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A stainless undercounter freezer drawer in a home bar with its small control panel completely dark, a table lamp plugged into the outlet beside it glowing to show the outlet works.

Freezer
Won't Turn On

A freezer not turning on gives no light, no display, no hum and no fan, as if it were unplugged, even though the cord is in the wall.

(844) 456-4651

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • 5 checks before you book
  • 5 questions that narrow it
  • 5 causes, cheapest first

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 456-4651

What it
usually means.

A freezer that is completely silent has lost power somewhere between the panel and the control. Most of the time the break is outside the appliance: a tripped breaker, a GFCI outlet in a garage or basement that popped, a plug worked loose when something was stacked beside the cabinet. Inside the freezer, the common sources are a thermostat set to off, a control board that did not wake up after a surge, a failed power supply on an electronic model, and on some chest models a separate power switch or a lock button. If the light works but nothing else does, the power is arriving and the question moves to the compressor, the relay and the control. The food decides the pace: a silent cabinet that is still cold gives you a day or two.

A technician crouches in front of an open white upright freezer in a US home garage, holding a probe thermometer into a package of frozen food on the middle shelf. The 5 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

01

Is anything alive: the interior light, a display, a power light, a fan?
02

Would a lamp or a phone charger come on if you plugged it in where the freezer plugs in?
03

Is the outlet a GFCI with a reset button, or is there one nearby on the same wall?
04

Was there a storm, an outage or a surge shortly before?
05

Where is the thermostat dial or the power button set right now?

Check these
before you book.

Freezer not turning on: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

01

Plug a lamp into the same outlet to see whether the outlet has power.

02

Press the reset button on any GFCI outlet in the garage, basement or kitchen, and check the breaker from a dry panel.

03

Keep the door or lid shut while you check, and if the freezer is still silent after an hour, move food to a working freezer or a cooler with ice.

Also worth checking

  • Look at the dial or the panel and make sure it is not set to off or locked.
  • Tell us whether the interior light comes on, and give us the model number.

How soon does it need a visit?

A dead freezer is not dangerous in itself, but the food starts its clock the moment the power goes. Keep it closed, check the outlet and the breaker from a dry panel, and if it is still silent after an hour, move the food and book a visit.

The causes,
cheapest first.

5 things freezer won't turn on turns out to be, from tripped gfci or breaker to compressor or relay silent while the light works.

The cost guide
  1. 01 no repair

    Tripped GFCI or breaker

    Garage and basement outlets often sit behind a GFCI that trips during storms or damp weather. Press reset once; if it trips again, see the breaker page.

    No repair: check it yourself See freezer keeps tripping the breaker
  2. 02 no repair

    Dial or panel set to off

    On many chest and upright models the thermostat dial has an off position at one end, and it gets bumped during cleaning. Some electronic models need a long press to wake.

    No repair: check it yourself
  3. 03 low to moderate

    Thermostat failed open

    On a mechanical model the thermostat carries all the power to the compressor. When its contacts fail, the freezer goes silent while the light, if it has one, may still work.

    Fixed by freezer thermostat and temperature control repair On a chest freezer
  4. 04 moderate to highest

    Control board or power supply dead

    On a column or an undercounter drawer with a touch panel, a board that took a surge stays dark even with power at the outlet.

    Fixed by freezer control board and alarm repair On a freezer column
  5. 05 moderate

    Compressor or relay silent while the light works

    If the interior light comes on but there is no hum at all, the relay or the compressor is not starting, and the cabinet will warm steadily.

    Fixed by freezer compressor and start relay repair
  6. What it costs

    Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side

    Open the cost guide

The makes
it happens on.

28 makes on this site; freezer won't turn on can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 28 brands

Freezer Won't Turn On,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A parent and a child packing summer berries into bags beside an open upright freezer in a tidy garage
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
freezer won't turn on.

The light is on but the freezer is warm. Is that the same problem?
No. A working light means power arrives, so the issue is the compressor, its relay or the control that calls for cold. That is the not-freezing page more than this one.
It stopped after a thunderstorm. Is the board fried?
Sometimes, but first check the GFCI and the breaker. A surge more often trips protection than destroys a board. If the outlet has power and the panel stays dark, the board or its supply is next.
Can I run it from a generator during an outage?
Many freezers can, with a generator sized for the compressor's start and a heavy cord run outdoors to the generator. Never run a generator indoors or in an attached garage.
How long can I leave it off before the food is at risk?
Kept shut, a full cabinet holds about 48 hours and a half-full one about 24. Check with a thermometer before deciding what to keep.

Back to your everyday

Still seeing freezer won't turn on?

Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.

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