What CHILD LOCK IS ON Means
WHICH MACHINES THIS APPLIES TO: the TD75 machines, sold as the T408HD and the T608HX. Asko prints the message in the information table in the section headed "INFORMATION before, during, and after the program (depending on the model)".
WHAT ASKO PRINTS: "Child lock is on. Press buttons for 3 sec to unlock." The instruction contains the answer, and the reason this message generates so many support calls is that the three seconds is longer than anyone naturally holds a button before concluding that nothing is happening.
WHAT THE CHILD LOCK ACTUALLY DOES: it stops the controls responding to a press, so that a running programme cannot be changed or stopped by someone leaning on the panel. It is a feature working correctly, not a fault, and it is usually switched on by accident - the combination that sets it is the same combination that clears it, and it can be triggered while wiping the panel down.
WHY THE MACHINE LOOKS DEAD RATHER THAN LOCKED: on a locked panel the buttons do nothing at all, which reads as a failed control board rather than as a deliberate refusal. The message is the machine's way of saying the difference, and it is worth looking for before anyone concludes the panel has failed.
WHICH BUTTONS TO HOLD: that varies by model and it is printed on the panel or in the programme section of your own manual, usually marked with a key symbol or the words child lock above or below a pair of buttons. Hold them together, keep holding past the point where it feels like nothing is happening, and watch the display rather than the buttons.
CLASSIFICATION: normal operation. Nothing has failed and no part is involved.
Common Causes of CHILD LOCK IS ON
- Child lock deliberately switched on and not switched off
- Child lock triggered accidentally, often while cleaning the panel
- Button combination held for less than the full three seconds
- Wrong button combination used for the model
- A wet panel registering presses on a touch control
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Find the buttons marked for the child lock on your panel - they usually carry a key symbol, and some models pair two buttons for the purpose - and hold them together for a full three seconds, counting it out rather than guessing. Watch the display while you hold: the lock indication clears when the machine accepts it. If nothing happens, check your own model's manual for the exact combination, since it differs across the range, and try again on a machine that is powered on but not mid-cycle. Wiping the panel with a wet cloth can both set and clear the lock on a touch panel, so if the lock keeps coming back, dry the panel thoroughly and see whether it settles. If the panel genuinely does not respond to anything after the correct combination has been held properly, and the lock indication stays on, that is the point at which it stops being the child lock and becomes a control matter - but that is uncommon, and the three-second hold solves nearly all of it. There is nothing to open, clean or adjust for this message.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- None - clearing the child lock is a normal control action described in the owner instructions.
- If the correct combination is held properly and the panel stays locked, the answer is a service call rather than removing the panel, because the control board sits behind it alongside the machine wiring.
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.