Samsung 4E on a washing machine
Water supply fault — the machine did not fill in the expected time.
You can fix this yourself
No special tools or qualifications needed
About 27 min to work through
Free to £120
DIY: Up to £30 in parts
What 4E actually means
Samsung machines run a fill timer and throw 4E when the drum has not reached its target level in time. The cause is nearly always upstream of the appliance: a closed tap or a scaled-up inlet gauze. Newer machines show this as 4C.
Before you start
Water: Turn the tap off before unscrewing the fill hose — it stays pressurised.
What causes it, most likely first
Tap turned off or partly closed
Most likelyThe single most common cause, and often follows plumbing work or a holiday.
How to check: Trace the fill hose to its tap and open it fully.
Blocked inlet filter gauze
Most likelyA fine mesh in the machine's inlet port catches grit and scale. In hard-water areas it chokes within a few years.
Kinked or crushed fill hose
CommonFlattened where the machine has been pushed back against the wall.
Low mains pressure
OccasionalSamsung machines are relatively intolerant of low flow. A property on a shared or low-pressure supply can trip 4E when nothing has actually failed.
Failed inlet valve
OccasionalThe solenoid valve fails to open. Confirmed only after the supply and gauze test good.
Inlet solenoid valve£12–£30 for the partDIY with care
How to fix it, step by step
Open the tap fully and check both fills
Follow each fill hose to its tap. Machines with hot and cold fills need both open.
2 minProve the supply into a bucket
Turn the tap off, unscrew the hose at the tap end, aim into a bucket, briefly open the tap. Strong flow means the supply is fine.
5 minBucketClean the inlet gauze
With the tap off, unscrew the hose at the machine end and ease the mesh gauze out with long-nose pliers. Rinse, descale in vinegar if furred, and refit squarely.
10 minLong-nose pliersReconnect and run a rinse cycle
Hand-tighten both ends, open the tap, check for weeps, then run a rinse and listen for water within thirty seconds.
10 min
Need an engineer for this 4E?
We list 83 washing machine repair businesses across the UK, 32 of which are Samsung-authorised. Diagnostic callouts typically start around £55, and many will put that towards the repair if you go ahead.
- 0115 8719265NottinghamSame day
- 0800 037 4915London
- 07407 734204Bonnybridge
Parts you might need
Typical UK prices for the part alone, before fitting. Worth knowing before you accept a quote — the part is often a small share of what a repair is priced at.
Inlet solenoid valve
The valve behind the machine that opens to let mains water in. Blocked inlet gauzes are a far more common cause than a dead valve.
£12–£30
Worth repairing, or replace it?
At the top of this range the repair costs a significant share of a graded replacement, which typically starts around £200. Worth getting the quote first, then deciding — on a machine under about five years old a repair usually still wins.