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My Refrigerator's Digital Temperature Controls Won't Work

Jon Stefansson

Digital temperature controls are present on a variety of modern refrigerators, allowing for quick adjustments to the temperatures inside the fridge and freezer cabinets. If your digital controls stop working, you will not be able to increase or decrease the internal temperature or change other settings for your refrigerator. Troubleshooting your digital controls will eliminate some of the most common problems and attempt to fix the issue. Exact instructions will vary by manufacturer and model, so consult your instruction manual as necessary. Allow roughly 10 minutes for this task.

  1. Press and hold the "LOCK" or padlock button on the control panel for five seconds and try the temperature controls again. Refrigerator manufacturers often include a "LOCK" function to prevent accidental changes to the temperature settings.

  2. Wait 24 hours after changing the temperature settings. Temperature changes take several hours to take effect in most models of refrigerator. Always allow enough time for a new temperature to be achieved.

  3. Verify cooling mode is active by consulting your refrigerator's instruction manual. Some refrigerators can be temporarily disabled via the control panel without cutting the power supply. You may need to press and hold a combination of buttons on your control panel to re-activate its cooling mode.