Pause (Stop & Go)
Every zone that is cooking drops to the lowest setting at once, and one more touch puts all of them back where they were.
What it is for
Use it when the doorbell or phone goes, or to wipe up a spill without losing your settings. While it is on you cannot change the settings, only switch the hob off.
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
- Two upright bars like the pause key on a music player, or a key labelled STOP+GO.
- Names makers use
- STOP+GO (AEG); Stop & Go (Miele); Pause / Stop & Go (Hoover)
Where makes differ
What keeps running changes by make: AEG’s STOP+GO does not stop the timer; Miele keeps the minute minder, switch-off and booster times running and switches the hob off if you leave it paused for 1 hour. Some hobs have no pause key at all.
What it does not mean
Pause does not switch the zones off: they keep heating on the lowest setting, so a dry pan can still burn and the glass stays hot.
Sources
No published standard we could check defines hob control icons, so this meaning is taken from 3 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- AEG: AEG — HKM85510FB hob user manual — “STOP+GO: This function sets all cooking zones that operate to the lowest heat setting. When the function operates, you cannot change the heat setting. The function does not stop the timer functions.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Miele: Miele — Operating and installation instructions, induction hobs KM 7897 FL (en-GB) — “When Stop & Go is activated, all power levels are reduced to 1… When the function is deactivated, the appliance switches back to the power level that was set last. If the function is not deactivated within 1 hour, the hob will switch off.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Hoover: Hoover UK — Induction hob symbol guide — “Pause / Stop & Go Function: The pause symbol temporarily reduces all cooking zones to low heat and restores them later. Often displayed as two vertical lines (like a pause button).” Checked 2026-09-28.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.