Temperature alarm (freezer too warm)
The freezer is warmer than it should be and the frozen food may be starting to thaw — after a power cut, a door left open, or a lot of fresh food put in at once.
What to do when it lights up
Press the alarm button to stop the sound; on Bosch, Hisense and Miele the display then shows the warmest temperature the freezer reached. Find the cause (door, power cut, blocked vents, too much warm food). Hisense says a reading warmer than 0 °C means the food may have defrosted and might be unsafe to eat; Bosch says not to refreeze thawing or thawed food except cooked ready meals.
What it does not mean
It is not always a fault: Bosch says it may sound without any risk to the food when the appliance is first switched on or after a lot of fresh food is put in. It is not the door alarm, which only times an open door.
Makes differ, check your fridge’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a button does, what temperature it sets and when it switches itself off.
- What it looks like
- A bell, a warning triangle or “ALARM” with a flashing freezer temperature and an interval tone.
- Names used
- Temperature alarm (Bosch, Liebherr, Hisense, Miele); Alarm symbol (Liebherr, Electrolux); – ALARM – (Bosch)
Where makers differ
Hisense recalls the maximum temperature after a power cut with a 3-second press of Alarm; Bosch shows the warmest temperature for 5 seconds, Miele flashes it for about a minute; Liebherr flashes the alarm symbol and lists hot food, a long power outage or a fault as causes.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No public standard defines this panel symbol, so its meaning is taken from the manuals of 4 different maker groups (Bosch, Hisense, Liebherr, Miele), each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Bosch: Bosch — Instructions for use, fridge-freezer KGN.. (9001101173 F, PDF) — “The temperature alarm switches on if the freezer compartment is too warm and the frozen food is at risk of thawing … may switch on without any risk to the frozen food … when switching on … when large quantities of fresh food are placed in the appliance … The temperature display indicates for 5 seconds the warmest temperature.” Checked 2026-09-27.
- Hisense: Hisense — User’s operation manual, HR6BMFF435 / HR6BMFF520 (PDF, copy hosted by productreview.com.au) — “The temperature alarm will memorize the temperature of the freezer when power was restored … A temperature reading warmer than 0ºC indicates that the food in the freezer may have defrosted and therefore it might be unsafe for consumption.” Checked 2026-09-27.
- Liebherr: Liebherr — User guide, built-in combined fridge-freezer HCB 1060 (7086622-03, 2021-04-09, PDF hosted by a Liebherr parts store) — “If the freezer temperature is not cold enough, the audible warning sounds. At the same time, the Alarm symbol will flash.” Causes: hot fresh food, prolonged power outage, a fault. Checked 2026-09-27.
- Miele: Miele — Operating instructions, fridge-freezer, M.-Nr. 11 746 390 (PDF) — Causes listed: door opened too often, a large quantity of fresh food without SuperFreeze, a prolonged power cut, a fault. After the alarm is confirmed, “the warmest temperature recorded in the freezer section will flash for about 1 minute in the display”. Checked 2026-09-27.
Written in our own words; quotations are the regulation’s or the makers’ wording.