How to Repair Instant Pot not Heating or Working

Is your Instant Pot not working?  I’ll show you how you may be able to repair it.  My wife picked up a broken unit that was not heating and thankfully, it is an easy fix.  If you have one with no power at all, it is also possibly an easy fix.

In some cases the reason why the Instant Pot fails to heat up is because of a single failed solder connection on the bottom side of the circuit board.   This failed connection just happens to be on the output terminal of the main electrical relay (think switch) that sends electricity to the heating element.  And when there is no electricity, there is no heat (though the brains of the unit doesn’t realize it!).

In order to gain access to the insides of the pressure cooker simply flip it over, take out the one screw, and twist the plastic cover off.  When you do you find this:

If you have no power at all going to your Instant Pot, check for continuity between the neutral wall plug and the bottom left connector (red wire) on the circuit board.  There should be a thermal cutoff fuse in there wrapped in a white cover that sits to the bottom left of that circuit board.  If this is bad you can probably replace it with one of these*:


If your instant pot has no heat like mine, then next you need to disconnect all of connections on this circuit board.  Make sure to not pull on the wires themselves, pull on the plastic tabs.  Notice the two main power (red/blue) connections that go from the board to the heating element.  You can not disconnect these from the board but you can unscrew them from the heating element.  Also, you will need to take out the (2) screws holding down the circuit board.

When you free the circuit board from the unit, flip it over and you should see this:

Here is a close up view of the problem of the cracked solder joint.  Notice that the black ring extends all away around the pin such that there is no electrical pathway.  This is what you need to heat up and fill in with fresh solder to get your Instant Pot working again.

In case you don’t have any idea what soldering equipment to get, here are some recommended resources (soldering iron kit and lead free solder. My thermal camera recommendation below that)*:


And after soldering that join I checked it with my thermal imaging camera and confirmed that it works!

Check out my video on the whole process here (click on the image):

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

87 thoughts on “How to Repair Instant Pot not Heating or Working”

  1. Just re-soldered the connection, my wife’s instant pot is back in action.

    She had called the company previously and was told that they don’t sell parts, but would send her a new instant pot for only 70$.

    Good customer service, but still a shame. Lots of these units will end up in the trash!

    1. That is awesome to hear! Yes, it is a shame that so many things get thrown away and many times, only take a little bit of time to fix.

      1. I don’t know if I can help but what unit are you talking about? It’s not an instapot, right?

      2. Hi there, we live in Australia and we bought instant pot from USA. We checked our circuit board but it’s fine what else might be the problem. Because it turns on the power buttons are all working but it doesn’t heat up ?

        1. Do you hear the “click” of the relay when the heating element is supposed to come on? If so, I would check to make sure the heating element is getting the voltage applied to it when that relay (switch) sends power to the element. Another thing to test, with the wires disconnected on the heating element, measure the resistance of the element itself. It should be about 15 ohms from what I remember.

          2. We have the same problem, but don’t hear the click of the relay. The heating element doesn’t seem to come on. What do you recommend to do?

    3. Hi sir your video is very good I understand very clear my problem is 1 my INSTANT POT ULTRA not working error code is C6H WHAT I DO sir how to repair

    5. Dear sir,
      I need your help to fix my power cooker it is not working properly when I plug it its gets of and remain silent without any beeping etc what should I fix in it.
      Waiting for your reply.

  3. Hello.
    My instant pot stopped working. Thr is no power supply.
    And saw ur video but thr is no problem on d circuit board.
    What else can be the reason for no power supply

    1. thermal fuse may be blown. follow the power cord coming in, trace the red wire, it goes to the side of the inner pot. Remove enough screws to take out the red wire, push back the insulation cloth, you will see the thermal fuse. Measure it with an ohmmeter, if it is open, then it is bad. You can buy the fuse for about $1 each on eBay. Cut off and solder on the new one. You are back in business!

  4. Thank you so much for this video. I’ve never attempted any sort of repair like this, and it was my first time using a soldering gun. Your directions were clear and detailed. My pot is now working again thanks to you!

    1. Wow, that is great to hear! Congrats on a repair with a soldering iron on your first try!

  5. omg. my iP stopped heating in the middle of cooking! after a quick Google search, this came up and in 10 minutes, it was fixed! thank you, thank you, thank you!

