this post was submitted on 06 May 2025
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The appliance that elicits anger and frustrated at it's mere sight. The treacherous device that never worked right.

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 day ago (9 children)

Microwaves are allowed one proud "ding" or three "beep" before they are on my hate-list.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

And any remaining time on the cooking timer should automatically clear after say 10 minutes. Too many people that love leaving a few seconds remaining when retrieving their food. Then the remaining time stays there forever until someone comes along and clears it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago

i muted my microwave, almost every microwave i've used has been mutable

[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago

I have a similar short fuse for microwaves but for the +30 seconds button. If the microwave doesn't have this it should get tossed in the nearest dumpster. The +30 seconds button is the pinnacle of human achievement.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 day ago (3 children)

My microwave has an un-interuptable 6 shrill beeps, that then repeat if the door is not opened in 10 seconds. There is no mute option, and it can be heard everywhere in the house. I have seriously considered just ripping the speaker out of it. It is, without a doubt, the appliance I hate most in my house.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 23 hours ago

I moved from the US to Europe and I keep joking that the largest QoL upgrade has been my unbelievably dumb microwave. It has a power knob, a timer knob that is spring wound, and when it hits 0 it physically hits a bell like an older toaster.

I fucking love it. It was like 20€

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

Perfect this is the type answer I was looking for!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Open the door to your microwave and see if it has instructions for written on its body. Mine has a secondary menu where you can turn it off.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Checked there and searched online for any demo modes/ testing codes that would allow me to mute it. Evidently, a lot of folks online absolutely hate my microwave as well, because no one can mute it. That said, the community of microwave haters has provided me with instructions to rip out the speaker if I choose to silence the wailing banshee for good.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago

One thing you can do if you’re not fully prepared to remove the speaker is to cover it with several layers of tape. It will muffle the sound and is somewhat reversible

[–] [email protected] 4 points 23 hours ago

Mine is not nearly as bad as yours, but it is loud and doesn’t stop beeping when you open the door, just continues until its preprogrammed three loud beeps are over. I muted it when my kids were babies and have never looked back. I think a lot of people worry about muting their microwave because they think they won’t hear when it’s done or something. I’m here to tell you that you won’t miss it. Go forth and rip that speaker out with no regrets.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What microwave and model is it?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 hours ago

Frigidaire FFMV164LSA MFG in 2012

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Microwaves are the penultimate Norman Object (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things). They could have a standardized UI (cue up obligatory XKCD "Standards"). Instead, every manufacturer does it differently and usually in obscure, unintuitive fashion, often differently from the same manufacturer. Do you enter the time or power setting first? Oh wait, pressing a number launches it straight into running. That part that looks like a door handle is not how one actually opens the door; press the door button first. So. Much. Hate.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I can see what you mean. Generally, they're similar-enough, at least in basic functionality, that I don't have an issue using someone else's microwave though. The advanced functionality can vary a lot.

What does kind of annoy me is that they're basically the one device


VCRs used to be the stereotypical holders of this position


that has a clock, but also is a device price-sensitive enough to both:

  • Lack an internal battery to keep the clock powered when power is lost.

  • Not have a network link, cell link


not that I really want those


or radio time signal receiver to automatically set the clock.

The result is that every microwave I see seems to wind up showing an unset clock.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I get irrationally upset over microwaves that don't let you use the timer and cook functions simultaneously

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

looks puzzled

Hmm. What are you doing with that? Like, you want to be cooking for a certain amount of time, then after the cooking completes, have a timer trigger to start a second cooking period?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

More like, I need to heat this frozen thing for 4 minutes. Also while that's going on, I want to set a timer for my pasta which is cooking on the stove for 6 minutes to remind me to check it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 19 hours ago

Exactly. I have a batch of cupcakes in the oven so the timer is set for 12 mins, but I also want to melt some chocolate for the ganache while that's going.

Luckily, my microwave supports doing both, but I've cooked at other people's houses and their microwaves are essentially bricked while the timer counts down which is so crazy to me it's like they've made this appliance worse on purpose.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 21 hours ago

Oh, so this is like, a timer for an alarm rather than to control the microwave's operation. Gotcha.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 22 hours ago

You know, the worst part is, they intentionally make the interface shittier on the cheap ones. I'm very convinced of this.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

My partner took our microwave (an obnoxious thing I bought at a charity shop for $15) apart and wrapped the dinger-thing in a thick rubber band to muffle it, then put it all back together. It sounds so much more polite now, and he didn't have to cut any wires or otherwise fuss with the basic function.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago

I have to try that, thanks for the idea!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 21 hours ago

My microwave thinks it's a regular oven and keeps beeping if you don't open the door. It doesn't seem to understand it has stopped on its own and can shut the fuck up now.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I want to open up my microwave and rip out whatever device makes the beep. Who has ever forgotten they have food in the microwave? I was hungry 3 minutes ago, I haven't forgotten, and it's not going to burn.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

My parents used to have an old Amana Radarange. Built like a tank, wood paneling and chrome, warm incandescent lighting…I miss it. It didn’t have a beep or a bell or anything. Once it was done it would just…turn off.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

My microwave's beeper only work in 10s increments. Meaning if I enter a cook time of 91 seconds, I get 91s at high power, 9s at low power, and a beep. If I listen for the power change, I have a 9 second window to open the door. It's perfect; no annoying beeping, and the timer reads 0:00 so it doesn't need to be cleared before reuse.