What Flashing ":" or PF in display Means
Over-the-Range Microwave: KitchenAid attributes this to a power failure or the clock time having been turned off. It states that "When power is first supplied to the microwave oven, a colon ( : ) will blink in the display," and that touching the Cancel/Off or Cancel key, depending on model, stops the blinking. It adds that an invalid entry produces invalid entry tones and brings the input prompt back, describes what the display shows in use and in standby, and ends with a line worth taking seriously: if the colon or PF continues to flash, contact a qualified electrician.
Common Causes of Flashing ":" or PF in display
- A power failure, which is the cause KitchenAid names first
- The clock time switched off in the settings
- A supply problem on the circuit that keeps interrupting the appliance
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Touch Cancel/Off or Cancel, depending on your model, and reset the clock. That is the published remedy and it is usually the whole of it. The part worth paying attention to is what KitchenAid says next: a display that keeps flashing this after being cleared points at the electrical supply rather than at the appliance, and its own advice is a qualified electrician rather than an appliance technician.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- KitchenAid itself sends a persistent version of this to an electrician, which puts the question on the household wiring rather than inside the microwave.
- An appliance repeatedly losing its supply is being power-cycled far more often than it was designed for, and that is hard on control electronics over time.
- Everything in this appliance beyond the door and the control panel sits alongside a capacitor that stays charged after the plug is pulled, which is why the published owner procedure stops at the breaker.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.