TOSHIBA Countertop Microwave Oven with Inverter Technology, 1.6 Cu.Ft

Allow me to paint you a story of our time before this microwave. My husband and I have gone through exactly 2 microwaves in our 11 year relationship before landing on this one. Our first was a tiny thing made in 2004 that could barely manage cup o' noodle. It finally died sounding like the cries of a thousand whales back in late 2017. It had a good long life of burnt popcorn and cold reheated food. We went without a microwave because we were dirt broke at the time from finally becoming homeowners (oof our savings), and then my in-laws graced us with their microwave that *they* had gotten as a wedding gift in Canada in.. 1988. I used to say that the microwave was almost as old as I was until we found the manufacturing date was April 1988. Dang, the microwave was now officially one month older than me. Still had to deal with uneven cooking, burnt popcorn or half popped bags, and a defrost function that only seemed to work half the time and literally cook the food the other half. This beast of a microwave is an enigma in the fact that it has somehow survived all these years without even needing anything replaced. Honestly the microwave still "works". I can relate heavily to this microwave. After the last few years of me completely swearing off of trying to make microwave popcorn, my husband complaining about even more burnt popcorn and unpopped kernels at the same time, I finally asked if we could manage to scrape some money together to get an actual working microwave. After much debating, I was tasked with researching a good microwave that was big enough and mostly inexpensive enough. I had heard a bit about this microwave and a few others and ultimately decided on this one. The price was right, the size was perfect, the functionality was great, being able to turn off literally all the beeping was fantastic. Unfortunately the first one we got was mostly DOA and it was really disappointing, especially since I had to move a microwave that I'm sure weighed about 50lbs, I wish I was joking. Amazon took care of the return and replacement real easy and quick, and the new-new microwave came today. The first test was popcorn. Oh boy. Since everyone says "don't use the popcorn button", I definitely didn't. Unfortunately the microwave did burn the bag of popcorn at full power. So, I decided to actually use the popcorn button. I hit the popcorn button twice (setting for a 3oz bag) just to make sure it would have enough time to heat up and pop. Oh boy. I was not prepared for what happened. The popcorn actually popped! And it only took maybe a minute and a half! No burnt popcorn *and* most of the kernels were popped. Our toddler rejoiced that mommy had actually popped a bag of popcorn, "Yay! You did it mommy!" Second, I defrosted a 1lb package of frozen ground beef. Woo, that was a breeze. Set the defrost for the weight and let it go, though it did warm the edges a bit too much but it was quick and didn't cook it like our last microwaves. Third and most terrifying. Before this microwave, I had gotten used to putting a mug of coffee/tea/water/whatever to heat/reheat for a minute or more and it not even being hot-hot. I stuck a mug of water (with a few tapioca pearls in it) in the microwave to test and set it for one minute, after a short time I glanced into the microwave and discovered it was actually boiling. A very loud proclamation of "Oh my god!" rang from myself in the kitchen. I promptly called my husband over to also observe what the mug of water was doing. He also loudly proclaimed "Oh my god!" In short: I can't believe what I used to consider "normal" for a microwave. This one is more than leaps and bounds better than what we "had to just deal with" in a time of penny pinching and saving money. We're finally mostly comfortable and were in desperate need of a good quality microwave. In very short: I love this microwave.

This oven checks ALL of (at least my) microwave wanted-feature boxes. I bought this Toshiba to replace a Panasonic oven that developed an unrepairable fault in its membrane-switch control panel. (You can't avoid membrane switches, unfortunately. They're universal in almost everything at this point. Microwave ovens, stovetops, refrigerators, you name it. They're all membrane switches unless you can afford semi-pro level gear.) I chose Panasonic at the time because I wanted inverter power control, and only Panasonic had it then. Since then, apparently Panasonic's inverter patents have expired. And that is why I was able to find this Toshiba oven, which, while a very little smaller than the one it replaces. hits ALL THREE of my top three most-wanted microwave features: — It has inverter power control instead of just duty-cycling the magnetron to PRETEND to be able to vary its power. — It has moisture-sensor smart cooking and reheating so that you don't HAVE to know how long to cook something for. — And it has AN ACTUAL DOOR HANDLE instead of an unreliable push-button to open the door. I HATE those pushbuttons. They invariably start sticking after a while, and then opening the door becomes a two-hand task, because you need one hand to push the stupid button and one to pull the door open. With the Toshiba, opening the door takes one hand, EVERY time. It's easy, positive, and certain. No more hammering (and swearing) at the button. As a BONUS, the pre-programmed feature that we most commonly used on the old oven, after sensor reheat — sensor-cooking frozen vegetables — is right on the front panel, so now it's two button presses (FRZ VEG, START) instead of eleven. Also, it's extremely quiet. The one minor complaints I have about this Toshiba oven is that it takes a little while to master the feel of its membrane-switch front panel. But face it, you're never going to find a microwave oven that doesn't have membrane-switch controls, unless you buy a commercial-kitchen model that just has two knobs and no fancy features at all. This is about as close as you're ever likely to find to the perfect microwave oven. I salute you, Toshiba. IMPORTANT UPDATE: Pray that you never have a problem with it, because Toshiba outsources their customer service to an outfit called NIDEA. If Nidea decides that your problem requires a return or refund to resolve it, they will send you a document containing instructions for finding and printing your Amazon full invoice via steps that DO NOT EXIST, because their document is YEARS out of date and neither amazon.com, nor the Amazon mobile app, nor the Amazon order confirmation email, looks like that any more. You won't be able to convince them of this. They won't understand. They'll just keep sending you the same instructions that you cannot follow because the links and menus that they tell you to follow physically do not exist.

