Why Is My Nespresso Milk Frother Not Working?

The Nespresso frother only works with certain type of milk. So if your Nespresso milk frother is not working right, check the milk type first as it will affect the frothing.

How does milk type affect milk froth?

The protein in the milk causes the frothing. And this protein content has to be high. Before frothing, remember to shake the milk in the carton well to distribute the proteins evenly in the milk. Besides being affected by protein content, it is also affected by the fat content in the milk. Low fat will result in foam that is dry and stiff. High fat, on the other hand, will result in foam that is wet and silky. Consider these type of milks for better foaming results:

Ultra Heat Treatment boxed milks
Conventional milk
organic milk
Cow’s milk

Milk frother still not working?

Sometimes, the Nespresso frother may not work the way you expect it. This is especially the case when you haven’t familiarise with the Nespresso machine.

There are also other reasons why the milk frother isn’t producing the results you expect as follows:

Too much or too little milk used
Parts not cleaned properly and milk residue has built up.
Wrong whisk used ( applicable only for Aeroccino milk frothers )
Overheating has occurred due to continuous use.
Regulator knob not set to froth mode ( applicable for Lattissima models )

There are 4 different Nespresso milk frother categories as follows:
    • standalone Aeroccino3 & 4 milk frother
    • standalone Barista milk frother
    • Lattissima models – these machines comes with a automatic milk frothing system
    • Creatista models – these machines comes with a steam wand

Although there are some issues which occurs in more than one of these categories, the steps to resolve them could be different. So I will be listing the solutions for the issues based on the category they belong for ease of reading.

Related:

Nespresso with milk frother

How to clean Nespresso Milk frother?

Aeroccino3 & 4 milk frother issues

You may encounter these problems when using the Aeroccino milk frothers.

Why is Nespresso frother blinking red and not working?

The Nespresso frother will starting blinking red when it has been used repeatedly without stopping. And thus the appliance gets too hot. To fix this, rinse the frother with cool water.

Why the milk overflows from the Aeroccino milk frother?

To troubleshoot this, it will depends on the Aeroccino model you are using. The causes of this issue can be any of this.

frother is filled with too much milk. ( both Aeroccino 3 & 4 )
wrong whisk used ( only applicable for Aeroccino 3 as Aeroccino 4 has been upgraded to use only 1 single whisk for ease of operation )
the type of milk may not be suitable as the amount of froth from the milk can vary depending on the milk you used.
whisk may be faulty

Too much milk

There are 2 indicator levels in the Aeroccino milk frothers for making hot milk and milk froth respectively. When making froth, use the lower level so that the milk won’t foam up and overflow. For hot milk, use the higher level. For both cases, make sure you don’t fill up milk over the indicator level.

Wrong whisk used

In the older Aeroccino3 milk frother, the whisk has two modes, one for making hot milk and another for making milk foam. To make froth milk, use the entire whisk and keep its spring attached. To make hot milk without foam, take out the spring and insert the black part of the whisk instead. When you have the Aeroccino heating up and the whisks spinning, you know that the frothing is functioning right.

Wrong milk type

Use the milk type suggested in the beginning of this post shall do the trick.

Whisk Spoilt: Where to get parts for nepresso milk frother?

If you whisk is spoilt, you can get the parts from Nespresso.com or Amazon.com

Why Aeroccino milk froth is poor quality and burnt?

This milk froth issue can be due to these reasons:

wrong milk used : The Aeroccino milk frother works best with semi skimmed milk or cold milk that is refrigerated at a temperature of 4 to 6 degrees. If the milk is frozen, frothing can’t work too. Additional ingredients such as chocolate powder, sugar or syrup will also affect the frothing if added into the jug. Hence, flavoured milks or enriched milk are not suitable too.
Jug and whisk is not clean. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any milk residue.

Why is the milk froth quality bad on Aeroccino?

The milk issue could be due to these:

wrong milk used.
wrong whisk used
Jug is not clean.

Barista milk frother issues

You may encounter these problems when using the Barista milk frother.

Why Barista milk frother showing a “add milk” message?

It happens when there is no more or not enough milk left inside the milk jug. Just fill up the milk jug and the warning message will disappear.

Why the milk overflows from the Barista milk frother?

This happens due to following :

Jug is not positioned correctly on the power base.
The lid is not properly closed.
you have filled the frother with too much milk. Make sure to fill the milk to just between the 2 levels marked inside the jug.

Lattissima models milk frother issues

You may encounter these problems when using these Nespresso Lattissima models :

Lattissima One
Lattissima Gran
Lattissima Pro
Lattissima Touch
Lattissima Plus

Why all coffee buttons and all milk recipe buttons flash alternatively on Lattissima?

