AUTO and RANGE (autoranging)
AUTO on the display means the meter is autoranging: it chooses the measurement range itself. RANGE is the button that switches to manual ranging, where the user chooses the range and AUTO goes out.
How to read it
Fluke’s 114 to 117 manual explains the two modes: in autoranging the meter selects the range with the best resolution, and in manual ranging the user sets it; the display shows Auto or Manual. Fluke’s meters and Extech’s EX330 start in autorange when switched on, and Klein Tools’ MM400 defaults to it too. On all three makers’ meters each press of RANGE steps through the ranges, and holding RANGE down for one or two seconds returns to autorange.
Not every setting has ranges to choose: Extech’s manual says manual range does not apply to its capacitance, frequency or temperature modes, and Fluke’s that the range can’t be changed in MIN MAX AVG or Display HOLD.
Also searched as: AUTO on a multimeter, auto range, autoranging, manual range, RANGE button.
These pages describe what each setting, marking and reading means. They are not instructions for measuring anything. Meters differ between makers and models: the meter’s own manual says what each of its symbols means, which measurements it is rated for, and how to use it safely.
What the ranges are
A meter’s count sets its ranges. Klein’s MM400 and Extech’s EX330 have 4000-count displays and voltage ranges of 400 mV, 4 V, 40 V and 400 V, plus 600 V; Fluke’s 114 to 117 have a 6000-count display. A reading too large for the range in use shows OL.
Read next
- Next in Multimeter symbolsLow battery iconThe meter’s own battery is low. The battery icon on the display is the warning; some meters show bAtt when the battery is too low for the meter to work.
- The same shape in Coin gradesSheldon scale (1 to 70)The Sheldon scale is the 1 to 70 scale used to grade coins: 1 is a coin worn so smooth that only its type and date can be made out, and 70 a flawless mint state or proof coin. William Sheldon devised it in the late 1940s to price early American large cents.
More multimeter symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with letters and numbers.
Sources
- Multimeter Symbols, Buttons, Dials, and Display, Fluke learning centre article, Fluke Corporation, Digital multimeter buttons
- 114, 115, and 117 True-rms Multimeters: Users Manual, PN 2572573, July 2006, Rev. 1, 2/07, Fluke Corporation (copy hosted by UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering), Display; Manual and autoranging
- MM400 Auto-Ranging Digital Multimeter: Instruction Manual, MM400 instruction manual, Klein Tools (copy hosted by UBC Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences), Function buttons; Electrical specifications
- Mini Multimeter with Non-Contact Voltage Detector, Model EX330: User’s Guide, EX330-EU-ENG V4.2 1/08, Extech Instruments (copy hosted by Core Electronics), Auto-manual range selection; Display symbols
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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