The typical life-span of a microwave is 2,500 hours. There are several warning signs that your microwave is near the end of its life and you don’t need to be an electrician to see them!

One sign is that it’s taking longer to cook items. This means that your microwave’s power has significantly reduced. For a lot of older models that don’t have power settings (low & high), longer cooking times are a surefire way to tell it’s time to shop for a new microwave.

Sometimes an electronic component in the microwave gets fried. If it costs more than 50% of what you paid for the unit, it’s probably worth it to just buy a new one. The cost of service alone can be significantly more than the microwave itself. Some of the most expensive components in a microwave can be the electronic items such as circuit boards, displays, and touch panels.

When a code constantly flashes on the display of your microwave, try unplugging it for a minute and then plug it back in. If it’s still flashing, call a service agent and get a quote.

All of the door latches and switches on a microwave have sensors that are required by code. If any of these latches or switches are flawed, the microwave will not function.