Samsung Washer UB Error Code: Meaning, Causes & Fix

Unbalanced load — the washer cannot distribute the load evenly enough to spin safely.

UB means the washer tried to balance the load for spin and failed: the tub's load is clumped to one side, so spinning would make the machine shake violently or walk across the floor. The control stops, tumbles the load back and forth to redistribute it, and tries again; if it cannot balance after several attempts it displays UB (often shown with the remaining time flashing). Related codes: UE (unbalance error on older displays) and UR (still retrying).

What causes the UB code on a Samsung washer?

One heavy, waterlogged item

A bath mat, a single blanket, a pair of jeans balled up — one dense item defeats the balancing routine.

Load too small or too large

A very small load clumps; an overloaded tub cannot redistribute at all.

Washer not level

A machine rocking on its feet amplifies any imbalance; check for a foot not firmly on the floor.

Worn suspension rods (top-load) or dampers (front-load)

On older machines the suspension that absorbs tub movement weakens, so loads that used to balance now trip UB — the code appearing more and more often over months is the signature.

Load tangled into a single rope or ball

Sheets, long sleeves, and items with drawstrings or straps can wrap around each other during the wash until the whole load is one twisted mass. That mass cannot be spread by the machine's tumbling redistribution, however many times it retries, because it moves as a single lump. UB from a tangled load usually arrives with bedding, table linen, or a load of similar long items rather than ordinary mixed laundry.

Mixed fabrics that gain weight at very different rates

A load can be evenly spread when it goes in and badly uneven by spin time: heavy cotton towels and denim soak up far more water than the synthetic items beside them, so the wet weight concentrates wherever the thirsty fabrics ended up. This is why a mixed load that washed without complaint can still fail at the spin, and why the same load, re-sorted, often spins fine.

Levelling feet adjusted but their locking nuts left loose

Samsung's levelling procedure finishes by tightening the feet's locking (clamp) nuts and checking the level on all four sides. If the nuts are left loose, the feet creep a fraction at a time under spin vibration: the machine is level on the day it was adjusted, then drifts out over the following weeks. UB that mysteriously returns a week or two after a levelling job is this cause until proven otherwise.

Checks to run before you replace anything

1. Open the lid/door and redistribute the load by hand, adding a couple of towels to a single-item load.
2. Push down on opposite corners of the machine — any rocking means a levelling foot needs adjustment.
3. Bounce test (top-load): press the empty tub down firmly and release — it should rebound once and settle; multiple bounces suggest worn suspension rods.
4. Use Samsung's water test on a top-loader when no spirit level is handy: pour water into the tub up to just below the pulsator and look at its position - if the pulsator sits centred in the water the machine is level; if it sits off-centre, adjust the front feet.
5. Check the level on all four sides of the machine, not just along the front edge, and then check that every foot's locking nut is actually tightened up against the cabinet - a foot that can be turned by hand was never locked.
6. When UB stops a cycle, look at the shape of the load before touching it: one twisted rope of fabric, or everything plastered to one side, confirms a distribution problem; a load that still looks evenly spread points back at levelling or suspension.
7. Note the load composition when UB strikes: Samsung specifically warns that washing only one item, such as a bathrobe or a pair of jeans, can leave the final spin unsatisfactory and bring up the Ub/UE code.

How to fix samsung washer ub error code?

1. Rebalance the load and restart the spin; wash bulky items with similar-weight companions.
2. Level the machine: adjust the feet until all four are firm and the tub sits centred.
3. If UB is frequent on normal mixed loads and the bounce test fails, replace the suspension rods (top-load, sold as a set of 4 — a Moderate DIY) or dampers/shock absorbers (front-load).
4. Level the machine following Samsung's full sequence: loosen the locking nuts, adjust the feet until the machine is level on all four sides, then tighten the locking nuts properly - skipping the last step is what makes the fix temporary.
5. Break tangles before restarting: pull the load apart item by item, shake sheets and other large pieces out flat, and reload them one at a time instead of in a single armful, so nothing goes back in already wrapped around something else.
6. For a load that is simply too small to balance, follow Samsung's own remedy: add one or two towels to the drum and run the Rinse/Spin cycle, giving the machine something it can distribute against the single heavy item.

The part that usually fails: Suspension rods (top-load) / damper struts (front-load)

The parts that wear out. Test: the bounce test above — an empty tub that keeps bouncing after one press has lost its damping. Rods are replaced as a full set; replacing only the visibly worst one rarely lasts.

How to reset / clear the UB code

UB clears when the load balances — open, redistribute, close and press Start. No power cycle is needed unless the display has frozen, in which case unplug for 2–3 minutes.

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.

Samsung washer keeps saying ub

UB that keeps coming back on ordinary loads, after levelling, is suspension wear until proven otherwise. On front-loaders also check for a cracked spider arm if the tub has developed play and a rumbling noise — that is a much bigger repair and a repair-or-replace decision.

How to stop UB coming back

• One heavy, waterlogged item: A bath mat, a single blanket, a pair of jeans balled up — one dense item defeats the balancing routine.
• Load too small or too large: A very small load clumps; an overloaded tub cannot redistribute at all.
• Washer not level: A machine rocking on its feet amplifies any imbalance; check for a foot not firmly on the floor.

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 UB gets confused with

5C — Drain error — the washer is not draining water out of the tub. 5C (shown as 5E on older Samsung displays, and as SC in some character sets) means the control ran the drain pump but the water level did not fall as expected.

UR — Unbalanced load, retrying — the washer is still trying to redistribute the load before spin. UR is a status as much as a fault: the washer has detected an unbalanced load and is actively tumbling and retrying to balance it before spin.

U6 — Unbalance-related fault reported on some Samsung washer displays (balance/vibration family). U6 shows up on a subset of Samsung washers in the same situation as the better-known UB/UE codes: the control is unhappy with the tub's balance or vibration during spin.

4C — Water supply error — the washer is not filling with water (or is filling too slowly). 4C is Samsung's water-supply fault code (shown as 4E on older models).

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

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

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