  6. Awesome! Thanks!!! Any ideas for an instant pot that’s stuck in one function. After 3 years mine defaults to Yogurt if you’re not quick enough to select another function as soon as it’s plugged in. Sometimes even plugging in while holding down Manual button still won’t work. Other times I can press Off and then select another function and it works like normal. But as soon as it’s done with that function Yogurt kicks right back up. It all started when I found it one day with all lights on and flashing. I quickly unplugged it clearly to no avail.

    Would appreciate any help you can think of! I depend on this thing now for family dinners.

    1. I can make guesses but I ‘m not exactly sure. I’d guess it could be an issue of the keypad or it could be the control unit (ie the “brain”). I’d lean toward the keypad being at fault but obviously I can’t be sure.

  7. Thank you so much! The fix was easy and it worked! I spent only 10 bucks on the welding kit instead of buying a whole new IP pot!

  8. After watching this video I was inspired to post. I share the passion to repair instead of replacing fixtures where 95% of the unit is fine, it seems so wasteful. Sometimes I dream of starting a company and selling appliances where the main purpose of them is to make parts easily replaceable as things break.

    I have DUO80 instant pot and the screen stopped coming on, it’s a spare now we have a replacement, and actually I emailed the company and they just sent us another one, so now we have 3. =/ I still want to fix the one that’s broken, seems like I have nothing to lose and only more to learn and share.

    I took it apart, and undid the thermal fuse wrapped in the white cloth.
    Plugged the instant pot back in and took out my multi-meter (which I never know what setting to put it to, or which probe red/black goes on which side).

    Anyways, I put it to Ohms, AC, few different settings, and put a probe on each side. It had a reading come out, so current was flowing through that fuse. I then tried the probes on each side of the fuse that’s on the board and that also had current flowing through it.

    After looking at the board I was wondering if a first step should have been just to test for current between the power wire that plugs into the board and the close side of the fuse on the board. Maybe if that had current, you wouldn’t need to take the thermal fuse all apart?

    Now i’m not sure what to test for next. I looked at the bottom of the board and all the contacts appear fine, no burn marks, no lost solder, so i’m starting to believe the input control board is burnt out or broken. Any idea’s what you might try next?

    Thanks,
    -Jason

    1. Thanks for your comment! It would be great to have more spare parts available to repair things. Sometimes it can get pretty frustrating to search far and wide for an inexpensive repair but you can’t find any parts.

      For your IP, you don’t need to unwrap the thermal fuse to test it, yes, you can test it from the power board connection out to the polarized end of the plug. If you are in a no power situation you either have a short circuit or an open circuit somewhere. You need to probe around until you find it. Do you know how to measure AC voltage? You’ll want to verify that when plugged in you are seeing the 120v on the power board.

  10. Dear Reese,

    I just wanted to say thank you SO MUCH for this beautifully-done repair guide! Our Instant Pot abruptly stopped heating after several years of frequent use. Visually, the solder joint in question looked just as beautiful as all the other joints on the circuit board. After determining that both fuses were intact, I melted the solder on the joint that you identified and added some fresh solder just to see what would happen. Voila, the pot is heating again! Never would have known what to do without you. Thanks for saving another Instant Pot from being discarded!

    1. Wow, that is awesome to hear! Great job adding new solder and getting it repaired.

  11. I followed your instructions and discovered the faulty solder joint that’s preventing the unit from heating.

    Does the type of solder of importance or is lead free with flux just what you prefer to use.

    Seriously considering contacting all the different websites that promote the Instant Pot to see if we can get some customer satisfaction. This is obviously a manufacturing flaw that would have been caught had there been proper quality control in place.

    People shouldn’t have to pay $70 to get a replacement base. At a minimum each of us who can demonstrate we have this faulty solder joint should be offered a replacement circuit board free of cost and shipping.

    Interested in your thoughts on this.

    1. You can use whatever solder you like. Almost all solder has a resin (flux) core. The melting point is the consideration when comparing the various types.

      It does seem like a manufacturing (or design) defect but I doubt they will ship a power board out. They’d probably rather send a whole new base. Seems like the right thing for them to do.

      1. Hi there, we live in Australia and we bought instant pot from USA. We checked our circuit board but it’s fine what else might be the problem. Because it turns on the power buttons are all working but it doesn’t heat up ?

  12. Hi!
    I have Instant pot duo mini, all of a sudden it stopped working when I am sautéing some food. There is no display working nor heat. Can you please help

  15. Hello frugalrepair,
    My instant pot trips the GFCI circuit breaker as soon as I plug it in. Tried several different outlets in the house that are on different GFCI breakers with the same result. As soon as the instant pot is plugged in the breaker trips. Any ideas on how to test and find the root cause of this problem? One additional note, the instant pot was plugged in and in the keep warm mode when all of the sudden the GFCI breaker tripped. From that point forward, each time it is plugged in, it instantly trips the breaker. Thank you for your help.

