Automatic heat-up (A)
The zone starts at full power and then drops by itself to the setting you chose, so a low setting gets going quickly without you turning it down later.
What it is for
Pick the setting you want to cook on, not full power: the hob does the blast at the start. It suits food that goes from cold to a steady simmer — a stew, rice, a sauce.
Makes differ, check your hob’s manual: the same letter or drawing can do a different job on another brand, and only your model’s manual gives its exact times and limits.
- What it looks like
- A letter A in the zone display, or the chosen number pulsing, after you hold the setting until it beeps.
- Names makers use
- Automatic Heat Up (AEG); Auto heat-up (Miele)
Where makes differ
The start-up time depends on the setting: Miele’s table gives about 15 seconds before settling on level 1 or 2 and about 2 minutes 50 seconds before level 7 or 8; on AEG the zone must be cold for the function to start. Whirlpool uses the letter A for its automatic simmer function instead, so an A alone does not tell you which one you have.
What it does not mean
A does not mean an alarm or an error, and changing the setting while it runs does not keep the boost: on both makes it cancels automatic heat-up.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No published standard we could check defines hob control icons, so this meaning is taken from 2 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- AEG: AEG — HKP85410FB induction hob user manual — “Automatic Heat Up: Activate this function to get a desired heat setting in a shorter time. When it is on, the zone operates on the highest setting in the beginning and then continues to cook at the desired heating setting. To activate the function the cooking zone must be cold.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Miele: Miele — Operating and installation instructions, induction hobs KM 7897 FL (en-GB) — “When Auto heat-up has been activated, the cooking zone switches on automatically at the highest setting and then switches to the continued cooking setting which you have previously selected.” Heat-up time chart: approx. 0:15 for 1–2, 2:50 for 7–8; “Altering the continued cooking setting will deactivate Auto heat-up.” Checked 2026-09-28.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.