Tablet or all-in-one option (tablet)
Tells the machine you use combined tablets (detergent with rinse aid and salt substitute), so it adjusts the rinse and drying to get a good result without separate rinse aid.
What the manuals say to do
Switch it on only if you use all-in-one tablets, and off if you use powder, gel or plain tablets (Whirlpool). On Beko it stays on for the next wash until you switch it off, and it may change the programme time. Keep refilling salt if your water is hard: older Bosch manuals say combined products replace salt only up to 21 °dH.
What it does not mean
It does not make salt unnecessary in hard water — the older Bosch manual sets the limit at 21 °dH — and it is not a dispenser: the tablet still goes in the detergent compartment in the door.
Makes differ, check your dishwasher’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a light means and which programmes an option works with.
- What it looks like
- A rectangular tablet with stripes or layers, sometimes with 3in1 or Tab next to it.
- Names makers use
- Tablet / Tab (Whirlpool); Combi Tablet (older Beko); Tablet detergent function (Beko); auto 3in1 (older Bosch, automatic)
Where makers differ
A button on Whirlpool and Beko; a setting in the menu on newer Beko models; automatic on older Bosch machines (auto 3in1), which note the rinse programme runs correctly even if the salt or rinse aid light is on while 3in1 products are used.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines dishwasher panel icons, so this meaning is taken from the manuals of 3 different maker groups (Whirlpool, Beko, Bosch), each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool — Dishwasher Daily Reference Guide, with Multizone, Turbo and NaturalDry (PDF) — “TABLET – This setting allows you to optimize the performance of the program according to the type of detergent used … if you use combined detergents in tablet form (rinse aid, salt and detergent in 1 dose). If you use powder or liquid detergent, this option should be off.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Beko: Beko — Dishwasher user’s manual, BDEN38640FG / BDEN38530FX (PDF) — “Tablet detergent function … Allows to obtain a better drying performance from the multi-purpose detergents called as all in one detergents such as 2in1, 3in1, 4in1, 5in1”; stays active for the next programme; may change the programme duration. Checked 2026-09-26.
- Bosch: Bosch — Dishwasher operating instructions 9000 255 656 (older models with VarioSpeed, half load and auto 3in1, PDF) — auto 3in1: “Even if the rinse aid and/or salt refill indicator is lit, the rinse programme runs correctly when 3in1 products are used”; “Regeneration salt is not required up to a water hardness of 21° dH … Salt is still required if the water hardness is above 21° dH.” Checked 2026-09-26.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.