Samsung Washer ND Error Code: Meaning, Causes & Fix

No Drain — the washer is not draining (Samsung groups nd with 5E/SE/5C/SC as one no-drain family).

ND (shown as nd on many displays) is Samsung's no-drain report: the control ran the drain pump but the water did not leave at the correct speed, or at all. Samsung's own washer information-code page groups it as 'nd, 5E, SE, 5C, SC' — one no-drain family, not separate faults — and Samsung's US no-drain guide states that its steps apply to both front and top loaders. ND is most familiar on top-load washers and on older US front-load models; current front-loaders usually show the same fault as 5C/SC. The usual story is a blocked pump path or hose, incorrect drain hose installation, or a pump that has failed. ND is best understood as the letter-spelling of the fault other Samsung displays write numerically. Samsung's own grouping — 'nd, 5E, SE, 5C, SC' on its US washer page, and 'nD, 5E, 5C' on its Australian page — puts the letters and the numbers in one no-drain family with one fix path, and Samsung's no-drain guide then states that its steps apply to both front and top loaders, with the single exception of the pump-filter step, which is front-load only. That one exception is the source of most ND confusion online: top-load owners are sent hunting for a filter their machine was never built with, while front-load owners with ND are sent to top-load advice that skips the filter their machine does have. Hold the grouping and the exception together — same fault, same hose specification, same level check; filter only where a filter exists — and ND stops looking like a separate code at all.

What causes the ND code on a Samsung washer?

Blocked drain pump or pump filter path

Coins, buttons and lint collect at the pump inlet. Samsung's US no-drain guide is explicit that top loaders do not have a removable pump filter, so on a top-loader blockages lodge at the pump itself; on a front-loader the same debris usually stops at the cleanable pump filter first.

Kinked or obstructed drain hose

A crushed hose behind the machine or a lint-plugged standpipe.

Failed drain pump

Top-load drain pumps are small synchronous motors that commonly fail after ingesting debris.

Drain hose installed too low

If the hose outlet is below water level without a proper loop, the machine can drain continuously or misjudge levels.

Incorrect drain hose installation — Samsung calls it the most common reason

Samsung's US no-drain guide opens its hose step with a verdict worth quoting in full: incorrect drain hose installation is the most common reason for drain issues, and service is rarely required. The hose faults that produce ND are specific, and Samsung lists them: inserted less than 6 inches or more than 8 inches into the standpipe or sink, not secured so it can slip down farther over time, forming an airtight connection, kinked, bent or damaged, sitting below its minimum height or above its maximum, or lengthened with a drain hose extension kit, which Samsung says not to use. A machine that drained for years can grow into ND from this list alone, as a hose slowly slips deeper into the standpipe with every spin's vibration.

A washer that is not level

Level is step one of Samsung's US no-drain procedure, ahead of the hose: turn off the washer and check the level, because if the washer isn't level it may not drain correctly. The mechanism is unglamorous — a tilted machine pools its tub water away from where the pump draws and the level sensor reads, and a machine that rocks also walks its drain hose out of position over weeks, compounding the fault. ND that began after the machine was moved, after flooring work, or in a machine with a foot visibly off the floor, deserves the level check before the pump is suspected.

A drain run that is simply too long or obstructed at its far end

Samsung's Caribbean no-spin guidance adds the run-length facts its US guide leaves implicit: the drain hose should not exceed 3 meters, the end of the hose should not be immersed in the drain water, and the path to the drain should run without obstacles. A hose extended to reach a distant drain, a standpipe whose trap has silted to half its bore, or a hose end drowned below standing water in a laundry sink all present identically at the machine — the pump pushes against a path that cannot accept the flow at the speed the control expects, and ND is the report. The machine-side checks can all pass while this cause stands, which is why proving the house side (a brisk drain into a bucket, where the setup allows) belongs in an ND investigation that has cleared the filter and the hose.

