A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that very few of us can bear to do without.
Whether you just want to quickly reheat last night’s dinner for lunch, or save time and money on stovetop cooking, there are plenty of times where a microwave is a cook’s best friend.
Here’s the problem though.
Those endless beeps can drive even the most patient of home cooks to distraction – particularly when you don’t even need the microwave to alert you to whatever it’s up to!
The good news is that – for most of us – you don’t need to suffer any longer. As long as you’re sure you don’t need those warnings, there are ways to make your microwave silent!
How To Make Your Microwave Silent
The first thing to note is that no two microwaves are the same. They all make different beeps, in different ways, and to different degrees of irritation.
The same thing applies to how you go about muting those microwaves.
Some have a dedicated button for silencing the appliance (handy), while others require an esoteric button combo that’s purposefully hidden from the consumer.
Others have no mute function at all, and that’s most likely to be the case if you have an old microwave, rather than a newer one.
Let’s work through the options though.
#1 Silent / Mute Button
Yes, really…
Most of us rely on using the same handy functions on our microwaves time and time again.
It’s entirely possible that there’s a mute button on your microwave that’s been hiding in plain sight all along!
Look for a little bell icon, or something else that might indicate a way to mute your microwave.
#2 Common Button Combos
This is the second solution to explore.
Many microwaves have a mute mode hidden behind some simple button presses. Try these in order:
- Press and hold down the ‘1’ button for a few seconds.
- If that doesn’t do anything, try the same with the ‘0’ button.
- After that, press the Stop / Cancel button for a few seconds.
It’s possible this will activate the child lock feature on your microwave instead. That will prevent the panel from being used again. To reverse child lock, just hold the same button down again for a few seconds.
#3 Check The Owner’s Manual
You did keep the owner’s manual, right? Somewhere nice and safe where you can refer to it whenever you run into problems?
This is the first place to turn to if you’ve held onto it. If there’s a feature to make your particular microwave silent, you’ll find it in there.
If your own make & model of microwave can be muted, the details of how to do so will likely involve a combination of button presses that are particular to that appliance.
Now, I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to discarding this sort of handy info, but all is not lost!
As long as you know the make & model of your appliance, you’ll almost certainly be able to find the owner’s manual online.
Either Google your microwave name and “owner’s manual”, or head to the manufacturer’s website and search there.
It’ll likely be available as a PDF, which you can easily search for yourself once you’ve downloaded the file and opened it.
Hit Ctrl + F on your Windows machine (Command+F on Mac), and then search for terms like “mute”, “silence”, “sound”, or “beeps.”
Obviously if your microwave doesn’t offer a mute function at all, there’s nothing to do! Still, it’s well worth checking if this feature is hidden away somewhere in the inner workings of the machine.
Silencing Microwave Brands
Before wrapping things up, I thought it would be useful to include instructions for muting some of the most popular microwave brands.
How To Mute A Whirlpool Microwave
To mute a Whirlpool microwave, hold down the ‘2’ button for 5 seconds. This will activate silent mode on newer models.
How To Mute A Frigidaire Microwave
Follow these instructions to mute a Frigidaire microwave:
- Tap the Clock button twice.
- When the display says ‘oP-2’, press Start.
- When it flashes to On, press Start again.
To deactivate silent mode on your Frigidaire microwave, repeat the steps above but look for ‘Off’ in the third step.
How To Silence An LG Microwave
This only works if your LG microwave has a “Custom Set” button on the control panel. If it does, simply follow these instructions to mute it:
- Press Custom Set
- Press ‘1’ to turn all sounds off.
To bring back the beeps, just go through the process again!
How To Silence A Samsung Microwave
Modern Samsung microwaves are pretty easy to silence. Find the sound button on the control panel, tap it until the display reads ‘Off’, then confirm this change by pressing Start.
Reverse the process by reversing the instructions!
Wrapping Up
Those are three possible solutions to mute your microwave, and silence those irritating beeps for good.
If none of those work, and you know your microwave is getting a little old, it’s time to think about either upgrading or learning to live with those beeps.
Mark’s a lifelong food fanatic and spent ten years working as an entertainment journalist. He now combines his love of food, drink and writing as the founder and editor of Viva Flavor. Read more