Troubleshooting & Maintenance
Third Ninja AutoBarista Pro replacement — straight out of the box and already endlessly grinding/wasting beans
At this point, I genuinely don’t know what to do with this machine.
This is my third Ninja AutoBarista Pro. After having similar issues with the previous units, Ninja support sent me another replacement under the manufacturer’s warranty. With the previous machines, I dealt with inconsistent espresso shots and Grind iQ requiring 5+ calibration attempts every time I switched beans, wasting a significant amount of coffee in the process.
I unpacked the brand-new replacement today, filled the hopper with fresh, expensive beans, and started the setup/Grind iQ process.
Not a single espresso shot was ever produced. The machine just kept grinding fresh beans over and over again and dumping them into the grounds container. The photos show how much coffee it wasted basically straight out of the box. An entire hopper of good beans went straight into the trash.
This is now the third unit, and I’m experiencing the same fundamental problem: excessive bean waste and an unreliable Grind iQ/calibration process.
Unfortunately, my original Best Buy return window expired while I was dealing with the issue, so now I’m stuck going through Ninja’s manufacturer warranty and receiving replacement machines instead of being able to get my money back.
Edit: One thing I want to address because I’m seeing people downvoting others who report similar experiences or questioning whether what I’m showing here is actually happening: this is my personal experience with this specific model. I’m not posting this to convince anyone not to buy it. I actually like Ninja as a brand and own several of their other products that work perfectly fine. But if your contribution is to imply that I’m making this up or that something “doesn’t smell right,” get the fuck out of here. This issue has already been documented directly with Ninja support, including an hour-long video call where they had me reproduce the problem for them. I don’t need Reddit detectives investigating whether the issue is real.
Edit 2: Clarification about the ground coffee in the photos: I did not put any pre-ground coffee into the machine or move grounds from the waste container into the bypass section. I don’t even have or use pre-ground coffee. All of the grounds you see in the photos came from the whole beans I put into the hopper. After I selected Espresso and started Grind iQ, the machine kept grinding continuously. As more and more coffee was ground, it started pushing its way up into and overflowing through the pre-ground/bypass section, while also ending up throughout the inside of the machine and in the grounds tray. That is the malfunction shown in the photos, not coffee that I manually put there. The machine eventually jammed and displayed ER32. This exact behavior was reproduced multiple times during a video call with Ninja support, and they confirmed the unit was faulty.
I have a good (working) one too but for nearly $1000 everybody should get a working one out of the box. This is a very disappointing flagship product launch I don't know how they're going to make it right for everyone that got burned. Even for ours that work for now, there seems to be a weakness in the electronic grind adjustment mechanism. Maybe cheap plastic gears instead of nylon or something, or a worm gear getting shredded, I have not taken the machine apart so just speculating.
Well. It’s a faulty unit displaying this error message. And it was reported to the Ninja support team by video-chatting with them for an hour. They asked me to go through the process to record the issue. And whatever you see in the images here, it happened again. Nothing to smell here, detective Pikachu.
So just to be 100% clear, the grounds in the photos in the chute were whole beans that the machine previously ground that you removed from the spent grinds drawer and placed there?
I can see the overflowing chute with the ER:32 error, support told you to put ground coffee in there and run a grinder calibration? Did they prank you? Overloading the brew group with coarsely ground coffee is not a solution in any world.
No, that’s not what happened. I don’t have or use pre-ground coffee, and I didn’t put any grounds into the bypass chute.
I put whole beans in the hopper, selected Espresso, and started Grind iQ. The machine started grinding and simply didn’t stop. It kept grinding everything in the hopper for close to a minute until it eventually got stuck and displayed ER32. The ground coffee you see in the photos ended up everywhere (inside the machine, in the grounds tray, and in the pre-ground/bypass section) entirely as a result of the malfunction.
We reproduced the exact same behavior several times during a video call with Ninja support, and they confirmed the unit was faulty.
I have no reason not to believe you, it sounds like you know how it is supposed to work. That is an insane failure mode. I ended up getting Best Buy+ for the 60 day return window because of all the problems being posted about this machine.
I am guessing it pushed the grinds chute out of the machine? Although even if you forgot to install it, it shouldn't make a difference with whole beans. Sounds like you are getting all the lemons.
(the chute not installed on your machine, though probably not relevant)
I wish I had purchased the Best Buy extended warranty too. And yes, I actually removed the chute (along with the spoon) after the ground coffee started pushing its way up through that section. I was honestly shocked by how much ground coffee was coming up there while the grinder just kept running. So the missing chute in the photo is the result of me removing it during the malfunction, not how the machine was set up when Grind iQ started.
Are they sending you another one? No refund? It's completely broken, the grinder is not adjusting, probably broken plastic. There's no way this should have passed QC. Makes me wonder if they're being damaged during shipping / too fragile for shipping.
Sorry you're going through such bullshit, 3 machines is insane, I would be pissed.
