To reset your walk-in tub control box, disconnect the main power supply, restore it, wait for the green LED to settle on steady green, then press and hold the small red configure button only until the LED blinks once and let go. The light goes out, blinks one more time and returns to steady green, and the box is correctly programmed. Do not keep the button held through two or three blinks. Holding it longer sets the box to the wrong configuration, and the tub keeps doing exactly what it was doing before the reset. For the full walkthrough of every control box layout, see How to reset your walk-in tub control box step by step.

The control box is the electronic brain of your Ella walk-in tub. It receives the signals from your deck controls and powers the pumps and lights, so when several functions act up at once, a reset often clears the problem. If you are not sure which box you are looking at, start with what the control box does.

Before You Begin

The control box sits behind the tub's removable access panel, and some tubs have more than one box, including a separate box for the in-line heater. Each box has a green power LED and a small red configure button. You do not need to unplug the air tubes or pump connectors for this reset. If you do disconnect anything to gain access, label every tube and connector first so each one goes back in the correct position, and handle electrical connectors slowly to avoid damaging any pins.

Step by Step Reset

1. Disconnect the main power supply to the tub at the breaker. The green LED on the control box goes out.
2. Restore power. The green LED comes back on, blinks several times and then holds steady green. Do not touch the configure button until the light is steady.
3. Press and hold the red configure button and watch the green LED. The moment it blinks once, release the button.
4. Let the box finish on its own. The LED turns off, blinks once more, then returns to steady green. The box is now programmed.
5. Test every function your tub has, such as the air massage, the hydro jets, the heater and the LED light. If a function still misbehaves, repeat the whole process, again releasing at the first blink.

Why the Number of Blinks Matters

The configure button is a programming switch, not a simple restart. Each additional blink while the button is held selects a different configuration, so a box held to three blinks behaves differently from one held to a single blink, and the result can look like a failed pump or a control that will not respond. Our technical support team has reproduced a customer's exact complaint on a bench unit simply by holding the button to the third blink. Release at the first blink, and once the tub is working, leave the configure button alone. It should not be pressed during normal use.

The In-Line Heater Control Box

Tubs with an in-line water heater also have a heater control box, which on some models is mounted vertically. It has its own green LED and red configure button, and the same procedure applies: cut power, restore it, wait for steady green, hold the configure button until the first blink and release. If the heater keeps behaving oddly after a reset, run the reset again and make sure you released at the very first blink before opening a ticket.

If the Green Light Stays Out

A control box with no green LED at all is not receiving power, and pressing the configure button will not help. Check the breaker and the GFCI that feeds the tub before anything else, following the checks for a tub that has gone completely dead. If power is confirmed at the box and it still shows no light, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your serial number. Electronic controls are covered by the lifetime parts warranty for the original owner at the original installation address, so a box that fails several years after installation is still a warranty part as long as the warranty was activated. Ella does not send technicians. The replacement ships under the warranty, and a local licensed electrician handles the swap. If only one function is out, see pump or massage system not working before resetting anything.

Related Symptoms

A box that seems to keep running its purge cycle is usually a separate issue. The air system's Auto Purge starts on its own about 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It is fully automatic, cannot be stopped, and is normal even if it begins while you are still in the tub. If purging goes on beyond that, read why the tub will not stop purging. If a pump will not shut off, you can turn the jets off in an emergency at the breaker.

Related Guides

• Blue Control Box Has No Power Light, or the Air Pump Runs Constantly: Diagnosis, Replacement and Returning the Old Box
• Heated Seat and Back Not Warming Up: Checking the Control Box LED and the Button Prongs
• Touchpad or push button controls not responding: checks, repair, and replacement

Common Questions

Still Need Help?

Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and have your model and serial number ready.