What do the symbols on a hob mean?
Find it by its shape. 1. Pick what you see on the touch panel or in the display. 2. Match the drawing. Each of the symbols here is backed by at least two makers’ own instruction manuals.
Tap a shape — the symbols that use it appear here.
Letters and numbers — 4 symbols
Heat settings 1 to 9 (power levels)A number from 1 to 9 in the zone’s display, set with a slider, a…Power boost (P or B)A letter P in the zone display, or a key marked boost, B or a…Residual heat (H or h)A capital H in a zone’s display after you switch it off, sometimes…Automatic heat-up (A)A letter A in the zone display, or the chosen number pulsing,…
A pan or pot — 2 symbols
Key or padlock — 1 symbol
Clock or power sign — 2 symbols
Two upright bars — 1 symbol
Joined zones — 1 symbol
Before you trust any chart, including this one
No published standard we could check defines hob control icons. IEC 60417 (the international catalogue of equipment symbols) is a paid database, and none of the manuals cited here quotes an IEC number for these displays, so every meaning on these pages is taken from makers’ own instruction manuals — and the same letter can mean different things on different brands.
- Letters in the zone display are status, not settings. H or h means the glass is still hot; P usually means boost; A usually means an automatic function is running — but check your manual, because Whirlpool uses A for its simmer function and AEG for Automatic Heat Up.
- A flashing number usually means the hob cannot find a pan. Induction only heats a pan with a magnetic base that covers enough of the zone; after about a minute or two (60 seconds on the Whirlpool manual cited, 90 seconds on Bosch, 2 minutes on AEG) the zone switches itself off.
- Boost always runs out. Every manual cited limits it: 10 minutes on Whirlpool, 15 minutes on Miele, a limited time on AEG, after which the zone drops back to the top normal setting or to the one you chose.
Related pages
What these pages cannot do
- They do not identify a specific hob model. They say what a symbol means on the makes cited (AEG, Bosch, Hoover, Miele, Whirlpool); your model’s manual gives the exact times, limits and key presses.
- Left out: Hob-to-hood link (AEG Hob²Hood, Miele Con@ctivity). Both makers let the hob switch the cooker hood on, but each draws its own brand logo for it — there is no shared symbol to explain.
- Left out: Move function (Bosch). Only one maker’s manual cited here (Bosch’s PVS8 hob) shows the drawing for moving a pan between preset power areas; a second maker’s document is needed before it gets a page.
- Left out: Automatic boil and simmer programmes (Whirlpool 6th Sense, Haier melt/simmer/boil). Each maker draws its programme icons differently (pots, bubbles, the letter A), so no one drawing has the same meaning on two makes.
- Left out: Error codes such as E, F or U with a number. They differ by make and model and need that maker’s own fault table.
Sources
Every document below is a maker’s own manual or support page, fetched and read on the date shown. Each symbol page quotes what its sources show.
- Bosch: Bosch — Instruction manual PIE...F... hob (9000884453) Checked 2026-09-28.
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool — Induction hob instructions for use (flexible-zone models) Checked 2026-09-28.
- Miele: Miele — Operating and installation instructions, induction hobs KM 7897 FL (en-GB) Checked 2026-09-28.
- AEG: AEG — HKP85410FB induction hob user manual Checked 2026-09-28.
- Bosch: Bosch — Instructions for installation and use, induction hob with integrated ventilation system PVS8..F21E (9001337462) Checked 2026-09-28.
- Hoover: Hoover UK — Induction hob symbol guide Checked 2026-09-28.
- Bosch: Bosch — Instruction manual PIN...N..., PIV...N..., PIN8..N... hob (9000776658) Checked 2026-09-28.
- AEG: AEG — HKM85510FB hob user manual Checked 2026-09-28.