Checks to run before you replace anything

1. Bail or siphon standing water out if the tub is full, then check the drain hose for kinks along its full run.
2. Check the hose against Samsung's US installation figures: inserted 6 to 8 inches into the standpipe or sink, secured so it cannot slip deeper, not forming an airtight connection, at least 18 inches high (24 inches for wash basins) and no higher than 96 inches (35 inches for wash basins), with no drain hose extension kit fitted.
3. Listen at the back during a drain attempt for pump noise.
4. Follow Samsung's US order for a no-drain report, because the order is the diagnosis: first turn off the washer and check the level; second, inspect the drain hose against the installation specification; third, clean the pump filter — front loaders only, Samsung stresses, since top loaders do not have a removable pump filter; fourth, turn the washer back on and start a cycle, because the washer should drain at the beginning of the test cycle, and if it does not, Samsung's instruction is to request service. Skipping to the pump before the first two steps contradicts the manufacturer's own sequence.
5. Check the hose against Samsung's full specification, line by line: inserted not less than 6 inches and not more than 8 inches into the standpipe or sink; secured so it will not slip down farther; not forming an airtight connection; not kinked, bent or damaged; at least 18 inches high, or 24 inches for wash basins; not higher than 96 inches, or 35 inches for wash basins; and not using a drain hose extension kit. While you are behind the machine, respect Samsung's caution there: do not remove the screw on the back of the washer that holds the drain hose against the washer — if the holder is missing, Samsung says service is required.
6. Respect the hot-water caution before opening anything: Samsung's US guide warns that if a cycle with hot water temperature settings, such as Pure Cycle or Sanitize, was run recently, the water in the washer may be very hot, and advises allowing approximately one hour for the water to cool before performing the drain procedure, to avoid possible injury. An ND tub holds the full wash volume; on a front-loader you will be releasing it by hand through the emergency drain tube, and an hour's patience is part of the procedure, not a delay to it.
7. Use the beginning-of-cycle drain as the verdict test: Samsung builds the proof into its own procedure — after the level, hose and filter steps, the washer should drain at the beginning of the test cycle. Brisk draining there closes the case. A test cycle that reaches its drain moment and produces only a hum, a trickle, or silence has localised the fault to the pump and its supply with the path already proven, which is exactly the evidence Samsung's service endpoint is meant to receive.

How to fix the ND error code

1. Unplug, tilt/access the pump from underneath or the rear (model-dependent) and clear debris from the pump and hoses.
2. Replace the drain pump if it is silent/dead or tests open (Moderate DIY on most top-loaders).
3. Correct the hose routing and height per the installation guide.
4. Run a Drain+Spin empty to verify normal emptying time.
5. Reinstall the drain hose to Samsung's specification and secure it: 6 to 8 inches into the standpipe, clipped or tied so vibration cannot walk it deeper, a loose (not airtight) fit at the standpipe, the run unkinked and within the 18-to-96-inch height window, and any extension kit removed. This single step is the fix Samsung expects to end most ND cases — its guide's judgement that service is rarely required for drain issues is built on how often this step is the whole story.
6. Clean the pump filter as scheduled maintenance, not just as a rescue (front-loaders): Samsung's US guide advises cleaning the pump filter periodically to improve cleaning performance and help prevent odours, and notes that a clogged debris filter reduces the effectiveness of the draining system — which is the ND mechanism in miniature, a drain that gets slower month by month until it crosses the control's limit. On a top-loader, skip the search for a filter that does not exist: Samsung is explicit that top loaders do not have a removable pump filter, so the top-load path runs through hose, level and pump only.
7. Prove the repair on Samsung's terms before washing again: run the test cycle and confirm the washer drains at the beginning of it, in normal time, with the hose staying where you secured it. Then run one real load and check the standpipe area afterwards — a hose that migrates during a full spin will announce the next ND within the week, and catching the migration now converts a repeat fault into a fitting adjustment.

The part that usually fails: Drain pump

The usual failed part. Meter for continuity; an open winding or a seized impeller means replacement.

