Convection (hot air): a fan on its own
The microwave works as a small fan oven: a heating element and a fan circulate hot air round the cavity, and no microwaves are used.
What it is for
Bake and roast what you would put in an oven: biscuits, scones, rolls, cakes, soufflés. Preheat first, then use metal tins or ovenproof dishes on the low rack. On the Samsung MC28H5013AS you set 40 to 200 °C in 10 °C steps and up to 60 minutes; Whirlpool’s W6 MWBSOC guide gives soufflé at 175 °C for 30 to 35 minutes and cookies at 175 °C for 12 to 18 minutes after preheating.
Makes differ, check your microwave’s manual: the same drawing can start a different programme on another brand, and only your model’s manual gives its exact watts, weights and times.
- What it looks like
- A fan of four or five curved blades around a small hub, on its own: Samsung prints it on its Convection key, and Whirlpool draws a fan for Forced Air, in one guide inside a circle. A fan with wavy lines beside it is the combination setting, not this one.
- Names makers use
- Convection (Samsung); Forced Air (Whirlpool)
Where makes differ
Samsung calls it Convection and Whirlpool Forced Air. Whirlpool’s W6 MWBSOC runs a preheating phase by itself and sounds a signal when the oven is hot; Samsung’s MC28H5013AS manual tells you to preheat with its auto pre-heat function before you put the food in. The highest temperature and the racks you may use differ by model, so take them from your manual.
What it does not mean
It is not the combination setting and it is not quicker than an oven, because no microwave energy is used. Containers that are only microwave safe do not belong in it: Samsung says microwave-safe containers are not usually suitable for convection cooking, and the walls, door glass and racks get as hot as an oven’s.
Related
Sources
No published standard we could check defines microwave control icons, so this meaning is taken from 2 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Samsung: Samsung UK — User manual, combi microwave oven with convection MC28H5013AS (MW5000H) — Control panel key 4, “Convection”, drawn as a fan; “The convection mode enables you to cook food in the same way as in a traditional oven. The microwave mode is not used. You can set the temperature, as required, in a range varying from 40 °C to 200 °C.” Convection guide: “Preheat the convection with the auto pre-heat function to the desired temperature.” Checked 2026-10-16.
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool Australia — Quick guide, built-in microwave combination oven W6 MWBSOC — “FORCED AIR”, shown with a fan in a circle: “For cooking dishes in a way that achieves similar results to using a conventional oven”; “The forced air function requires a preheating phase.” Checked 2026-10-16.
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool — JT469 control panel quick guide (GB) — Main functions table: “Forced Air” with a fan icon and the low rack as its accessory, listed apart from “Combi Forced Air + Microwave”, whose icon adds the waves. Checked 2026-10-16.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.