Regardless of the brand or type, all coffee makers have a control board and a microprocessor. The more complex these microprocessors are, the more possibilities the machine can offer the user.
Without leaving aside their great quality, Tassimo pod machines are among the cheapest on the market; this is achieved by reducing costs in other notorious aspects such as the technology of the machine; for example, they do not have LCD screens.
By not having these screens, how do Tassimo coffee makers warn the user about the different states of the machine through light codes? For example, if there is no water in the tank and the machine detects this, a red light will come next to the tap symbol to warn the user, but it is up to the user to interpret the message and act accordingly.
Interpreting a Tassimo’s light codes is sometimes difficult, especially if you don’t have its instruction manual. We have prepared this article where we will detail the meaning of each light and its combinations according to each model.
Light codes on Suny, Caddy, Joy, Happy, Style, and Vivy coffee brewers
These six models of coffee makers (see image below) are the simplest offered by the Tassimo brand; all of them have the characteristic single button of Tassimo and 3 LED lights that, according to the status of the coffee maker, can be illuminated between amber or red like this:
- Cup symbol: Operation indicator.
- Tap symbol: Water tank indicator.
- Spray symbol or “calc” letters: Calcification indicator.
These models, having only one button to prepare the different beverages, use the bar code reader to modify the preparation parameters for each pod.
| Cup symbol | Tap symbol | Spray symbol | Status of coffee machine |
| On Steady | Off | Off | Ready for operation |
| Off | Off | Off | Off / No Voltage |
| On Steady | On Steady | Off | No water in the tank |
| On Steady (Red) | Off | Off | No pod recognition |
| On Steady | On Steady | On Steady | Self-test |
| Flashing | Flashing | Flashing | Incorrect voltage |
| Off | Off | On Steady | Calcified machine |
| Off | Off | Flashing | Machine heavily calcified |
| Off | On Steady | On Steady | Fault |
| Flashing | Off | Flashing | Descaling in progress |
Light codes on Fidelia, Amia, Charmy, and My Way coffee machines
These models’ lights, colors, and buttons differ slightly from those of the classic Tassimo coffee makers, so we decided to treat them separately.
- On the Fidelia and Amia models (on the right of the image below), there are two additional green lights: the cup+ symbol (manual) and the hot cup symbol (automatic).
- On the Charmy model, there is one button with the “cup+” symbol and one with “cup-“; the My Way model works differently from the others.
Tassimo Fidelia and Amia: exception of lights meanings
The lights’ meaning will be the same, as shown in the table above for the Fidelia and Amia models, except where the machine does not recognize the pod because instead of the red brewing indicator lighting up, it switches from automatic mode (hot cup symbol) to manual mode (cup+ symbol).
In these models, once the coffee maker recognizes the pod, the exact amount of water for that preparation is served; but remember that, although they operate in automatic mode by default, you can vary the amount of water served by holding down the “cup+” button until the desired amount of coffee is reached.
Tassimo Charmy: exception of the meanings of the lights
The meaning of the lights, according to the general table, for this model has no exception since it only has the “cup+” and “cup-” buttons (and lights); here, the lights do not serve to inform the user about the status of the coffee maker since they only indicate the amount of water that we add or remove from our coffee preparations.
Tassimo My Way: exception of the meanings of the lights
This is the most complex model of all the Tassimo coffee makers. Therefore, it has more options to customize the coffee preparations, as we show you below:
- Orange light/coffee bean symbol: Increases or decreases the intensity of your coffee.
- Orange light/thermometer symbol: Increases or decreases the temperature of your coffee.
- Orange light/cup symbols: Increases or decreases the amount of water in your coffee.
- Orange light/number symbols: Store brew settings.
In the Tassimo My Way, as in the Charmy, the same functions are presented on the machine’s screens, according to the initial table. The only difference in this model is the buttons and lights that have been added related to the settings of the beverages we prepare.
Meaning of the three lights on my Tassimo coffee maker when they flash simultaneously
Returning to the information in our initial table, we indicate that when the three lights of the Tassimo coffee maker flashes, the control board of our machine is not receiving the correct voltage or voltage for its operation.
The most common cause is that a capacitor on the control board is damaged, and the coffee maker cannot maintain a stable voltage. However, first check that the socket in your home is delivering sufficient voltage, which, although it is unlikely that it is not, is not impossible either.
Start by unplugging the coffee maker, and after 5 or 10 minutes, plug it in again. If this does not solve the problem and the machine is still under warranty, go to the technical service or replace the control board with a new one; these types of parts are usually a bit expensive; our recommendation is to buy a second-hand coffee maker of the same model and use its control board as a spare part.
Meaning of the operation indicator of my Tassimo coffee maker when it lights up red
The color of the operation indicator can vary between orange and red on most Tassimo models. According to the table above, we can see that the coffee machine is not recognizing the coffee pod when the operation indicator (cup symbol) lights up solid red.
Clean the reader and the pod’s barcode well to solve this problem in Tassimo machines. If the coffee maker still does not recognize the pod, try another type of pod. In extreme cases, the reader may have been damaged, and you will have to replace it with a new one.
Meaning of the red water tank light, even when the tank is full
When the water level inside the tank is too low, the indicator light turns red. But sometimes, it lights up the same even when the tank is full, and when it happens, it is a sign that the magnet inside the tank is stuck in its lower position.
If the magnet cannot go up when filling the tank with water, the coffee maker will always indicate a lack of water. On the other hand, if the magnet goes up but the red light is still on, it may be that the magnet no longer has its magnetic power, and you will have to replace it with a new one.
Meaning of the spraying indicator, when it lights red
When the spray indicator lights up red, it means nothing more and nothing less, that it is time to descale the coffee maker, and if, in addition to being light, it is also flashing, it means that the coffee maker is too heavily calcified.
