Hoover E2 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
The 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.
Take care
What E2 means
E2, or two flashes of every LED with a five-second pause between repeats, is Hoover’s code for a machine that cannot load water. Their published remedy has four steps and the last of them is the interesting one: close the tap, unscrew the filler hose from the back of the washing machine, and check that the anti-sand filter is clean and not blocked.
Anti-sand filter is Hoover and Candy’s own term for a real component — the fine gauze screen inside the hose union — and it catches grit, rust flakes and fragments of old washer that would otherwise reach the fill valve. It clogs slowly over years, which is why this fault usually arrives as fills that got gradually longer rather than as a machine that stopped dead. There is a second step in their remedy that looks like a mistake and is not.
Hoover tell you to check the drain hose height when the fault is a fill failure. A drain hose set too low siphons water out of the tub as fast as it comes in, so the machine never reaches its target level and reports the failure as an inability to fill. It is one of the more useful non-obvious causes in this category, and it is the manufacturer who puts it there.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Water supply tap closed or partly closed | First on Hoover’s own list and more common than it sounds, particularly after work under the sink or a holiday where the water was turned off. | Common |
| Anti-sand filter in the hose union blocked | The gauze screen at the machine end of the fill hose — Hoover’s remedy reaches it by unscrewing the hose from the back of the machine — silted up with grit and rust. Cleans out in five minutes and needs no parts. | Common |
| Fill hose bent, kinked or trapped | Usually behind the machine after it has been pushed back into place. A kink can restrict flow enough to fail the fill without stopping it entirely. | Common |
| Drain hose set too low, siphoning the tub | Water leaves as fast as it arrives so the level never rises. Hoover include this check under their fill code precisely because it presents as a fill fault. | Occasional |
| Fill valve solenoid failed | The valve no longer opens on command. The tell is a machine that is silent where you would normally hear water start, with tap and filter both known good. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Check the tap behind or under the machine is fully open. Hoover put this first for a reason. Turn it all the way off and all the way on again so you know which way round it is.
Pull the machine out enough to see the back and follow the fill hose from the tap to the machine. Straighten any kink and free it from behind a foot or under the machine itself.
Check where the drain hose enters the standpipe or sink trap against Hoover’s installation figures: the hose should go into a drain pipe between 50 cm and 85 cm above the floor using the curved support hook, and an under-sink connection must be routed above the sink overflow to prevent back-siphoning. If the top of that bend is lower than that, the tub is siphoning and raising it is the whole fix.
Close the tap. Put a towel and a bowl underneath, then unscrew the fill hose from the back of the machine as Hoover specify. A cupful of water will come out of the hose.
Look inside the hose union for the anti-sand filter — a fine gauze disc in the threaded collar. Rinse it under a tap, brush it with an old toothbrush if it is silted, and do not poke it with anything metal.
Do not remove the gauze to make the fault go away. Without it, grit reaches the fill valve and turns a five-minute clean into a valve replacement.Screw the hose back on hand tight, open the tap, check the union for drips, then start a short programme and watch that the machine fills within the first minute.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Hoover E2
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
£0–£160
Time on site
30 minutes
Nothing for the tap, a kinked hose, the drain height or a clean of the anti-sand filter. A fill valve fitted is £95 to £160, with an integrated machine at the upper end because it has to come out of its housing.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated September 2026. Your quote may differ.
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Related Hoover fault codes
- 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.Related: same brand
- 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.Related: same brand
- 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.Related: same brand
Own a Hoover washing machine? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Hoover E2
What is an anti-sand filter and where is it?
It is Hoover and Candy’s name for the gauze screen inside the fill hose union. Hoover’s remedy tells you to unscrew the hose from the back of the machine to reach it, so it sits at the machine end of that connection. Grit and rust from the mains collect in it over years and eventually restrict the flow enough to fail a fill.
Why does Hoover tell me to check the drain when the machine will not fill?
Because a drain hose that sits too low siphons the tub as it fills. Water goes out at the same rate it comes in, the level never reaches where the machine expects it, and the machine reports a fill failure. It is counter-intuitive and it is in their own remedy text, which is a good reason to take it seriously. The height Hoover want is in the installation section: 50 to 85 cm above the floor, or above the sink overflow if it drains into a sink trap.
My machine has no display, just lights. How do I know it is E2?
Count the flashes. Hoover publish that machines without a display flash every LED on the panel, and the number of flashes before a five-second pause is the code. Two flashes, pause, two flashes, repeating, is E2. It is every light together rather than one fault lamp, which is what makes it hard to recognise as a code.
What will it cost if it is not the filter?
A fill valve fitted runs to roughly £95 to £160 depending on how much has to come off to reach it, and more on an integrated machine that has to come out of its housing first. The three checks before it are free, which is why they are worth doing properly.
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.