Most of us have a cuptor cu microunde in our kitchens, either on the countertop or above the range. The versatile appliances can do everything from reheating leftovers la poaching an egg in under a minute. When you’re not in the mood for cooking, a microwave can be a lifesaver for heating up quick and easy meals or snacks.

But microwaves have one crucial flaw, and it has nothing to do with the machine’s food preparation prowess. It’s the frequent beeping noise these machines let out as soon as they’ve accomplished their cooking mission.

It’s that incessant, grating and largely unnecessary noise that has you watching the timer like a hawk to stop the microwave just before the time runs out. Who needs the stress of the beeps when a recent CNET survey shows that having to buy food to put in the machine is stressful enough? You know ’em, you hate ’em — and I’ve finally figured out how to get rid of them so you can heat up a frozen dinner or make some movie night popcorn in peace.

How to stop your microwave from beeping

One of the most important things to remember is that no two microwaves are the same. With some, pressing 1 will immediately start the microwave’s one-minute timer. Other microwaves register your pressing 1 as just one second of heat — you’d have to press 0 twice and Start to activate a one-minute timer.

The same is true for how microwaves deal with beeps. Once the timer finishes, some microwaves beep constantly until you open the door. Others only beep a few times before stopping. Some beep extra loud with each button press. If nothing else, two things are certain: Microwaves are deliberate and excessive with their beeping, and almost all of their noises are annoying.

To put an end to the incessant beeping, you just have to know how your particular microwave’s mute function works, if it does at all. Most modern microwaves have at least some kind of mute function — but not all. Naturally, the Emerson microwave in my kitchen from 2011 doesn’t.

To mute your microwave, start by checking the control panel. Look closely. The mute function may be labeled as a secondary function of one of the standard buttons. Check these things first:

• Look for a Sunet button. Seriously. It may have been there all along, begging you to press it.
• Press and hold either 1 sau 0. Sometimes manufacturers give these keys hidden, secondary functions.
• Press and hold the Stop sau Cancel button. Like 1 sau 0, this key might have a hidden function when held.

Often, pressing and holding 1, 0, Stop, sau Cancel will either mute the beeping sounds or activate a child lock feature. (The child lock doesn’t actually secure the door but disables the control panel, preventing buttons from being pressed until you hold the button again for around three seconds to unlock it.)

If none of these work, it’s probably best to consult the manual. Even if you don’t have a Sunet button, there’s no Mute function denoted as a secondary function and holding a button doesn’t do anything, there is still a chance a mute function exists. It could be a button combination or, like on some microwaves, be buried in a submenu that’s not at all obvious how to activate.

If you’ve tossed the owner’s manual to your microwave, check the manufacturer’s website. They will often provide a digital version of the manual as a PDF for more recent models. For an older model, you may need to do some digging, but a great start is to just do a Google search for “[microwave brand and model number] manual.” 

Once you have the PDF version of the manual, press Ctrl + F on Windows sau Command + F on Mac to search the PDF for “mute,” “sound” or “beep.”

Of course, if your microwave doesn’t have a mute function built in, you’ll just have to continue doing the run-across-the-kitchen-to-open-the-door-before-the-timer-ends maneuver. 

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