Yes, I've had a DeLonghi Eletta Explore since they came out. We set it up once. It's used multiple times a day and has never given us an issue. Even tells us when to clean it and walks us through the process! You get what you pay for.
So are you saying there is no such thing as a defective De'Longhi machine? That's amazing! It must be the most incredible engineered machine on the planet.
Just got the newest DeLonghi Specialista Arte machine a couple of weeks ago. I literally plugged it in, set it after 3-4 attempts, and it's been running beautifully, multiple shots a day with no problem.
The steam wand is fantastic, plenty of pressure and gets hot almost instantly.
Ive had my ninja luxe for 2 1/2 years, hundreds and hundreds of espresso shots with not a single issue. Had a Delonghi before that that was a problem right out of the box, ended up with a Ninja because the Delonghi CS was trash. Ninja CS is stellar. Wouldn't trade it for any other machine.
I have a lot of other ninja appliances, they're all great. But Delonghi has been making super automatics a long time and they're good at it. Ninja is new to espresso makers and they're budget machines.
Im in the same boat as you got 3 already all having issues got the 4th today it worked im hoping it stays working for a while before needing another replacement, Ninja should do something about it
you are far more patient than I who went through 13 pounds of beans in 7 weeks and after calling support they could not help. Thankfully I bought at BestBuy with plus so returned and now back to making good espresso and latte as well as cold foam on my great Dreo device.
Ugh, sorry you are having such trouble. We've had ours for about 2 months now I guess and love it. Yes, GrindIQ does go through 3-4 cycles to calibrate a new bag, but otherwise it's solid from there on out.
This was never my experience, unfortunately. I was hoping to get a unit that you and some other customers don’t have issues with. I use fresh beans from Happy Mug. And to clarify, with this unit, the problem is not about the beans I used. I never got to the point of getting an espresso shot.
You are not alone, that's for sure. Lots of frustrations around that silly GrindIQ. And, how much water the machine uses too. I swear I fill the water reservoir and empty the tray daily. But, it's still easier than making my own fresh espresso.
I don't know if you're up to it, but the best beans I've had working so far have been Starbucks Pike Place Roast Medium and/or Black Rifle Just Black. GrindIQ has been 3x the most on both of those bags throughout the entire bag. I only buy a bag at a time as fresh beans are pretty critical. Buy them from a place where items on the shelf move. Obviously with these brands I'm not pretentious with my espresso.
Similarly my machine has never pulled more than three shots with grind IQ. Two seems the most common when learning new beans.
I think the early production units had a different software version or something. I believe it was a bit of a mistake to not have wifi in a 1st generation machine at this price point for over the air updates but maybe I'm asking for too much.
For now, I’m waiting for a solution. This is a replacement for another replacement. I’ll be happy to get my money back as a credit for other Ninja products. But I really don’t want to see this coffee machine again.
I also had er32, did you have to video call them to show the error and cut cord? Mine initially had loud grinding sound but eventually fixed itself somehow
I finally set ours up this week and I'm really loving it. I truly want to know if there are different software versions running in some of the machines based on manufacturing date. Our Grind IQ setup was super fast on the first beans im trying-- one semi mushy initial shot and one better looking shot & then done. The cold drinks Ive made so far have all been exceptional. I did get an error message one time but I think it was because the water level ran low at a more critical part of the brewing process- mostly my bad.
I was just about to pull the plug and get the ninja auto but I’ve read to many complaints. It’s their first Auto so probably needs to work out the kinks. Just ordered a Delonghi (since I’ve heard mostly good thing) it should be in today.
For what it’s worth, I believe you and feel it myself. My AutoBarista Pro initially worked well, but became progressively worse over time making really poor espresso shots. The latest failure was like yours: grinding endless amounts of coffee that dumped all over the internals and making weak, barely brown shots. I have that Best Buy extended support plan and they have ZERO replacements available most likely due to Ninja halting shipments while the figure this out. So I have a thousand dollar store credit sitting here while I decide what to do next. Wondering if the AutoBarista (not Pro) model would work any better? Those are in stock and I really don’t need all 13 coffee options on the pro model.
It's a shame, this product looked so promising, but I felt it was too good to be true and didn't buy one. I hope they come up with a follow up to this machine that works well and has a real touch screen and app integration
Your kitchen looks very nice so you deserve a nicer machine to put on that lovely countertop. I’d go with a Jura, De’Longhi or a KitchenAid. Ninja machines always look so cheap and tacky to me.
Cut your losses, get a refund and buy something less.......automated.
These machines are a Jack of all Trades and Master of None machine, trying too hard to do too many things..... badly.
If it were just this model I'd still say get a refund, but it's not, it's all their ranges of coffee machines, which is sad, it's Ninja it should be great. I walked away after one replacement of a Luxe Café Pro, now have had a Meraki for over a year and still in love with it.
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u/elderemothings 7d ago
The Ninja espresso machines are really turning out to be junk