How to Override Thermostat Settings

There are many reasons you'd want to know how to override a Honeywell thermostat. If it's a standard programmable thermostat, you may simply want to make the room temperature higher or lower than the current settings allow, and if it's a smart thermostat, you may want to cancel the temperature settings that it has learned and start fresh.

Honeywell is one of the main suppliers of home thermostats, but there are several others, including Trane, White-Rodgers (Emerson), Carrier, Ecobee, and Lux. Thermostats from different manufacturers have different controls, so even if you know how to override a Honeywell thermostat, the same procedure won't necessarily work for a different brand. In fact, procedures vary even among Honeywell models.

Since a one-size-fits-all approach is impossible when it comes to adjusting digital thermostat settings and overriding those settings, the best plan is to consult your owner's manual, which you can usually find online using the model number. You may have to expose the wall plate to find it. It is possible to get a general idea of how to override program settings on selected models, however, and that may help you to intuit the procedure on a thermostat for which you don't have the exact instructions.

Most programmable thermostats in the current Honeywell Home lineup are Wi-Fi-enabled, and for each there are particular procedures for troubleshooting the Wi-Fi connection and restoring the factory settings. In addition, there's another procedure for overriding the programmed schedule with a temporary or permanent hold so the thermostat will maintain a new temperature setting without the need to completely reprogram the schedule.

The procedure for overriding the program settings on Honeywell programmable thermostat models varies by model. The procedure you use for the TH421OU2002 is typical and one of the easiest:

1. Press the + or - button to temporarily select a new desired temperature. The thermostat will hold this temperature until the start of the next scheduled time period.
2. After you select the new temperature, "Temporary Hold" will flash on the screen. While this is flashing, press the "Hold" button to permanently override the temperature settings.
3. Cancel the permanent hold by pressing the + or - button and then pressing "Cancel."

The procedure for setting a temporary or permanent hold on other programmable Honeywell thermostat models usually starts with pressing the "Hold" or "Hold Until" button until "Permanent Hold" appears on the display. You make your selection using either the up and down button or the +/- keys. To cancel "Permanent Hold," press whichever of the following buttons is present on your thermostat: "Run," "Cancel," "Run Schedule," "Use Schedule," "Remove Hold," or "Cancel Hold."

You can connect to a Honeywell smart thermostat, such as one in the T6 Series, using the Honeywell Home app on your mobile device, and you can override the system setting from there. You can also do it by using the touch-screen on the thermostat. The procedures for setting a temporary or permanent temperature change are very simple but definitely model-specific.

1. Set a temporary hold on the thermostat screen by touching the + or - button repeatedly to select the new temperature.
2. Note that the "Until Time" in the upper right of the screen flashes when you do this. Tap on the time and set it using the +/- keys.
3. Touch the checkmark icon on the bottom center of the screen to confirm the change.
4. Cancel a temporary override by touching the X icon on the bottom right of the screen.
5. Set a permanent hold by first touching the crossed calendar icon on the bottom left of the screen. This automatically overrides the programmed settings.
6. Use the +/- keys to set the new temperature. This temperature is held indefinitely.
7. Cancel a permanent override by touching the crossed calendar icon.

To make changes from a mobile device, open the Honeywell Home app and select the thermostat from the list that appears. Select the desired temperature using the up and down arrows. Once the new temperature is selected, a "Hold Until" button appears below. Tap on it and you can either set a time or choose a permanent hold. When you want to disable the hold, tap on that button again and choose "Remove Hold."

You don't need to know how to override a Honeywell thermostat if you have a different brand, but the knowledge helps because most thermostats are designed to work the same way. While it isn't possible to cover every model, noting instructions for selected models from various manufacturers can be instructive.

1. Press the up or down button to select the desired temperature. "Hold Until" appears on the screen with its own set of up and down arrows. Use the arrows to select the time period. The default is the beginning of the next scheduled time period.
2. Press the "Hold" button if you want to permanently override the schedule. The temperature appears on the screen. Use the up or down button to set the temperature.
3. Exit temporary or permanent hold by pressing the "Cancel" button.

1. Press the up or down button to select the desired temperature. The thermostat will hold this temperature for two hours.
2. Set a permanent hold by pressing the "Hold" button and then selecting the temperature with the up or down button.
3. Cancel temporary or permanent hold by pressing the "Run" button.

The Ecobee thermostat has a nifty feature that tells you whether your furnace or air conditioner is working. If the circle around the temperature setting is blue, your cooling system is on; if it's orange, your heating system is on. You can set a temporary or permanent hold on most Ecobee models either on the thermostat's screen or from the screen of a mobile app.

1. Tap on the temperature displayed in the middle of the screen.
2. Scroll to the desired temperature.
3. Set the duration of the hold by tapping the menu button on the top right of the screen and choosing Settings > Preferences > Hold Action. You can choose two hours, four hours, Until the Next Scheduled Activity, Until I Change It, or Decide at the Time of Change.
4. Cancel a temporary or permanent hold by pressing the X icon at the bottom of the screen.

1. Set the rocker switch on the left side of the screen from "Off" to "Heat" or "Cool" as appropriate.
2. Select the new temperature using the up arrow or the down arrow.
3. Press "Hold" after you set the temperature. The word "Hold" appears under the temperature setting, and the thermostat will hold that temperature indefinitely.
4. Press "Hold" once to illuminate the screen and then once more to disable the hold and restore the usual program.

Some smart thermostats, like the Nest thermostat, learn the behavior patterns of people living in the house and automatically adjust the temperature setting for the heating system, cooling system, or heat pump for one time period or several. This is a useful, energy-saving feature, but there is more than one reason a homeowner would want to override it. Perhaps the settings were learned from previous occupants, or the present occupants are going on vacation and don't want the HVAC system to operate while they are away. For such situations, there is a specific procedure to override the programmed schedule so you can operate the thermostat manually:

1. Click on the button on the top of the thermostat. That brings you to the home screen. Click "Settings," scroll to "Nest Sense," and click.
2. Select "Auto Schedule" on the next screen and set it to "No." Click "Done."
3. Scroll to the "Eco" setting, click on it, and set both "Heat To" and "Cool To" to "Off." Click "Done."
4. Scroll to "Home Away Assist," select it, and click on "Stop Using."
5. Scroll all the way to the right until you find the "Reset" button. Click on it, choose "Schedule" from the menu, and press "Reset." Turn the dial to select all the data on the thermostat and press "OK." The thermostat will restart, which takes a minute or two. You can now use it just like an old-style manual thermostat.

It's common for hotel operators to program temperature limits into room thermostats to prevent the room temperature from getting too hot or too cold. Unfortunately, those limits aren't comfortable for everyone, and on a particularly hot or cold day, you may want more or less heat or more air conditioning than the thermostat allows. A simple hack allows you to override the temperature limits and establish a new setpoint on the Inncom, a common hotel thermostat.

1. Note the keypad with three buttons arranged in a row just under the display. The one on the right is the Display button. Press it and hold it in.
2. Press the Off/Auto button, which is the one on the left. This hack may work if you just press and release this button, but it definitely will work if you hold the button in.
3. Press the up arrow button. You'll see the letters "LEN" displayed on the screen. They stand for "Limited Energy Management." You have now overridden the temperature limits and can set the temperature as high or low as you want using the up and down arrows.