If your Control Panel settings or Water Dispenser on your Kenmore refrigerator aren’t responding – one of the first things to check when troubleshooting is that the control or child locks aren’t active.
While these locks are an important safety mechanism, protecting both your family and your refrigerator from harm, it can be easy to turn them on by mistake – and without noticing.
If you’re trying to change a setting such as the temperature or type of ice being dispensed, and the panel is either non-responsive, displays an error, or you can see that the ‘lock’ icon is illuminated – it’s likely that one of the locks described below is active.
There are several different locks included in your settings menu. I’ll explain what each one does and how to turn it on – and, more importantly, off!
Kenmore Refrigerator Child Lock Or Control Lock
The Kenmore Child Lock function acts as a full Control Lock and will disable both the Control Panel and the water dispenser.
This means you’ll be unable to change any of the temperature settings or anything else included on the Control Panel.
If you have this functionality, there will be a ‘Child Lock’ button on your Control Panel, typically around the middle on the left-hand side.
How to Turn On Child Lock
To turn the Child Lock on, press and hold the ‘Child Lock’ button on your Control Panel for 3-5 seconds. A message should then appear on the screen reading ‘Child Lock Activated’ with a padlock symbol.
How to Turn Off Child Lock
To turn the Child Lock off, press and hold the ‘Child Lock’ button on your Control Panel for 3-5 seconds or until the screen reads ‘Child Lock Deactivated’.
Kenmore has created a useful instruction video for how to use the Control Lock, which is available here:
If these options don’t work, you can check your user manual. If you’ve lost it, take note of the model number and search for it online – they’re often freely available.
Kenmore Refrigerator Dispenser Lock
The Dispenser Lock will prevent either water or ice from being dispensed, as well as changing from crushed to cubed ice. If there is a green light above the ‘Lock’ button, then your Dispenser Lock is on.
How to Turn On Dispenser Lock
To turn on the dispenser lock, press and hold the ‘Lock’ button for 3-5 seconds until the green LED indicator lights up above the button.
How to Turn Off Dispenser Lock
To disable the dispenser lock, press and hold the ‘Lock’ button for 3-5 seconds until the green indicator light goes dark.
If these options don’t work, you can check your user manual. If you’ve lost it, take note of the model number and search for it online – they’re often freely available.
Other Reasons Kenmore Refrigerator Control Panel Isn’t Working
If you’ve run through the list, and none of the locks are active – but your control panel still isn’t responding, you’ll need to complete further troubleshooting to find the source of the problem.
As with mobile phones, the easiest fix for many bugs is a ‘hard reset’ which is completed by powering your refrigerator off at the mains power for 30 minutes – before turning it back on.
If this doesn’t work, it indicates there’s likely an electrical fault, either with the control panel itself or with the wiring. Unless you’re confident with electrical DIY, I’d advise contacting a professional at this point.
Related: How to Unlock Sub Zero Refrigerator