    1. You have a short circuit somewhere inside the unit. You’ll have to take it apart and figure out what is causing it. You can use a multi-meter and work through the components to find the short.

  16. Thanks for your video! My husband just successfully repaired ours!

    I have to admit that it makes me nervous though — have you had any further issues with the one you fixed or had any reports from anyone else?

    1. That is great to hear that it got repaired! No, we haven’t had any further issues and we use it quite a bit. And no reports from anyone one else.

  17. Hi,
    My IP LED panel has no display. I believe the the thermal fuse has gone bad. Where do I get the parts and how do I replace it?
    Thanks.

    1. Check out the video I have on the IP. I don’t show how to repair the fuse itself but I show where you can find it. There is another video out there that I saw once on replacing the thermal fuse and might be good to watch. If you have questions on the process, post them on the youtube comments, they will get quicker attention there from me and the community.

  18. Hello Mr Frugal Repair

    I was attracted to the video on Instant Pot . Although mine is a different problem on a different model, perhaps you can help.

    I have the Ultra 60 and it worked great fo a year and then began flashing a “Lid” message. Rather than repair it, they sent me a new one and declined to fix it.

    What do you think? I can’t throw it away

    1. Hi Jack,

      I don’t know what your problem is exactly but it sounds repairable. Could it be that the unit is simply not detecting that the lid is closed? There is probably a sensor that tells the “brain” of the unit if the lid is on or not. Can you find the wires (probably a plug with 2 wires) that connect to a control board (if you take the cover off)? It may also be as simple as the sensor or the corresponding spot on the lid is not getting aligned right.

  19. Hi!

    Thank you soooo much for sharing the video on Youtube! Our instant pot stopped heating (although power is on) and I found your video. Ordered stuff you recommended, and did exactly as you showed. And the pot is heating now! As you said, it’s an easy repair.

    I hate discarding fixable stuff. It’s not only a waste of money, but also a big damage to the environment. I’ll subscibe to your Youtube channel, and again, thank you so much for taking the time to share. Also thanks to those who left comments above. You guys’ success stories gave confidence to someone who didn’t know that an iron can do more things than ironing clothes!

    1. Thanks for posting! Congratulations on getting it repaired! That is so great to hear. And also, thanks for subscribing. I’ve got a lot more videos in the queue.

  20. 2 yr old Instant Pot stopped heating all of the sudden. Just don’t want to throw/waste. Googled out this Post. Fixed exactly as instructed. I feel like a hero to my wife 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

  21. I checked and there’s no issues with the board, I changed the fuse and cord, nothing! It’s stuck on preheating. Contacted the company and what a shame, they offered me a $10 discount on my next purchase!

    What else can I check?

    1. I’m not really sure. It doesn’t sound like an issue with a sensor (but I guess it could be). I wonder if it is a firmware issue or there is a short in the keypad that is causing it to be stuck.

  23. I was not able to remove any of the connectors, even pulling with a needle nose pliers. I pulled until I was afraid I would crack the board.

    My board has a little different layout (purchased April 2017) and does not have screws, just hold downs on one side of the circuit board. I wonder if they have changed the connectors to not be removable anymore?

    1. The connections might be soldered on. Does it have other plastic tabs that are holding it down (perhaps in the middle of the board)? Sometimes you may need to use pliers to squeeze the plastic together while lifting on the board. That is, if it has the type that I am thinking about. If you could post a photo somewhere I may be able to give better advice.

      1. My problem was solved by thoroughly cleaning all the parts I could get to with alcohol. There was oil on the circuit board which was likely causing a short. Working fine now.

        Thanks for your site and the videos – that was a big help.

  24. I don’t think they are soldered on – there are connectors (except for the power wires). It’s just very difficult to undo the connectors, and if I break the board then all bets are off.

    I was able to lift up the board by bending back the retaining clips, but I can’t really get to the bottom of the board without removing the wires.

    BTW I suspect my problem is cooking oil that got into the bottom of the pot, and eventually caused an intermittent short circuit. I found oil all over the bottom cover and base and cleaned it off. However it’s pretty hard to clean the bottom of the circuit board with the wires still connected.

