Instant Pot Symbols | Display Panel Icons

There are many Instant Pot symbols and icons that appear on the display panel. It can get confusing because they vary from model to model. In this guide, I tell you what the display panel fields, symbols, and icons mean on every Instant Pot model.

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Instant Pot Duo Nova Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Nova model has a pretty simple display. [Find out more about how to use the Instant Pot Duo Nova]

1. Heating
   Icon with flame under a pot means the element is heating.
2. Pressure Cooking
   Icon of a pot with the letter P means pressure cooking is in progress.
3. Keep Warm
   Icon of a thermometer means Keep Warm mode is on.
4. Sound
   Speaker symbol means the sound is on. A speaker with X next to it means the sound is off.
5. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
6. Smart Program Mode
   Shows whether Less, Normal or More is selected, which indicates how long to cook (with some exceptions such as Yogurt mode)
7. Pressure level
   Shows whether Low or High pressure has been selected

Instant Pot Duo Plus Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Duo Plus model has a pretty simple display, similar to the Duo Nova.

1. Heating
   Icon of flame under a pot means the element is heating
2. Pressure Cooking
   Icon of a pot with the letter P means pressure cooking is in progress.
3. Keep Warm
   Icon of a thermometer means Keep Warm mode is on.
4. Sound
   Icon of a speaker means the sound is on. A speaker with X next to it means the sound is off.
5. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
6. Smart Program Mode
   Shows whether Less, Normal or More is selected, which indicates how long to cook (with some exceptions such as Yogurt mode).
7. Pressure Level
   Shows whether Low or High pressure has been selected.

Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus model has a fairly complex display, but once you understand how to use it, you’ll be able to easily program it. [Find out more about how to use the Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus and its advanced features]

1. Sound
   The speaker icon is displayed when the sound is turned on. If the sound is off, the speaker icon will have a line through it.
2. Delay timer
   This clock icon is displayed when the Delay Start button has been pressed.
3. Keep warm
   The icon of a pot with steam coming out shows up when the Keep Warm button has been pressed.
4. Unit of Temperature
   The thermometer icon with F and C shows whether the temperature is displayed in Fahrenheit or Celsius.
5. Progress Bar
   Shows Pre-heating, Cooking, and Keep Warm progress.
6. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
7. Pressure
   Shows whether the pressure level is set to None, Low or High pressure.
8. Temperature
   Shows whether the temperature setting is Custom, Low or High.
9. Presets
   Different presets are displayed depending on the smart program that was chosen.

Instant Pot Pro Crisp Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Pro Crisp model has a fairly complex display, but once you understand how to use it, you’ll be able to easily program it. It’s very similar to the Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus.

1. Sound
   The speaker icon is displayed when the sound is turned on. If the sound is off, the speaker icon will have a line through it.
2. Delay timer
   This clock icon is displayed when the Delay Start button has been pressed.
3. Keep warm
   The icon of a pot with steam coming out shows up when the Keep Warm button has been pressed.
4. Air fryer
   The fan symbol shows that the Air Fryer smart program is in use.
5. Progress Bar
   Shows Pre-heating, Cooking, and Keep Warm progress.
6. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
7. Sous Vide and Air Fryer Temperature
   Displays the temperature in Fahrenheit (F) or Celsius (C) during Sous Vide or Air Fry modes.
8. Pressure
   Shows whether the pressure level is set to None, Low or High pressure.
9. Temperature
   Shows whether the temperature setting is Low, High or Custom.

Instant Pot Max Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Max model has one of the more complex displays, so here is a summary of all the different parts of the display to help you decode the symbols.

