No one appears to be doing any scientific research on the subject, but there’s reason to believe that many Americans are severely irritated by the beeping noises coming from their own microwaves.
A quick Google search reveals dozens of Reddit forums filled with commenters griping about these very noises, with plenty admitting to hovering near their microwaves during the cooking process so they can pop the door open before the timer has a chance to ding.
But why do people find these alerts so irritating? Is it the abruptness? The volume level? The tonal quality of the beep itself?
Yes, yes and yes, according to commenters.
“It’s like [an] annoying fly that just won’t leave you alone only this one sounds like a spike driving through your ear,” one user wrote in a Reddit thread posted over a decade ago.
“The hostile and aggressive beep,” another complained about in a more recent forum. “I am not taking no [expletive deleted] from a microwave.”
The good news for these folks — if they haven’t already thrown their microwaves out a window, having been slighted by an inanimate appliance for the last time — is that most models allow users to silence or lower the volume of the beeps.
In many cases, the steps for disabling the alerts can be found in the microwaves’ operational manuals, but some brands post the instructions to their official websites. Panasonic, for instance, has an online resource for consumers hoping to turn the beeping noises “on and off,” complete with a dropdown menu for each model.
Sometimes the steps may be intuitive, as is the case with GE models that feature a “Sound Level” pad which can be used to control the volume of the beeps or silence them entirely. Other times, the steps for muting the beeps are somewhat murkier. Certain microwaves made by the Whirlpool Corporation (which include the Maytag, Amana and KitchenAid brands) may have a “Settings” button that brings up sound options, while other Whirlpool models might require users to hold down unrelated buttons (the 2 or the 3, for instance) to disable some of the noises. Many Frigidaire models can also be silenced by holding the “Start” button for several seconds, according to the brand’s support page.
Since there’s no single solution that works to silence all microwaves (or even microwaves among the same brand), it’s usually in the owner’s best interest to consult the user manual. And in the event that the user manual has been lost or discarded, many manufacturers offer up online access the instructions for specific models, allowing owners to disable the dings. Failing that, there are hundreds of available YouTube tutorials from self-proclaimed appliance experts who are more than willing to walk viewers through the processes.
It should be noted, however, that some models just can’t be muted. Companies including Panasonic, Electrolux and Whirlpool — among others — plainly state this on their brands’ websites, with the latter even warning that “most audible signals” cannot be turned off.
But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost, especially if the owner of a noisy microwave is open to unconventional, warranty-voiding, and perhaps dangerous means.
“My roommate disassembled our microwave and took the beeper out,” one Reddit user revealed.
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