recur.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature sensor lead not properly connected | Named directly in the platform fault table for this code. A disconnected sensor reads as an impossible temperature rather than as nothing. | Common |
| Grill or convection element not heating | The table’s other named cause. The control asked for heat, watched the sensor, and saw no rise where it expected one. | Common |
| Sensor itself open circuit | A thermistor that has failed open looks identical to one that was never plugged in, and only a resistance measurement separates them. | Occasional |
| Genuinely cold appliance | A microwave stored or delivered in the cold can read below the expected range briefly. This version clears as it warms and does not come back. | Rare |
Can you fix it yourself?
Stop — this needs an engineer
What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£90–£200
Time on site
20 minutes
A sensor or a connector repair with a visit is typically £90 to £150. A grill or convection element is £120 to £200 fitted, and on a combination microwave that is the point to compare against a replacement.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated September 2026. Your quote may differ.
Own this appliance and had this code? . Nothing is published until a person has read it.
Related Sharp fault codes
- E01Get it checkedOverheating protection. Sharp’s appliance has sensed a high temperature and stopped itself, and STOP/ECO is what clears the display.Related: overheating and cooling
- E03Get it checkedSensor malfunction protection, with a warning tone. Sharp name E03 and E04 in one sentence and explain neither separately.Related: same brand
- E04Get it checkedThe code no other brand on this platform publishes. Sharp document it only by naming it beside E03, with the same cause and the same remedy.Related: same brand
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Related guides
Common questions about Sharp E02
Why would a microwave protect itself against being too cold?
It is not protecting the food, it is protecting itself against acting on an impossible reading. A sensor reporting a temperature far below anything a heating cavity could be at means either the heat is not arriving or the sensor is not connected, and running a convection programme in either case would be working blind.
Microwaving still works. Should I keep using it?
For plain microwaving, that is a reasonable stopgap and nothing about this code affects the door interlocks or containment. Stop using the convection and grill programmes, because those are the ones depending on the reading the appliance has already rejected.
Is this the same as E01?
No, and the pairing is deliberate on Sharp’s part: E01 is a reading too high, E02 a reading too low. Same sensor, opposite ends. E01 usually means real heat and needs cooling; E02 usually means a circuit or an element and needs a diagnosis.
Technical review
Not reviewed by an engineer
No engineer has read this page. Severity follows what the manufacturer publishes, and we would rather tell you that than let a byline imply a sign-off.
Sources and how we verified this
We establish the facts from the sources below and then write the explanation ourselves. We do not copy manufacturer wording and we do not host their manuals.
- Manufacturer technical and service documentation
This page has not been reviewed by an engineer, and we would rather tell you that than imply otherwise. The severity rating follows what the manufacturer publishes: where they say isolate the appliance and call someone, so do we.