Samsung 4E fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
The machine asked for water and did not get enough in the time allowed. Nine times out of ten the answer is at the tap rather than inside the machine.
Take care
What 4E means
Samsung define 4E, and its newer form 4C, as a water supply issue. The machine opens its inlet valve, watches the level sensor, and expects the water to reach a set point within a fixed period. When it does not, it stops rather than running a cycle dry. Samsung publish the numbers this check is made against, which is more helpful than most manufacturers manage: they want mains pressure between 0.5 and 8 bar, and a flow of at least four litres a minute from the tap. That gives you something concrete to test rather than guessing. The reason this code is worth checking yourself first is that almost everything on the list is outside the machine. A tap that was turned off for a plumbing job and never turned back on, a kinked fill hose behind the machine, or a mesh filter in the hose connector clogged with grit from the mains will each produce it, and all three are free to fix.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Tap turned off or only part open | Embarrassingly common, and worth checking before anything else. Behind-the-machine taps get knocked when things are stored under the counter. | Common |
| Inlet mesh filter clogged | A small gauze screen sits where the hose meets the machine, catching grit from the mains. In hard water areas it silts up over a few years and strangles the flow. | Common |
| Fill hose kinked behind the machine | Usually created by pushing the machine back too far after cleaning behind it. The hose gets crushed against the wall or the waste pipe. | Common |
| Inlet valve failed | The solenoid that lets water in has stopped opening. This is the one on the list that is a real repair, and it is diagnosed only once the supply is proven. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Check the tap behind the machine is fully open. Turn it all the way off and all the way on again rather than trusting how it looks, because a valve can feel open and be half shut.
Test the flow. Samsung want at least four litres a minute, which is easy to check: turn the tap off, unscrew the hose into a bucket, and time how long a two-litre jug takes to fill. Under thirty seconds is fine. A trickle is your fault found.
Turn the tap off before you unscrew anything, and have a towel ready. There is always more water in the hose than you expect.With the hose off, look into the connector at the machine end for a small gauze filter. Pick it out if you can, or brush it, and rinse it under a running tap until you can see light through it.
Pull the machine out and follow the fill hose along its whole length, straightening any kink and making sure it is not trapped behind a foot or crushed against the wall.
Reconnect finger tight plus a quarter turn — these fittings seal on a rubber washer and do not need to be forced — then run a short cycle and watch for leaks at both ends.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Samsung 4E
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What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£140
Time on site
25 minutes
Free if it is the tap, the hose or the mesh filter. A new inlet valve is typically £80 to £140 fitted. A replacement fill hose is a few pounds and worth doing while you are there if the old one looks tired.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated August 2026. Your quote may differ.
What other owners found
Nobody has shared what worked for them on this code yet. If you have had it, you would be the first — and it genuinely helps the next person.
Related Samsung fault codes
- IEGet it checkedThe drum did not fill to the level it wanted in the time allowed. LG treat IE and 1E as the same code, so you do not need to tell them apart.Related: water fill and supply
- E17Get it checkedWater supply time exceeded. Bosch name the AquaStop hose filter as a cause, which is a Bosch-specific part most owners do not know they have.Related: water fill and supply
- E10Get it checkedA water supply fault, one beep on a machine with no display. The manufacturer gives a pressure range you can actually test against.Related: water fill and supply
Common questions about Samsung 4E
It says 4C. Is that the same code?
Yes. 4C is the newer suffix for the same fault. Samsung renamed the codes rather than changing what they mean.
What about 4E1 or 4C2?
Those are different and much more specific: they mean the machine has detected that it is being fed hot water. Almost always it is a plumbing error, with the fill hose on the hot tap instead of the cold. Look for the blue indicator on the tap.
The tap is on and the flow is good. Now what?
Then you have eliminated the free causes and it points at the inlet valve or the level sensor. That is an engineer visit, but you have saved them twenty minutes and yourself the risk of paying for a diagnosis of "the tap was 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
Checked by Appliance technical reviewer (Qualifications to be displayed on appointment) on 5 August 2026.