How to reset your Samsung washing machine

Reset your washing machine

There really isn't a way to reset the washing machine. What you can do instead is power cycle it: Unplug it (or turn off power at the circuit breaker), wait some time for the electrical charge to clear out of the washer (usually 1 to 5 minutes at most), and then power it up again. This is the closest you can get to a "reset" of the washer.

A power cycle can, in rare instances, resolve your issue all by itself. Most of the time it won't, though, and you'll need to troubleshoot the issue you're having in order to resolve it. See the following sections for more information.

When to reset (and when not to)

An error code means there is an issue with your washer. Resetting your washing machine will clear out all the error codes in its memory, but this won’t automatically fix whatever error is occurring.

For example, a 4E or 4C error indicates that water isn't filling into the washer. This error may occur if a washer is not connected to a hot water line but tries to use hot water. Performing a reset may temporarily get the washer working again, but the code will eventually come back because the problem actually hasn’t been fixed.

You should perform all the troubleshooting first before you reset your washer – unless a reset is part of the troubleshooting process. You can see our error code guide for more information on troubleshooting codes.

If you do try a reset but the code comes back, don’t try to clear it again. Resetting will wipe the unit’s error code history, which makes it harder for a technician to diagnose and correct the issue. Instead, you can request service to help resolve the error code.

Find troubleshooting for your issue

We're here to help, and we offer various troubleshooting guides for specific washing machine issues; you can find a couple links for them in the previous section. Our error code article covers all error codes that have troubleshooting steps, including blinking lights for models without a digital display. If your washer is not displaying a code or flashing lights, simply visit our support site and perform a search with details about the issue you're having.

Perform a network reset

If you want to erase all Wi-Fi and network information from the washing machine, follow these steps. This is only applicable to washers with Wi-Fi capability.

Hold Smart Control until AP displays (about 3 seconds).
Hold Temp until OK displays (about 7 seconds). The display will then go back to AP.
Turn off the washer. The next time you try to connect something to the washer, the Wi-Fi and network information will be refreshed.