1. Pressure
   The pressure indicator symbol is on when the pressure cooker is still pressurized. The lid is locked and cannot be removed when the icon is on.
2. Adjust Settings
   The gear with a lock symbol shows that settings cannot be adjusted. Touching the gear when the Instant Pot Max is in Standby mode will make the lock disappear and allow the settings to be changed.
3. Unit of Temperature
   Touching the thermometer icon with F and C allows you to change the unit of temperature between Fahrenheit and Celsius.
4. Altitude
   Touching the mountain icon lets you toggle between feet (ft) and meters (m) and set your altitude. The Instant Pot Max will adjust cook time based on the setting.
5. Sound
   Touching the speaker icon allows you to toggle the sound on and off.
6. Progress Bar
   Shows Pre-heat, Cook, and Keep Warm progress.
7. Time/Status Message
   HH:MM (H=hour, M=minute).
   – Shows Clock when the Instant Pot Max is in Standby mode. Touch the Hour field to change the hour and touch the Minute field to change the minutes.
   – Shows Cook time, Delay Start time, or Keep Warm time when Instant Pot is in operation. – This section also displays Status Messages.
8. AM/PM and ft/m
   – AM or PM is shown when the clock is displayed.
   – When altitude is being displayed, either feet (ft) or meters (m) will be shown, depending on what unit you’ve selected.
9. Pressure
   Touching the pressure bar icons allows you to set the pressure to Low, High, or Max pressure.
10. Temperature
    Touching the temperature field allows you to toggle between Low, High, and Custom. This field also displays the temperature for Sous Vide, Canning, and Custom temperature settings.
11. Keep Warm
    Touching the icon of a pot with steam coming out allows you to turn the Keep Warm function on and off.
12. Venting
    There are three Instant Pot Max venting symbols that allow you to select the venting method. The circle with a line through it is for Natural Release (NR). The dotted circle symbol is for pulse or intermittent release (PR). The solid circle is for quick release (QR).
    [Find out more about the different pressure release methods.]
13. Delay Start
    To set a delayed start, touch the Delay field. When the Delay function is on, the clock icon on the right will show the second hand ticking.

Instant Pot Ultra Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Ultra model doesn’t have any icons, but it does have a display panel with a lot of information. Here’s a summary of the display panel. [Find out more about how to use the Instant Pot Ultra]

1. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
2. Pressure
   Shows whether the pressure level is set to None, Low or High pressure.
3. Temp.
   Shows whether the temperature setting is Low, Medium, High or Custom.
4. Delay
   Shows whether Delay Start is On or Off.
5. Keep Warm
   Shows whether Keep Warm function is On or Off.
6. Sound
   Shows whether the Sound is On or Off.
7. Temp. Unit
   Shows whether Temperature is being displayed in Celsius (C) or Fahrenheit (F).
8. Alt
   Shows whether Altitude unit is feet (ft) or meters (m).

Instant Pot Smart WiFi Symbols and Icons

The Instant Pot Smart WiFi model has a display that’s similar to the Duo Plus, but with a few WiFi-related extras.

1. WiFi
   The WiFi icon will display when WiFi is enabled.
2. Heating
   Icon of flame under a pot means the element is heating
3. Pressure Cooking
   Icon of a pot with the letter P means pressure cooking is in progress.
4. Keep Warm
   Icon of a thermometer means Keep Warm mode is on.
5. Sound
   Icon of a speaker means the sound is on. A speaker with X next to it means the sound is off.
6. Time/Status Message
   Shows the Cook time, Delay Start time, Keep Warm time, or Status Message.
7. Timers
   Timer 1 shows when the first timer is being programmed and Timer 2 is displayed with the second timer is being programmed.
8. AM/PM
   The Instant Pot Smart Wifi allows the current time to be set with a 12-hour clock that shows AM or PM.
9. Pressure Level
   Shows whether High or Low pressure has been selected.
10. Smart Program Mode
    Shows whether More, Normal or Less is selected, which indicates how long to cook (with some exceptions such as Yogurt mode).
11. Script Running
    The symbol with arrows in a circle indicates that a script is running.

Status Messages

There are many different types of messages and information that appear on the display panel.

Status Message	Meaning
Auto	The Rice smart program is running.
OFF	The Instant Pot is in Standby mode.
Lid	The Instant Pot lid is not secure or the lid is on during Saute mode.
On	The Instant Pot is preheating.
Boil	The Yogurt smart program is in Pasteurize mode.
Hot	The inner pot is hot enough to add food during the Saute smart program.
00:00 – 99:99	In Delay Start mode – a countdown timer that displays how long until the selected smart program starts. On some models with a clock, this number may be the actual start time. During cooking – a countdown timer that displays the cooking time left in the selected smart program. In Keep Warm mode – a count-up timer that displays the length of time that food has been warming.
End	Smart program has completed.
Burn or Food Burn	The pressure cooker cannot come to pressure because there isn’t enough liquid or food has burned and is stuck to the bottom of the inner pot. Find out more about the Instant Pot Food Burn Message.
No Pr	There is not enough pressure.
PrSE	There is excess pressure.
C #	The letter C followed by a number indicates that an error has occurred. For more details see Instant Pot Common Problems.