    I put a picture here so you can see. This is with the board loose from it’s retaining clips: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rKWgJI3H7MLJfuv7bKPePdPlSymnqrNY

    Thanks for your instructions and the quick response.

    1. Some of the wires there have clips that you can disconnect. For the others, can you disconnect them on the other end? For example, the wires that go to the heating element are held on at the other end by screws. You definitely want to get that cleaned. Using an ultrasonic cleaner with the correct chemicals is best but isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush is another easy way.

  25. The thermal fuse you recommend is the wrong size for the 8 Quart Pot – too small – should be SF138E 142ºC 250V/10A. They are readily available through Amazon, etc. Perhaps you should point out that different size Pots require different fuse ratings.
    Repair blogs like yours are most welcome, especially in this throw-away age!
    I would not have known about the existence of that fuse without your advice.
    Keep up the good work!

    1. Thanks for your comment! I am glad I was able to help. Regarding the thermal fuse, how do you know that the 128C is too small (I assume you mean the cut off temp is too low)? Did you open up your 8 quart and see that the stock fuse was 142C? Or read about it somewhere? I’d be happy to update the information I have online to reflect the difference.

      1. Obviously I had to remove the “blown” fuse in order to replace it. The temperature/voltage & current ratings were printed on it as I quoted.
        Elementary, my dear Watson! (With apologies to Arthur Conan Doyle).

  27. Hi, I have a Nuwave pressure cooker and after I watched your video I thought that maybe you can help me. The cooker has power but the programing buttons don’t work (it is digital). Is there a way to fix it? Thank you

    1. Thanks for asking. Can you confirm there is power going to the keypad? It is possible that you have a shorted keypad. You’d have to replace the keypad to fix it. It could be something else though but that is my first guess.

  29. Do you think this would also work for an Instant Pot that’s heating element isn’t fully engaging? Mine still heats up but not hot enough to pass their “boil water” diagnostic test. I really don’t want to trash a unit that could be repaired.

    1. It could possibly be the relay but you’d want to find out if the heating element is good and while it’s on, if it is getting the proper voltage and current (which is much harder to measure).

  30. Had the same issue, Great pictures and text allowed me to search internet and find this post and fix it in 10 minutes! thanks

  31. Thank you! I just fixed my IP using your instructions and my neighbor’s soldering kit!

  34. I’d like to know the 6 qt IP thermal fuse specs. One user says they are printed on the side of the (bad) component. I’d like to order BEFORE I open ‘er up and have parts strewn about for days until i get the replacement part. I know me: longer open = better chance I’ll misplace something. I need a temperature, voltage, and current. If your (bad) component has a part number and/or manufacturer info on it, please post that, too.

  36. Accidentally I put theCooked rice with water in to the inner line without vessel after I cleaned now none of the mode button not working it is blinking and stays in one mode how can I fix it?

  37. Hi
    Thanks for your repair advice. I have the very same problem with my instant pot, wherein the power goes to the digital screen and the buttons work, but it won’t heat up at all. I disassembled the device as per instruction. However I found no sign of the contact burn out on the other side of the board. Is there any other possible reason for the heating malfunction? I searched the net, but found no troubleshooting advice for this particular problem, except for yours. Thanks

  38. Dear Sir
    My Instant pot not working ( Display was shown ) but heater not working not hot
    I checked with main board is not burned, I would like to buy a spare part for Heating Plate
    Please let me know where can I buy this think..Thank you

  40. my inatant pot dosen’t heat all functions work the relay connection to the heating element is good thernal fuse is good lid switch is good center pot switch is good, i don’t think the relay is picking up cannot get the numbers off the transistor or scr not sure what it is do you know. Is there there some place i can purchase a new circuit board

  41. Hello, thanks for your post!
    I have a different problem. My instant pot does not heat up only when it has the lid. As when it is programmed in a pressure option (like rice or pressure cook) or in slow cook with the lid.
    This is what happens: I put cold water on the pot, close the lid, turn the valve to sealed, set to high pressure (f. i.) 5 minutes, the instant pot beeps and says On (as always), after a minute (more less) it starts counting down. The pot and water is completely cold.
    The same in Slow cook, I put the lid, set the time and it starts to count down without heating up. After some minutes it is completely cold.
    But in sauté or slow cook without the lid it heats up normally! (I still can use it but without the lid)
    I look inside the wires as you explain and everything looks good. Maybe it is a problem with the lid? Any comments will be really appreciated 🙂
    thanks in advance!

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