Nice looking and perfect size. Quiet and easy to use. Only thing is that the Reheat option Cooks a fraction too short or too long. The ends of my spaghetti were a little overcooked and my coffee was nearly boiling. Stew on the other hand, was only warm in middle. UPDATE: Purchased 2 mos ago & microwave just quit. It had been acting up a little for the last couple weeks, but chalked it up to user error since it was a different brand than my previous microwaves. Example: After finishing a cycle, the motor was still running even when I opened the door and removed the food. I had to open the door again, close it and hit stop once again to make it stop. A couple of times, the motor just stopped without warning and after opening and closing the door, it would start up again. I was not accustomed to the microwave & thought I was doing something wrong. I did some troubleshooting, but found nothing. For the next 2 wks it was OK. Until it wasn't. It quit altogether and never started again even after trying 2 other outlets. Of course it was 3 wka after Amazon return date. I wish Amazon had offered a little longer than one month return date. I was trying to give it the benefit of doubt because it was new to me, but I've had microwaves for 50 years (I'm 75) and I know it wasn't user error. Now I will see if Amazon is going to give me leeway on that expiration date. If not, I will contact the seller. I wi update this review soon.

Update: Toshiba has great customer service. They read that I had issues and sent me a replacement microwave. This one works great. Highly Recommended! Old Review: Worst microwave ever. Power button does NOTHING so you cant soften butter. The instructions care more about telling you not to put metal in it (duh) than telling you how to use it I wish I never bought this and will now never buy this brand again.

This review could change in the future, depending on my experience going forward. Have had this for a few days now. So far, it's the best microwave I've ever owned. I replaced a smaller 700 watt microwave, so naturally the extra wattage of this one makes reheating food, which I what I primary use a microwave for, so much more convenient. I like the sensor heating function although it doesn't work well for coffee or reheating mashed potatoes, but that was to be expected because the manual doesn't recommend the feature for liquids. It didn't mention mashed potatoes but I can tell you, that doesn't work either. However, using sensor heating for reheating meats is perfect. The microwave is very quiet. Seen a review on here from someone saying it was loud. Not sure what they're used to but this one barely makes a noise. My last microwave lasted 10 yeaars. We'll see how long this one lasts.

