Oven Not Heating Up? Check the Settings First

The oven has power but stays cold

A lit display means the oven has some power, but a setting can still stop it heating. We'd go through the door and the settings before suspecting a broken part, because Whirlpool, GE, LG and Samsung all name settings such as control lock, demo mode, delay start or Sabbath mode as reasons an oven won't heat.

Close the door all the way. Some ovens won't turn their elements on with the door open, and Samsung ovens shut off if the door is left open too long.

Then check the basics. On electronic controls, pick the cooking function and temperature and press Start (opens in a new tab). On a knob oven, set both knobs, and if the knobs were taken off for cleaning, make sure they went back in the right places. On a self-clean oven with a door latch, the latch needs to be in the unlocked position.

A lock, demo, delay or Sabbath setting

These settings look different from brand to brand, so check the display for each one.

• Control lock: look for Control Lock, a padlock icon or Loc. Your manual has the unlock steps, and Samsung ranges print them on the panel itself (opens in a new tab).
• Demo mode: the display works but the oven won't heat. Whirlpool ovens play a short presentation of the range's features, and Samsung ovens show tESt, a d or D icon, or DEMO. Both brands put the steps to turn it off in the manual.
• Delay start: the oven waits for its scheduled start time, and LG ranges show DELAY START on the display. Cancel it and start Bake again with no delay.
• Sabbath mode: if the power goes out while a Samsung oven is in Sabbath mode, it comes back still in Sabbath mode and won't heat. The display shows SAb.

It has never heated since it was installed

If the oven has never heated since it was installed, keep your own checks to the door and the controls. Then contact the installer or an electrician to check the power supply connection against the oven's installation requirements, and leave the wiring and connections to them.

Electric oven with a lit display and no heat

If the oven has heated before, check the breakers even if the clock is working. GE notes that on partial voltage, a range's clock can still work (opens in a new tab) while its burners won't heat properly. Many GE ranges and wall ovens are on a double breaker, so check that neither breaker has tripped.

Turn the breakers for the oven off and back on. For a GE range or wall oven, GE's reset for the electronic controls is to switch the breaker off, wait one minute and switch it back on, and it suggests doing that even when the light or clock works.

If a breaker trips again, we'd leave it off and call an electrician, because a breaker that isn't big enough for the oven can trip (opens in a new tab).

A GE electric range or wall oven that's stuck in demo mode can be a power problem too. GE says there are no settings on the control panel to change. Turn off both breakers for 30 seconds and back on, and if it stays in demo mode, have the installer or an electrician check the power connection.

Bake and broil don't both work

An electric oven has a bake element and a broil element (some very old models have only a bake element), and they work separately or together depending on the mode (opens in a new tab). The bake element isn't used when broiling, so if Broil heats and Bake doesn't, or the other way around, tell the technician which one works. On GE ovens, a broil element can be heating without glowing, and that's normal.

If your bake element sits on the oven floor where you can see it, you can look it over for cracks or breaks, but only with the oven off, completely cool and its breaker switched off. A cracked or broken element needs replacing, so book service. Many electric ranges and wall ovens hide the bake element under the oven floor instead, and on GE models replacing a hidden bake element takes a service technician (opens in a new tab).

A gas oven that won't heat

No gas smell? On gas ranges like LG's, a hot surface ignitor lights the bake burner, and if the ignitor isn't working, the oven won't heat (opens in a new tab). On LG gas ranges, a failed ignitor brings up an error code, so write down anything the display shows.

If the range was recently pulled out or moved, its gas supply may have been shut off. Don't adjust the gas valve or regulator yourself. Have the installer or a qualified technician check it, and book service for an ignitor problem instead of trying to light the oven over and over.

On a Whirlpool electric oven

Depending on the model, a Whirlpool electric oven's elements won't come on with the door open (opens in a new tab). If you open the door while broiling, the broil element turns off straight away and comes back on when you close the door.

Look for Control Lock on the console. Whirlpool's reset is typically holding the button or buttons for 3 seconds. Demo mode stops the oven working and plays a short presentation of the range's features. A Bake set with a delayed start won't begin until the start time, so cancel it and start Bake again.

If a Whirlpool oven has never heated since it was installed, the power supply connection needs checking. Leave that to the installer or an electrician, since it means getting at the wiring.

It still won't heat

If the door, settings and breakers all check out and the oven still won't heat, book appliance service through your oven brand's support site or service line. Whirlpool owners can use Whirlpool's support page (opens in a new tab), which has contact and scheduling options for the US and Canada.

Tell them the full model number, whether it's gas or electric, the cooking mode you picked and whether the other mode works, anything on the display, the checks you've done, and whether it has ever heated since it was installed.