This post sharing what to do if you get an Instant Pot C6 error is based on my experience because I had no idea what to do. Let me know your thoughts on it, and click on the affiliate links I share which gives me a commission from any purchase.
I love my Instant Pot. I use it all the time, from pulled pork to Spanish rice to chicken curry and more, this pressure cooker is a lifesaver.
You can imagine my horror when I turned it on to make chicken stock only to hear a nasty beep beep beep and see flashing lights. The screen simply showed C6.
I tried pressing buttons. I tried unplugging it and turning it on after letting it sit for a couple minutes. Really I tried everything, but my Instant Pot was clearly broken.
I searched my product manual, but it doesn’t define the C6 Instant Pot error. I had no idea what to do, and I don’t want you in that spot.
What is the Instant Pot C6 error?
This means you have a faulty pressure sensor. Your Instant Pot can’t recover. This is a an error you can’t fix, but stop your tears.
You may be ok. First, don’t throw away your Instant Pot. Yet. This is a manufacturer’s defect, not something you did.
What do I do now?
Instant Pot has a support center. Submit an Instant Pot support ticket with details about your C6 error message.
You will need:
- The product model number from the silver label
- A photo of your receipt (bonus if you buy from Amazon – you can look up your receipts under your account!)
- A photo of the label from the back of your Instant Pot
Fill out the form completely. I received a response the next day!
Once you get the response, be prepared with two more photos. You can’t share them in your initial submission, but know you will need to take a photo of the serial number – a white sticker on the bottom of your pressure cooker – and the silver sticker on the back of your Instant Pot, peeled off and cut in half.
The next day, I received confirmation that a new Instant Pot was on its way to me, including the tracking number. They shipped it FedEx (from Canada), and I received it less than a week later.
From start to finish, I had a new Instant Pot in under two weeks!
What will I get?
This depends on what version of the Instant Pot you currently own. The standard is to replace the cooker base, so make sure you hold onto your top, insert, and other accessories. That said, there are exceptions.
I had a V2, but the current Instant Pot is a V3. You can check your model on the silver sticker on the back.
Because Instant Pot no longer makes the V2, they sent me a full new Instant Pot, just like I had purchased a new one because the cooker base changed and wouldn’t fit my other components.
What if I don’t have my receipt?
This is where you may be stuck. Instant Pot confirmed when I asked that they generally need a receipt for warranty claims.
If you received it as a gift, make sure you get or have a gift receipt. This is a good reminder to never throw away receipts for electronics, or – better yet – make sure you have a good way to save them.
When I purchase on Amazon, I can go back to find my receipt from pretty much any purchase I’ve ever made. For other stores, I use a receipt scanner so I can easily find them if needed.
That said, if you don’t have a receipt, you may be in the market for a new Instant Pot unfortunately.
What if this happens again?
Ideally, it won’t, but the world never works on ideals, does it?
First, make sure you take proper care of your Instant Pot to minimize the likelihood that anything happens to it. If you’re like me and use it near daily, accept that you’re more likely to wear out components than those who use it rarely.
Good news? If it does happen again, just reopen your existing ticket that has all your information saved. Instant Pot is here for you.
If you found this article because you have an Instant Pot C6 error, I’m so sorry. I hope this information helps you, as I couldn’t find any information and was lucky to stumble my way to a successful resolution.
Once you get your Instant Pot back up and running, come on back to check out some of my favorite Instant Pot recipes:
- Corn chowder
- Spanish rice (one of my most popular recipes!)
- Creamy chickpea tomato soup (with adaptation to make on stovetop)
- Easy peasy tomato soup
- Homemade chicken stock
- Updated (healthier) honey bourbon chicken
- Chicken curry
- Pulled pork
- Broccoli cheddar soup
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Lentil Soup
Did you have a successful resolution to your Instant Pot C6 error?
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
I got C6 error. Contacted support and they suggested the heating element became wet. They asked me to remove bottom plate and let unit sit for 72 hours to dry. There was never any issue with liquid or moisture getting into the heating element as far as I am aware, but I am following their instructions nonetheless
Interesting, as that has never been a solution I’ve heard suggested, but I hope one way or the other you get this solved. Let me know what they ended up saying!
I got a C6 error. They want a picture of the C6 error..is it safe to even try my instant pot again???? They say the code comes up if I spilled something in it. I did not spill anything sand barely use this one..I use my other one.. just wondering if anyone else got the runaround
When I did this, I didn’t get the request to take a photo (but you can see in this article that I did take one for my own use!) The company is really the best one to address the safety of doing so, but I would hope that they wouldn’t advise you to do something unsafe. If you spill something in it, you will get this code, but that is not the only reason you get the code – I hadn’t spilled anything in mine either. I just tried using it one day and POOF. C6. I hope you are able to get a positive resolution!
Thank you for your detailed and well explained steps to figure out how to deal with the c6 issue.
I hope you had a successful resolution to this! I know it was frustrating when it happened to me.
My instant pot was about 7 months old. I told support it was possible liquid had gotten into the machine. (I have had cooking overflow accidents). It was suggested that I remove the bottom cover and let it dry for 3 days even though I told support that it had been quite a while since any liquid would have gotten in.
This did not fix the LC6 error. I was told warranty did not cover it but offered 10% discount on new one. Instead I decided to remove,clean and reattach screws. I only did one, between the outer edge and the screw with a yellow wire coming to it.
This is on the smallest Ultra
It’s possible that by telling them you may have gotten water in, that voided the warranty, as it is against their defect (which exists – I never got any water in mine and there are so many who have had this issue overall!).
I HAVE OPENED THE BOTTOM OF MY INSTA POT LET SIT OUT OPEN FOR MORE THAN 3 DAYS PUY IT BACK TOGETHER PLUG IT UP SAME AS BEFORE ALL THE BLINKING LIGHTS AND COED c6h still there.HELP HELP HELP. I NEED MY INSTA POT!!!EMAIL ME PLEASE
Hi Annie, I am not Instant Pot. If you have the C6 error, you need to contact Instant Pot themselves following the instructions in this article. Note that if you got liquid into your Instant Pot and caused this error, the warranty doesn’t apply. Good luck!
Thank you so much. I followed your instruction. I got response the next day and will ship me another one.
I’m so glad to hear this. Good luck with your new pot!
Thank you for this article. I followed the instructions and I’m getting a new Instant Pot!!
Fab! I’m so glad it worked out for you 🙂
I followed your instructions but my answer from the company was “We do apologize currently, the Instant Pot is outside of the warranty period. For more information on our warranty, please visit: (product warranties safety and support page)”. Thanks for helping me know what to do, even if it did not work in this case.
Bummer that your Instant Pot was outside the warranty period, but I’m glad you were at least able to get that confirmation. I’m glad I was able to help with that piece at least!
I bought mine from Facebook I don’t have receipt what I should do in this case
If you don’t have the original receipt, you may be out of luck. That’s their proof of purchase and how long you’ve had it for the warranty to be valid. Worst case, you can reach out to the company with the links etc I shared and see what they have to say.