Range - Oven Door Won't Unlock

The only time an oven door should be locked is during self-clean. If the oven door on your GE Appliances Range or Wall Oven is locked and will not open, there are a few situations that may cause this to happen. We are identifying these situations and providing guidance to try to get the oven door to unlock and open. We hope the following information will help alleviate the situation, should you be experiencing this concern.
 

Oven Door Has Been Locked Accidentally

  • If there is food in the oven, let the oven cool to room temperature and try to unlatch the door.
  • If no food or utensils are in the oven, start a Self-Clean cycle, then hit the Clear/Off pad after 60 seconds. If that does not unlock the door, run a short Self-Clean cycle (1-2 hours).
  • For ranges with electronic oven controls, there is a small chance that turning the circuit breaker off for a few minutes and turning it back on can release the door latch switch and unlock the door.
  • If the door still does not unlatch, service may be necessary. You may want to take a look at our Range & Wall Oven - Oven Door Locked During Baking article.

Oven Door Will Not Unlock After Self-Cleaning

  • Try the following to unlock the door:
    1. Disconnect power to range for 30 seconds.
    2. Reconnect power and see if the door will unlatch.
  • If the door does not unlatch and you do not have food in the oven, set the oven to Self-Clean for 1-2 hours. Wait approximately 30 minutes for the oven to cool and try to unlock the door. If the door unlocks, the control has reset itself and there should not be any other problems. Do not force the latch at anytime.

Very Old Range Models With Mechanical Door Latches

  • Once the oven has cooled after a Self-Clean cycle (approximately 30 to 90 minutes), slide the oven door latch over to the left. Some older models have a latch release button that must be pushed in while sliding the latch over.
  • Models with oven Set and Temperature knobs must have those knobs set in the Clean position before the latch can be moved to the left. If your door won't unlock, try turning those knobs back to Clean, then slide the latch over. Do not force the latch at any time.

Repair Required

If these tips do not help and the oven door still will not unlock, you may need service to remedy this. For service, please schedule a repair appointment with GE Appliances Factory Service.