Washer-dryer won’t automatically switch from washing to drying (Samsung & LG)
✅ Safe to check yourself
This is a common, low-risk check most people can do safely. Always unplug the appliance (or isolate power) before touching internal parts.
Quick TipTake a photo of the appliance's model/serial number sticker now — you'll want it if this does end up needing a part or an engineer.
If the wash and rinse stages complete normally but the machine stops rather than moving into drying, this is usually a programme selection issue rather than a fault — many washer-dryers require you to actively select a combined “wash & dry” programme, rather than assuming any wash cycle will automatically continue into drying.
What to check first
- Check you selected a genuine combined wash-and-dry programme, not a standard wash-only cycle — on most machines these are listed and named separately, and it’s easy to pick the wrong one out of habit.
- Check you haven’t set a specific dryness level or drying time of “0” or “off” within the combined programme’s options, if your model allows adjusting this separately.
- Check the machine hasn’t paused rather than finished — some models show a distinct “cycle complete” signal versus a pause, and it’s worth checking the display carefully rather than assuming it’s simply stopped.
When to call an engineer
If you’ve definitely selected a combined programme correctly and the machine still stops after washing rather than proceeding to dry, a sensor or the programme selector switch itself may have a fault — worth a professional diagnosis.