Samsung Cb status codewhat it means
Not a fault — the machine is in calibration mode. Samsung have printed the wrong remedy against this code, and against CE, on their own website.
Before you start
What Cb means
Cb means the machine is in calibration mode: a short routine that spins the empty drum so the control board can learn what an unloaded drum feels like, which is how it later judges whether a load is unbalanced. You run it after moving the machine or when spin performance has drifted. Press start and wait for the display to read zero, and it is done.
The reason this page exists is a live error in Samsung’s own published table. The remedies for Cb and CE have been transposed. As printed, Cb — calibration mode — is given the remedy "check that your water hose is connected to a cold supply", and CE — a water temperature issue — is given "this is not a fault, press Start/Pause to run the calibration cycle and wait for 0 when it is complete". Those instructions belong to the opposite rows.
A reader with Cb on the display who follows Samsung literally goes and checks their cold tap for no reason; a reader with CE runs a calibration cycle that will not address a temperature problem. The corrected pairing is straightforward: Cb, run the calibration cycle and wait for zero. CE, check that the fill hose is on the cold supply, because a machine fed from a hot tap sees water at a temperature it did not ask for.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| The calibration routine has been started | Deliberately or by a key combination pressed in the wrong order. The drum turns without water and stops on its own; nothing is wrong. | Common |
| The machine has been moved or relevelled | The point at which calibration is worth running. A board holding the balance reference from a different floor misjudges loads and cuts spins short. | Common |
| CE on the display and a hot fill | The other half of the transposition. A single-fill machine plumbed to a hot tap reports a water temperature it cannot reconcile with the programme. | Occasional |
| A mixer or combination valve feeding hot water | The plumbing looks like a cold supply but is fed through a mixer. Runs the same code as an outright hot connection and takes longer to spot. | Rare |
What to try yourself
If the display reads Cb, empty the drum completely, close the door and press Start/Pause. Calibration needs an empty drum to be worth anything.
Let it run and wait for the display to show 0. That is the finish signal, not a fault code. Samsung’s manuals say the drum rotates for about three minutes, after which 0 appears and the machine switches itself off.
If the display reads CE rather than Cb, ignore the calibration instruction and check your plumbing instead. Follow the fill hose from the back of the machine to the tap it is connected to.
On a single-inlet machine confirm that hose is on a cold supply. Run the tap into a jug for ten seconds and feel it. A machine plumbed to hot on a cold-fill inlet will keep reporting temperature faults until it is moved.
Check the machine is level with a spirit level across the top while you are there. Calibration on a machine that rocks bakes a bad reference into the board, and you will be running it again.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Samsung Cb
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
Time on site
10 minutes
Nothing. Calibration is a built-in routine and moving a fill hose to the correct tap is a plumbing task rather than an appliance repair.
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 Samsung fault codes
- 12EGet it checkedA button is stuck down. Samsung treat this as a cleaning job rather than a repair, and a damp cloth across the panel is the whole remedy.Related: electronics and power
- 8EGet it checkedThe machine has measured a current it did not expect and stopped. Try one power cycle, and if it returns treat it as electrical rather than mechanical.Related: electronics and power
- 13EGet it checkedTwo boards inside the machine have lost touch with each other. Samsung say wait a few minutes, because this one often recovers on its own.Related: electronics and power
- 5EGet it checkedThe machine could not empty within the time it allows. On a Samsung this is the single most common code, and the filter behind the front flap is the usual answer.Related: same brand
- 4EGet it checkedThe 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.Related: same brand
- UEUsually simple to fixThe load is on one side of the drum and the machine has refused to spin. Samsung are explicit that this is not a fault — it is the machine protecting itself.Related: same brand
Own a Samsung washing machine? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Samsung Cb
Is Samsung’s website really wrong?
On this pair, yes. Their table gives Cb the cold-supply remedy and CE the calibration remedy, and the two are the wrong way round for their own stated meanings. It is a transposition rather than a disagreement about what the codes mean, which is why the fix is simply to read them the other way about.
What does the 0 on the display mean?
In this context it means the calibration cycle has finished normally. Confusingly, Samsung also publish 0 on its own as the drum clean reminder being left on, which is also not a fault. Same character, two meanings, and context is the only way to tell them apart.
When should I run a calibration cycle?
After moving the machine, after relevelling it, and if spins have started finishing early or the machine has become noticeably rougher on a full load. Samsung recommend it before first use too. Their manuals give the entry sequence as: switch the machine off and on, hold Temp. and Delay End together for three seconds until Cb shows, then press Start/Pause — the button names vary by model, so check your own manual. It costs nothing and takes about three minutes, and it is one of the few genuinely useful maintenance routines on a washing machine.
My machine is plumbed to a hot tap. Does that matter?
It does. Most modern machines are cold fill only and heat what they need internally, so a hot supply means detergent going in at a temperature that can set stains rather than lift them, and a machine reporting water it cannot account for. It also wastes energy heating water twice.
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.