What F120 Means
F120, shown as F 01 20, is recorded in Miele’s service documentation as supply voltage below 95 volts AC — and the remedy column says there is no possible remedy. It is the appliance reporting that the electricity reaching it is not adequate, not that anything inside it has broken.
Common Causes of F120
- Genuine low supply voltage at the property
- Overloaded or undersized circuit feeding the appliance
- Poor connection at the socket, the plug or an extension lead
- Appliance run from a generator or inverter that cannot hold voltage
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Before anything else, check whether other things on the same circuit are behaving oddly — dimming lights, a slow-starting motor elsewhere. Then look at the plug and socket: if either is discoloured or warm, switch the circuit off at the consumer unit and leave it off until an electrician has seen it.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- Miele documents no appliance-side fix for this code, which means the answer lies in the electrical installation and belongs to a qualified electrician.
- A loose or overheating connection is a fire risk in its own right, and it gets worse under the repeated starting current a compressor draws.
- Running a compressor on a low supply damages its start parts, so the cause has to be corrected before the appliance is asked to run again.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.
Technical Reference
- Code
- F120
- Appliance
- Miele refrigerator
- Maker documentation
- Miele owner manuals and use & care guides
- Checked
- September 2026
Code meanings can change between control generations. Before acting on a code, match the full model number on your appliance's rating label against the manual for that model. We are an independent repair service, not affiliated with Miele & Cie. KG.