Instant Pot Beeping: What Each Beep Means

Why did my Instant Pot beep at me!? As you become familiar with your brand new cooker, you’ll notice that it will start communicating with you… through a series of cryptic “beeps!”

This guide will translate those cryptic noises from insta-talk to “human speak!”

Why is my Instant Pot beeping!?

Audibles are your Instapot’s preferred method of communication. Beeps will let you know when your cooker is ready, finished, burning, upset, and so much more!

💡 Little known fact: If you’ve mastered your pressure cooker and these beeps are getting on your nerves (or terrorizing your dog), its actually possible to disable the beeps!

What does each of those beeps mean? Let’s break it down into one sequence at a time.

Common Instant Pot beeps cheatsheet

There are three common beep patterns you will hear during every use.

The first beep starts the process

What does it mean when my instapot beeps once? The first beep indicates that your pot has recognized the options you specified in settings and is starting to apply them.

💡 During the cooking process, you can adjust the settings at any time. Your cooker will beep once to indicate that your adjustments have been saved.

As the cooker builds pressure, the pot will indicate ON. Depending on the volume and temperature of the food inside, it could take as little as 5-10 mins or as long as 30-40 mins.

If you add preheated/warmed ingredients (or by preheating the pot), you can shorten the time it takes to pressurize. However, beware! Because the food is cooking during that period, although you are shortening the cooking time, you also run the risk of undercooking the meal.

So, while preheating may save you a few minutes, it will almost certainly add time to the cooking cycle.

Beep #2 means it’s time to pressure cook (your IP reached temperature)

This confirmation beep indicates that your cooker has reached temperature and will begin the pressure cooking procedure.

Ten consecutive beeps mean the cooking time has ended.

Congrats! 10 beeps mark the end of a finished cooking cycle and announce that the cooking phase is complete. This doesn’t always mean “finished.”

Some recipes specify a “Natural Release” for X minutes. In this case, you might find it helpful to set a separate timer on your phone or smart home device to remind you when it’s time to release any residual pressure.

Other beeps your pot will make

But wait, there’s more!

Beep for confirmation

When you reset your “Smart Programs,” your cooker will beep to confirm the reset is finished. With your IP in standby mode, hold down on Cancel until it beeps.

Yogurt beep during fermentation

When making yogurt, your cooker will beep once the fermentation process has been completed. (The display will also print out “End”.)

Why is my Instant Pot beeping continuously?

What does it mean if my Instant Pot continuously beeps at me?

This is likely going to correspond with an error code on your display. And, it’s never good news.

Burn notification beeping

The dreaded fast beep beep beep beep—beep beep beep beep food burn notification. In our kitchen, this is commonly known as the “Oh crap, my food is about to burn” beep.

The good news is that your dinner can still be saved! The IP burn notification frequently prevents your food from actually burning if you rescue it in time.

Even if the bottom of the pot burns, the food frequently still tastes excellent!

Common FAQs

What does it mean when instant pot beeps on boil function?

After 3 minutes, your Instant Pot will beep to indicate that the water has boiled. Next, it will switch to the warm mode on its own.

Does instant pot beep when it reaches pressure?

Yep, as mentioned above, your pot will beep once when it achieves your pre-set temperature.

Do Instant Pots have a slow beeping option?

Nope. Your cooker might beep continuously, but it shouldn’t beep slowly. Contact the manufacturer if this happens.

Does the instant pot beep before the natural pressure release (NPR)?

When the cooking cycle is finished, the Instant Pot will beep to indicate that it has completed the cooking cycle and will automatically begin the natural pressure release process.

Does the instant pot beep after NPR?

The pot will not beep after NPR. Your alert that the natural pressure release process is complete will be hearing/seeing the float valve drop.

The NPR process takes anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes, depending on what you’re preparing.

💡 The Natural Release time is generally shorter the shorter the cooking duration.

Does an Instant Pot beep when it’s done releasing pressure?

No, the pot will not beep once the pressure is released. This falls into the NRP category discussed above, but is a common way to phrase the question.

Another duplicate way of phrasing this question is, “Does the Instant Pot beep when done?”