Wow - I'm impressed. Some background so you know we're I'm coming from: Our Tappen digital microwave from 1993 finally died - if only all my appliances had this sort of life! It was a 1000 watts with a turntable, but nothing fancy beyond that. For 32 years it served us well but one of the high-powered diodes died. Time to replace it. We didn't want a convection oven microwave combo, we already have a great convection oven. But I did want a microwave that used Inverter technology and had a few additional sensors. For me, it came down to a Panasonic or the Toshiba. They had nearly identical features, stats, and comparable dimensions. The deciding factor was the door handle - we wanted a door with a real handle, not one of the "push-button, pop open" doors. The Toshiba fit all criteria. The model we chose was the Toshiba ML-EM45PIT In black stainless trim. 1250 watts, inverter technology, temperature AND humidity sensors and several built-in cooking algorithms. This thing is practically silent. The first time we fired it up with a mug of water we both worried that we'd received a defective unit. But, in 20 seconds we had a steaming mug of water. It worked. Our second test was a medium-sized potato. For this I just pierced the skin a few times, placed it on a small ceramic plate and simply pressed the "potato" button. It didn't ask the size, it just put some numbers on the screen and the moisture sensor indicator lit up. In four minutes that oven stopped, I left the potato alone in the oven for another minute with the microwave off, then took it out. It was as close to great as I've ever seen from a microwave. No burning, perfectly cooked with only one tiny dry area. 9 out of 10 - I pressed one button and the microwave did the rest; the result was good. Next up was microwave popcorn. We don't eat it much, but I was in an experimenting mood. The oven has a popcorn button, you press it once for 1.75 oz size, twice for 3.0 oz size, and a third time for a larger size that I don't remember. Of course, ours was 2.5 oz and didn't fit any of those choices. So I selected the 3.0 oz size and figured I'd stop the oven when the popping stops. That ended up being 2 minutes - the popcorn was perfect with only 3 unpopped kernels and no burning whatsoever. I was impressed. 7 out of 10, nice job - but I did have to stop it myself. My last experiment was reheating a plate of food - leftovers. The big size comes into it's own here; it easily fits a large dinner plate. The oven has a sensor-driven "reheat" button that uses a temperature sensor to automatically adjust the cooktime and power. The manual says not to open the oven part way or it will throw off the temperature sensor ...so I didn't. I just let the oven do it's thing. The plate came out pretty good, all of the food was reheated, even without stirring or futzing - though some parts were not as hot as I would have liked. Another 10 seconds on high fixed that problem. 8 out of 10, the automatic setting was impressive, but I like my food very hot. Overall I'm impressed. The intelligent features and sensors are very nice and do a fairly good job - but they are not perfect. The inverter claims to be more even heat, that seems to be the case - but remember, my point of reference was a 32-year-old microwave. Still, it does appear to cook evenly. Appearance is subjective but I like the dark stainless. The real door handle is a winner for me... I hate those push-button doors. It's powerful! that 1250 watts shines when you want to heat water in very little time. Operationally - the thing is practically silent. Normally you hear fans, or a motor turning the turntable, but you really have to strain to hear those things with this Toshiba. Honestly, it's the biggest talking point in my house is how nearly silent it is. I guess our life just isn't that interesting! Recommend the Toshiba, and I do recommend the inverter technology. I can see a difference. UPDATE 4-November-2025: Now we've had this Toshiba ML-EM45PIT for about a month and a half. I have to say, we still love it. HOWEVER, this thing is powerful... maybe too powerful. We've learned there are very few things we can actually cook on high for amount of time without it absolutely irradiating it. It's not a bad, we simply select 80 or 90% power and things cook very well. But whenever any packaged food calls for xx-minutes on "High", we adjust it for the same amount of time on 80 or 90% power to get good results. The defrost feature is adequate, but nothing more. The oven is still super-quiet, it still amazes us how quiet this thing is ...it's spooky. Nevertheless - still recommended. It's a great microwave.

(1st review with first purchase) “After two years this corroded and rusted in the inside even after wiping it down after use each time. Manufacturer warranty is one for a year after purchase, don’t buy this. “ Updated June 2026 After this review, and I was surprised to be contacted by their After Sales Department Team (I didn’t know this existed) They contacted me, wanting to replace the microwave since their customer service team couldn’t help with the ongoing rust that was developing along the inside of the edges of the microwave, so we got the replacement and it’s working perfectly.

First of all: Toshiba is now part of Midea - I did not realize this until checking the owner's manual. No problem if they had kept Toshiba's original quality untouched, but this does not seem to be the case. Let's start with the owner's manual. It is really hard to read because the translation is extremely poor. I have attached a photo as reference. Grammar is awful: "The sensor will sound twice when the steaming was be emanated. The surplus time will displays, the buzzer will sound 5 beeps when finishing and the oven will turn back to the waiting states." Google Translate would have probably done a better job. Unboxing the actual device revealed a broken "Turntable ring assembly" (the plastics ring with wheels, on which the glass plate rests when rotating). Not a major flaw because it was still usable, but for a $200+ product this is another example of poor QC. Lastly the whole microwave would not firmly stand on our perfectly flat quartz countertop. The little legs are NOT adjustable and thus we have another case of terrible QC (or bad product design). It really does not give a quality feel at all, and I would recommend to just straight buy a Midea microwave for half the price. Not worth paying up. Alternatively, look for brands that are not yet sold and may take greater pride in decent quality control and product design choices: GE, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Viking... Wouldn't buy again, but got partial refund from Amazon and will keep using it as is.

A great microwave. Works very well. It matches my black stainless steel appliances perfectly. Very happy with this purchase.

Nice stylish look, quiet operation, like the handle opener and the shortcut time options. Delivery was prompt and within stated ETA.

Great Microwave, its very quiet, the cooking temps are excellent. Best kitchen appliance I have purchased in a long time at very good price

This blows my old Panasonic Genius out of the water. Silent, powerful.

Easy to use.