Once the timer is set, there is no way to turn it off until the timer goes off.  The toaster is very unpredictable, and we have burnt several things, even catching one item on fire.  The bottom catch tray is a nightmare to clean and quickly lost its finish. This toaster oven was bought to replace the 12 year old one in our small 3 person office, and we regret it without hesitation.  The older model we had was simple with less dials and options - sometimes keeping it simple is best.