Hoover washing machine fault codes
Hoover publish four washing machine fault codes and no more: E2 for water not loading, E3 for water not draining, E4 for too much foam or water, and E7 for a door problem. Anything else falls into an unnamed row whose only instruction is to power off, wait a minute, restart, and call an authorised service centre if it comes back. That short list is not a gap in their documentation — it is a deliberate choice to publish only the faults an owner can act on, and all four of them are genuinely owner-fixable. The complication is how the code reaches you. Machines with a digital display show it as the letter E and a number. Machines without one flash every light on the panel instead, and that is where most people get stuck. This hub covers all four codes, the flash decoder for LED-only machines, and the parts of Hoover’s own remedy text that are specific to these machines rather than generic advice.
Where the code shows on a Hoover
Hoover publish the decoder under a heading they call ERROR CODE FORMAT, and it comes in two halves. On a machine with a display, the error is a number preceded by the letter E — E2 means error 2. On a machine without a display, the error is shown by a sequence of flashes of every LED, where the code is the number of flashes followed by a pause of five seconds: two flashes, pause, two flashes, repeating, is error 2. Two details in that make the difference between a readable machine and an unreadable one. It is every light on the panel flashing in unison, not one dedicated fault lamp, which is why owners describe it as the machine having a fit rather than as a code. And the five-second pause is the delimiter — count the flashes between pauses and you have your number. Both readings mean the same thing, so a machine flashing three times and a machine showing E3 have the identical fault. On One Touch models (Smart Touch is Candy’s name for the same feature) there is a third route: hold an NFC phone against the One Touch logo on the control panel and the Hoover Wizard app’s Clever Check-up reads the fault directory off the machine. Worth knowing before you rely on it that Hoover’s published instructions for this are Android only, because it works by NFC tag, so iPhone owners are back to counting flashes.
How to reset a Hoover
Hoover’s instruction for a code they have not named is to turn the machine off, unplug it, wait a minute, plug it back in and start a programme again — and if the same code returns, to contact an authorised customer service centre rather than keep trying. That is the whole of their reset advice and it applies to the four named codes too, after you have done the check each one calls for. There is one Hoover-specific procedure worth separating from it: on E7, where the door is locked shut, they say to switch off and unplug, wait two to three minutes, and then reopen the door. That is not a reset of the fault, it is the door’s safety device — the same one Hoover say holds the door for two minutes after every cycle — being given time to release, and rushing it is the reason people conclude the door is broken when it is not.
Most common Hoover faults
The Hoover codes people look up most.
- E3Get it checkedThe machine is not draining. Hoover’s remedy runs from the filter outwards to your own plumbing, and one step tells you how to empty it into the sink.
- E2Get it checkedThe machine cannot load water. Hoover send you to a filter most owners have never heard of, inside the fill hose connection at the back of the machine.
- E7Get it checkedA door problem. If the door is locked shut, Hoover want you to unplug and wait two to three minutes before trying it again, and the wait is the point.
- E4Get it checkedToo much foam or too much water. Hoover’s entire published remedy is about detergent, which tells you what they think causes it.
Every Hoover fault code
4 published codes. Filtering happens in the page — every one is in the HTML.
Showing 4 of 4 codes
Hoover models
Codes can differ between generations. Check yours.
Guides that help with Hoover faults
How to reset a washing machine, and what it will not fix
What each manufacturer says about resetting, how long to wait, the codes where a reset is the wrong move, and the displays that only look like faults.Read the guideWashing machine repairs you can do yourself — where to stop
No law stops you repairing your own washing machine, so the line is drawn by what is inside the cabinet. Where it falls, and the recall to check first.Read the guideHow to find your washing machine’s model and serial number
The rating plate is in one of three places, and the brand decides which. Where each manufacturer says to look, and which of the numbers on it you need.Read the guide
Looking for Hoover’s own support? service.hoover.co.uk. We are not affiliated with Hoover.