The coffee machine has been used to make coffee continuously and the machine is overheating. Hence the coffee machine is going into overheating protection mode to prevent the temperature from going up further which otherwise may affect the making of coffee. When this happens, the coffee machine buttons will not work as the machine blocks all functions. This blocking will last for 10 minutes. For this situation, all you have to do is to have the capsule container emptied. Double check that no capsule remains stuck in the container before putting back the container. Then all you have to do next is just let the coffee maker cool down. After 10 minutes is up, then you can continue with the normal coffee brewing.

Why Nespresso Lattissima milk frother not working and showing a orange light?

This happens when you have used the milk frother for more than 5 times without cleaning it. The machine will suspend the use of the milk dispensing frother and display an orange light on the clean alert LED. This step is important as too much milk residue stuck in the milk frother will produce a milk with a weird taste. To fix this, you just need to clean the milk frother.

Why can’t I dismantle the milk jug on Lattissima?

To ensure that the milk jug is secured properly when making the milk froth, there are features to lock the jug. You just need to push the buttons at the side of the jug to unlock the milk jug.

What do I do if I accidentally spill the milk onto my Nespresso machine?

You want to quickly remedy this to prevent the milk from seeping into the machine. Shutdown your Nespresso machine and unplug the power supplies. Then clean all parts of the machines thoroughly with a damp cloth. Remove all the removable parts and clean the inside of the detached component fast.

Why is the Lattissima milk buttons not enabled even when the milk jug has been inserted fully?

The regulator knob on the milk frother has to be set in the correct position for the milk buttons to be enabled. There are 2 positions on the regulator knob – clean and froth. If it is set at ‘clean’ position, then the milk buttons will be turned off as the frother is about to undergo cleaning of the frother. Once cleaning is done, set it back to ‘froth’ position and this will enable the milk buttons. Then you can proceed with making your favourite milk beverages.

Why is Lattissima milk froth poor quality?

The milk issue could be due to these:

wrong milk used. Use only semi skimmed milk or cold milk that is refrigerated at a temperature of 4 to 6 degrees. If the milk is frozen, frothing can’t work too.
Milk frother has milk residue. Just rinse the milk frother.

Why Lattissima milk system is not starting?

This issue can happen to the milk system due to these reasons:

Not enough milk. Make sure you have filled up with at least 30 ml of milk.
Water is found in the milk container. The milk system will not work in this case.
Wrong type of milk used. The milk system does not work with vegetable milk such as rice milk. You can change to use a protein-based milk instead.

Creatista models

You may encounter these problems when using the Creatista models:

Creatista Pro
Creatista Plus
Creatista Uno

Why milk overflows from the milk jug on Creatista?

For the Creatista models, a milk jug is used to froth the milk. There is 2 level markings outside and inside the milk jug to indicate the minimum and maximum levels for the amount of milk. If the milk is overflowing from the jug, ensure that the milk has not been filled more than the maximum level. If that doesn’t work, it could mean the froth level you have selected on the Creatista machine is too high. Either reduce the froth level or add lesser milk. Note though the amount of froth from the milk can vary depending on the milk type you used.

Why the Creatista milk steam cycle is not starting?

There could be a few causes for the milk steam wand to be not working in your Creatista models:

water tank is not positioned correctly.
water tank is empty
steam tip is blocked
steam wand has not been lowered.

Check all the above and start the milk steam wand again. It should be able to run now.

Why is Creatista milk temperature not hot?

The milk temperature could be affected by any other these:

cup is not preheated. When hot milk is poured into a cold cup, the temperature gradient will cause the milk temperature to drop. To fix this, preheat your cup first before pouring the milk on Creatista.
The milk jug may not be holding the milk temperature well. Use the Sage milk jug that comes with the Creatista model instead. It is specially made for the frothing milk for Creatista.
The milk jug is not positioned properly on the temperature sensor. When that happens, the temperature sensor cannot measure the milk temperature accurately to match the milk temperature that you have selected. Just adjust the position of the milk jug to fix this.
Temperature sensor is wet. This could affect the temperature accuracy. Just wipe it clean and dry.
The wrong milk temperature option may have been selected. Check your setting again or increase to a higher milk temperature.
The steam tip may have blockages. When this happens, there may not be enough steam coming up to warm the milk effectively.

Why is Creatista milk temperature too hot?

The milk temperature could be affected by any of these:

The milk jug may be made of a different material and maintain the milk temperature differently. Use the Sage milk jug that comes with the Creatista model instead. It is specially made for frothing milk on Creatista.
The milk jug is not positioned properly on the temperature sensor in the drip tray. When that happens, the temperature sensor cannot measure the temperature accurately to match the milk temperature that you have selected. Just adjust the position of the milk jug to fix this.
Temperature sensor is wet. This could affect the temperature accuracy. Just wipe it clean and dry.
The wrong milk temperature option may have been selected. Check or decrease to a lower milk temperature.

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Why Is My Nespresso Milk Frother Not Working?