Sterra S — Cannot Dispense Hot or Warm WaterUpdated 3 hours ago
If your Sterra S is refusing to dispense hot or warm water—or if the buttons don’t seem to respond when you select a hot temperature—don't worry! This is usually caused by an active safety child lock or a temporary system freeze rather than a broken heating element.
Please follow these 3 simple steps to unlock your hot water:
1. Check and Deactivate the Safety Child Lock
The Sterra S features an automatic safety lock to prevent accidental scalding. If this lock is active, the machine will completely block all hot and warm water dispensing.
How to Unlock: Look at your touch control panel. Simultaneously press and hold down both the 'Hot Water' and 'Dispense' buttons for 3 to 5 seconds.
Listen for the Tone: Release both buttons the moment you hear an audible "beep." The lock indicator will clear, and you can now select a hot temperature and press Dispense normally.
2. Perform a 60-Second System Power Cycle
If the panel is unlocked but the water is still coming out lukewarm or room-temperature, the internal computer board may have entered a safety protection loop. A deep power drain will reset the heating relays.
Locate the main power switch at the back of the Sterra S (or unplug it from the wall socket).
Flip the switch to OFF and leave the unit completely unpowered for 60 full seconds to let the internal circuits drain.
Turn the switch back to ON.
Important Note: When the Sterra S reboots, the Child Lock will automatically reactivate by default. Please repeat Step 1 to unlock the machine again once it powers up, then test the water.
3. Allow Time for Initial Heating
If the machine was completely turned off or unplugged, the internal heating vacuum reservoir requires a brief window to bring the water up to temperature.
After turning the machine back on and unlocking the child lock, wait 10 to 15 minutes before drawing water. This gives the heating element enough time to safely reach its standard 85°C to 95°C threshold.
Still Not Heating?
If you have successfully deactivated the Child Lock, completed a full 60-second power cycle, and waited 15 minutes, but the water remains completely cold, your internal thermal fuse may have tripped during a household power fluctuation.
Please reach out to our Live Support Team with your order number. Let us know you have completed the "Child Lock and Power Cycle Check,"
Log in to our Customer Support Portal.
Submit a support ticket describing the issue.
Attach a short video (at least 1 minute long) showing the error happening. This will help our technical team diagnose and resolve the issue much faster for you.
Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to getting this sorted out!