AEG Demo fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
The oven lights up, accepts settings and never heats. AEG admit demo mode can switch itself on after a power cut, and the code to switch it off is 2 4 6 8.
Before you start
What Demo means
Demo mode is a shop setting. AEG describe its purpose plainly: it lets a live appliance be demonstrated in store safely without heating up and becoming a safety risk. Everything on the oven responds normally — the display works, functions can be chosen, temperatures set — and nothing gets hot. What makes this worth a page rather than a footnote is AEG’s own admission about how you end up in it.
Their support article is titled around a short power failure, and its first line describes the display showing Demo "without setting the demo mode manually", after a power cut or after the fuse has been taken out. That is the manufacturer stating that an owner can arrive at a dead-but-lit oven through no action of their own. There is a second indicator worth knowing, because it appears in a different AEG article and nowhere else: an oven in demo mode may display a single lower-case d rather than the word Demo. A reader seeing that would never search for it correctly, and would very likely be told by somebody that it is a fault.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| A power cut or a pulled fuse put the oven into demo mode by itself | AEG’s own stated scenario, given in the first line of their article. No owner action is needed for this to happen and there is no warning that it has. | Common |
| The mode was left on from the shop floor | The setting exists for retail display, so an ex-display appliance or one demonstrated at the point of sale can arrive already in it. | Occasional |
| It was switched on accidentally from the settings menu | Demo mode sits inside the Basic Settings menu under Service on command-wheel models, which is reachable by anyone exploring the menus. | Rare |
What to try yourself
Confirm what you are looking at. The word Demo on the display is the obvious case; a lone lower-case d means the same thing on some models.
On a command-wheel oven, select Menu, then Basic Settings, then Service, then Demo Mode. On a touchscreen, navigate to Basic Settings, select demo mode and choose off.
Enter 2 4 6 8 when prompted. AEG use the same four-digit code across every interface type they document.
If the prompt shows B C A instead, you are in the child lock and not demo mode. The answer there is A B C, not 2 4 6 8.
AEG document a third procedure for ovens with retractable dials that begins by holding three buttons simultaneously, but their published instruction does not say which three. We are not going to guess, so use the manual for your model if that is your control type.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your AEG Demo
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 it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
Depends on the cause
Time on site
5 minutes
Nothing. This is a menu setting and the code to clear it is published. A call-out for this is a wasted fee.
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 AEG fault codes
- SAFEUsually simple to fixSAFE or a padlock symbol means one of three things on an AEG oven, and only one of them needs you to do anything. Work out which before you start pressing buttons.Related: controls and clock
- F113Get it checkedAEG name F113 as an example of a code you might see, then publish no meaning for it. It is one of roughly 74 oven F codes they list and do not define.Related: controls and clock
- F240Get it checkedThe touch controls are not registering properly. AEG class this as owner-fixable and their remedy is to clean the display, which is less dismissive than it sounds.Related: controls and clock
- F908Get it checkedThe oven cannot talk to its own control panel. AEG define this one in the manual and leave it out of the code list on their website, where it appears only as an example.Related: controls and clock
- LocUsually simple to fixThe function lock. It stops the temperature and timer being changed mid-cook, and unlike the child lock it can only be set while the oven is actually running.Related: controls and clock
- F601Usually simple to fixOne of four Wi-Fi codes on connected AEG ovens. None of them affects cooking, and AEG give all four an owner remedy rather than sending you to an engineer.Related: controls and clock
Own an AEG oven? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about AEG Demo
Nothing is wrong with the oven and it still will not heat. What else is there?
Two more non-faults sit alongside this one in AEG’s own list. A touch-control oven will not operate until the clock is set, so a flashing 12:00 after a power cut is enough to stop it. And an oven with the Duration or End timer set will refuse to heat now, with no code shown at all.
Why does the prompt ask me for B C A?
Because that is the child lock rather than demo mode, and AEG flag the difference in a note on the same page. The unlock sequence for it is A B C, in alphabetical order. Entering 2 4 6 8 into a child lock prompt will not work and is a common way to conclude the appliance is broken when it is not.
Will demo mode come back next time the power goes off?
AEG do not say, which is unsatisfying given they are the ones documenting that a power cut can trigger it. If it recurs after every outage that is worth raising with them, because their article describes the behaviour without ever calling it a fault or offering a permanent remedy.
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 support portal
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.