How to reset / clear the ND code

Power-cycle for 5 minutes once the drain path is cleared; ND clears when a normal drain completes.

On Samsung washers most fault codes clear with a power reset: switch the machine off, unplug it (or trip the breaker) for at least 5 minutes so the control board fully discharges, then restore power and run a short Rinse+Spin or a small test load. If the code was caused by a one-off condition — a kinked hose, an unbalanced load, a suds spike — it will not come back. If it returns on the next cycle, the control has detected the same fault again and the reset has only cleared the message, not the cause. Samsung does not use a button-combination 'master reset' on most models; the power cycle is the reset.

Why does the ND code keep coming back?

ND that returns after a pump change usually means the blockage is in the house drain line, or small items keep escaping the tub — check pockets and use laundry bags for small items. An ND that returns after the hose has been corrected and (on a front-loader) the filter cleaned is keeping a schedule, and the schedule is the evidence. Returning within the first cycle or two, with the hose found deeper in the standpipe than you left it, is the unsecured-hose story — the fix is the securing, not another clean. Returning after weeks of good service, a little slower each time, is a path narrowing again: lint re-matting at the pump inlet on a top-loader, or a standpipe silting at a rate the bucket test will expose. Returning only on the largest loads is a pump losing the argument against a full tub of water while still winning against a test cycle's smaller volume — the weakening-pump pattern, and the one case where replacing the pump before it fails outright is the economical call. In all three patterns Samsung's endpoint is the same — if the washer does not drain at the beginning of a test cycle with its path proven, request service — and arriving with the pattern named is what keeps that visit to one visit.

How to stop ND coming back

• Blocked drain pump or pump filter path: Coins, buttons and lint collect at the pump inlet. Samsung's US no-drain guide is explicit that top loaders do not have a removable pump filter, so on a top-loader blockages lodge at the pump itself; on a front-loader the same debris usually stops at the cleanable pump filter first.
• Kinked or obstructed drain hose: A crushed hose behind the machine or a lint-plugged standpipe.
• Failed drain pump: Top-load drain pumps are small synchronous motors that commonly fail after ingesting debris.

Retrieving stored fault codes on Samsung washers

Most Samsung washers store recent fault codes that a technician can read in the service/diagnostic mode. Entry varies by model family: on many front-loaders you press and hold Delay End and Pre Soak (or Temp and Spin, on older models) together for about 3 seconds until the display lights all segments; on top-loaders a similar two-button hold (often Delay End + Pre Soak) is used. Once inside, the cycle knob steps through stored codes and component tests (fill, drain, motor, heater). Because the button pair differs between model years, confirm the pair for your exact model in the tech sheet fixed inside the machine or in the user manual before relying on a code you read there.

Other Samsung washer error codes

See the full list on the Samsung Washer error codes hub.

Codes ND gets confused with

SE — No drain — the washer is not draining (Samsung lists SE in its nd, 5E, SE, 5C, SC no-drain family). It is not a sensor error on washers. SE is a spelling Samsung itself prints for its washer no-drain fault: Samsung's US/Caribbean washer information page groups the family as 'nd, 5E, SE, 5C, SC, 1 5C: No drain error — water is not draining from the washer at the correct speed (or at all)', and its published fix sequence is to turn the washer off and check the level, inspect the drain hose, clean the pump filter (front loaders only), then turn the washer back on and start a cycle.

NF — No Fill — the washer is not filling with water (one spelling of Samsung's not-filling family). NF is one display spelling of Samsung's not-filling fault — the same water-supply problem other models report as 4C/4E.

OE — Overflow error — the washer has detected a water level that is too high. OE means the level sensor is reporting more water than the cycle should have — either the tub genuinely overfilled, or the sensor is lying.

4E — Water supply error — the washer is not filling (older-display version of 4C). 4E is the water-supply fault on older Samsung washers; newer models display the identical fault as 4C.

Working from a symptom instead? Read our troubleshooting guide for this problem.

Frequently asked questions

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Facts on this page were checked against manufacturer documentation: www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com