Body, forehead, object or room mode symbol
Many non-contact thermometers also measure objects and rooms. The mode symbol says whether the number is a body temperature, the plain surface temperature of an object, or the temperature of the room; only the body or forehead mode gives a body temperature.
Check your thermometer’s manual — makers differ.
What it is for
Before you read the number as a person’s temperature, check that the body or forehead symbol is showing. Omron says its surface mode “is not intended for body temperature measurement or medical use”. Microlife’s NC 200 manual says the thermometer starts in body mode and the MODE button switches between body and object mode.
These pages report what each maker’s manual says and quote it wherever health is involved. They do not diagnose anything, they are not medical advice, and they do not tell you whether a temperature is a fever or what to do about it; only your own thermometer’s manual and your doctor or nurse can do that for the person you are looking after.
- What it looks like
- A small head or forehead, a cup, bottle or house next to the reading, showing which mode the thermometer is in.
- Names makers use
- Forehead temperature, Surface temperature, Room temperature (Omron ET720); Forehead, object and room temperature mode (Beurer FT 90 and FT 95); Body mode and object mode (Microlife NC 200); Food & bath mode (Braun No touch BNT 400)
Where makes differ
The Omron ET720 goes to room temperature on its own: Omron’s manual says that after 1 minute without use it switches to room temperature mode and keeps the room temperature on the screen, even when turned off. Beurer’s FT 90 and FT 95 switch with the MODE/MEM button, always start in forehead mode, and do not store object or room readings. Braun’s No touch BNT 400 turns its backlight blue in food & bath mode. The range changes with the mode: Omron’s surface mode reads up to 176°F (80°C), Beurer’s FT 95 object mode up to 80 °C, and Microlife’s NC 200 object mode up to 99.9 °C.
What it does not mean
An object or room reading is not a body temperature, and it is not adjusted the way body mode is: Omron says its forehead mode shows an oral-equivalent value, while surface mode shows “the actual and unadjusted surface temperature of an object”.
Sources
No published standard we could check defines the symbols on a digital thermometer’s display, so this meaning is taken from 4 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Omron: Omron No-Touch Forehead Thermometer ET720 (MC-720-Z) — instruction manual (US, 5681249-5D, PDF) — Display: forehead temperature, surface temperature and room temperature icons; Forehead Measurement Mode “displays the oral-equivalent value”; surface mode “not intended for body temperature measurement or medical use”; after 1 minute the room temperature appears. Checked 2026-09-29.
- Beurer: Beurer FT 95 non-contact thermometer — instructions for use (2021-06-22, PDF) — Display description: object, room and forehead temperature mode symbols; switch with MODE/MEM; “Measurements taken in object temperature mode are not stored”, likewise room temperature mode. Checked 2026-09-29.
- Beurer: Beurer FT 90 non-contact clinical thermometer — instructions for use (2021-06-22, PDF) — Display description: object temperature mode, room temperature mode, forehead temperature mode; “The device always starts up in forehead temperature mode”. Checked 2026-09-29.
- Microlife: Microlife NC 200 non-contact thermometer — instruction manual (IB NC 200-e N-V10, 2026-08-17, PDF) — Changing between body and object mode: “The default mode is body mode. Press the MODE button to switch to object mode”; object mode range up to 99.9 °C. Checked 2026-09-29.
- Braun: Braun No touch + forehead thermometer BNT 400 — instruction manual (Asia-Pacific, PDF) — Food & bath temperature mode: “the food & bath icon will be displayed, the screen backlight will turn blue and three dashes will show on the screen”. Checked 2026-09-29.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.