Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, and Kenmore Bypass Plug: One Part, Four Brands (W11395888)

The Whirlpool-family bypass plug is the friendliest in the industry, because one part number — W11395888 — covers the quarter-turn filter slots shared across Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, and Kenmore 106-series machines (all built by Whirlpool Corporation on common platforms). Older machines used WP61003791, which superseded the original 12664501. Install is a quarter-twist into the same slot your EveryDrop cartridge occupies; no flushing, no settings beyond a filter-light reset. This guide covers which plug your machine takes, the one-part-four-brands story, installation, and the honest bypass decision.

The reason a single guide serves four door badges: Whirlpool Corporation sells all of these brands from one refrigeration platform, and the EveryDrop filter system (Filter 1–6) is common across them. The filter slot does not know which logo is on the door — it knows which cartridge family it accepts. So KitchenAid and Maytag owners searching their own brand name for a bypass plug land on the same Whirlpool part, usually without realizing the brands are siblings. (The full platform story, including how the Filter 1–5 numbering works across badges, is in the Whirlpool change guide.)

Quick Answer: Which Plug for Which Machine

The Kenmore intercept matters enough to repeat: Kenmore is a Sears label, not a factory. Model prefix 106 = Whirlpool-built (this page applies); 253 = Frigidaire-built; 795 = LG-built; 363 = GE-built. The Kenmore decoder turns this into a ten-second lookup, and the all-brands bypass hub lists the other manufacturers’ plug numbers.

When ordering, cross-check your refrigerator model number (sticker inside the fresh-food compartment, usually on a side wall) against the listing’s fitment list — the supersession chain means search results show all three numbers (12664501 / WP61003791 / W11395888) at once, which confuses until you know they are the same part’s history.

Why Whirlpool-Family Owners Bypass

1. The bridge case. Whirlpool’s push-in base-grille housings mostly dispense nothing with an empty slot, and the interior quarter-turn slots likewise expect occupancy. Cartridge out, replacement shipping — plug in, water and ice restored in a minute.

2. Upstream treatment exists. A whole-house system or under-sink RO ahead of the fridge line makes the EveryDrop stage a redundant third pass. RO effluent through a fridge carbon block gains nothing measurable; the plug deletes one $40–60 consumable and one reminder from the household. (What adequate upstream sizing looks like: whole-house guide.)

3. Damaged housing pending repair. Whirlpool base-grille housings crack when stuck cartridges are levered out — the stuck-filter escalation guide covers extraction, and the plug keeps the fridge in service while the housing ships. This pairing (extract → bypass → repair) is the quiet mainstream of bypass-plug purchases.

The refused case: plain tap, bypassing for savings. The EveryDrop cartridges’ claim set (42 aesthetic, 53 health on most, 401 pharmaceuticals on Filters 1–4 — the NSF 42 vs 53 breakdown covers what each means) is worth roughly $5–8/month in cartridges. Whether forfeiting that is trivial depends on your water: the utility’s annual report settles it in ten minutes (how to read it). And the filter light that inspired the bypass idea is a timer with a reset, not a sensor — four causes of lights that stay on.

Installation: The Quarter-Turn, Both Slot Styles

Interior quarter-turn slots (Filter 2/4/5 and current-generation filter positions): open the slot cover or flip-down tray; twist the old cartridge a quarter-turn counterclockwise and pull it out along its axis (towel ready). Push the plug in and rotate clockwise to the positive stop. Same engagement as a cartridge; no caps, no O-rings to handle, no flush.

Base-grille slots (Filter 1/3 push-in family): press the eject button fully and hold it while pulling the cartridge straight out; release the button; push the plug straight into the bore until the latch clicks. If the slot’s button ejects the cartridge but the plug resists insertion, the bore has debris or a retained O-ring fragment from the old cartridge — clean it before forcing anything (a fragment there is also the #1 cause of post-change leaks).

After either style: reset the filter status light per your panel (Whirlpool-family panels: dedicated filter button held ~5 seconds, or the Light+Options hold, by panel generation — the Whirlpool reset guide has the full matrix, including the door-switch trick for buttonless legacy panels). The light will return in six months; it is counting time, not sensing water.

Towel-test the seam after the first dispense. A weep at the plug base on a confirmed-fit part points to a scored bore (extraction damage), not the plug.

The One-Part-Four-Brands Caveat

W11395888’s coverage is broad but not literally universal across two decades of machines, and the listing’s fitment list is the binding source. The failure mode of assuming universality is the same everywhere: a plug that seats slightly proud leaves the inlet valve unseated — a slow weep on interior slots, usually nothing at all on base-grille slots. The thirty-second model-number check at order time eliminates the entire class of wrong-part returns. Given Whirlpool-family machines outnumber every other platform in US kitchens, the odds a household contains one are high — which is exactly why counterfeit-adjacent universal listings cluster around this part number. Buy from channels that name the part number and enumerate fitment.

FAQ

Will my KitchenAid take the Whirlpool bypass plug?

If it uses EveryDrop Filter 1–6 slots (all current KitchenAid refrigeration does — KitchenAid is Whirlpool Corporation), the W11395888 family plug is the one to check against your model. KitchenAid’s high-end built-ins with alternate filter positions are the exception class; the fitment list decides.

Does the filter light stop with the plug in?

No. The status light is a six-month timer with no cartridge sensing. Reset it at install; it returns every six months indefinitely. The reset guide covers every panel generation including legacy door-switch models.

Can I run my Whirlpool fridge with an empty slot and no plug?

Mostly you get no dispenser flow — the housing inlet seats against the cartridge/plug neck. Some housing revisions weep instead. The plug is the designed empty-slot state either way; towel-test if you run the slot bare in the interim.

My old filter number was 12664501 — is that still the part?

12664501 → WP61003791 → W11395888 is the supersession chain for the same bypass function. Current listings route all three numbers to the current part; ordering any of them should land you the W11395888-family plug, but confirm the fitment list includes your model.

Sources & References

• Whirlpool-family parts channels (Whirlpool / KitchenAid / Maytag parts listings) — W11395888 part identity and cross-brand fitment; supersession chain 12664501 → WP61003791. Official documentation.
• Whirlpool Product Help — cartridge replacement motions per slot style. Official documentation.
• EveryDrop filter platform documentation — Filter 1–6 commonality across Whirlpool Corporation brands. Official documentation.
• Kenmore prefix decoding — Sears-parts-catalog conventions; Industry expert analysis/Community discussion (paraphrased).
• Empty-slot behavior by housing revision — Community discussion（no-flow vs. weep; labeled inferred）.

Related Guides

• How to Change a Whirlpool Refrigerator Water Filter — the platform story (Filter 1–6 across four door badges) behind one-part-fits-all.
• Whirlpool Water Filter Stuck? 5 Fixes — the extraction that often precedes a bypass purchase.
• Refrigerator Water Filter Bypass Plug: All Brands — the hub for non-Whirlpool machines in the same household.
• How to Reset a Whirlpool Refrigerator Water Filter — the reminder cleanup, all panel generations.

Get the right cartridge: Whirlpool refrigerator water filters