1 MΩ resistor colour code (1M)
E6 series
1 MΩ reads as Brown · Black · Green in bands. With ±5% it may sit anywhere from 950000 Ω to 1050000 Ω.
Five bands
The first two bands are digits; the third is how many zeros follow. The gold band at the end is the ±5% tolerance.
- Value
- 1000000 Ω
- 4k7 notation
- 1M
- Four bands
- Brown · Black · Green · Gold
- Five bands
- Brown · Black · Black · Yellow · Gold
- Multiplier
- ×10⁵
- Tolerance
- ±5%
- Actual range
- 950000 – 1050000 Ω
- Series
- E6 series · E12 series · E24 series
Which end to start from · The tolerance band sits a little apart from the rest. Start from the crowded end. If you can see gold or silver, that band is the last one.
Same decade
The same twenty-four values repeat with a different number of zeros — 47 Ω, 470 Ω and 4.7 kΩ all start with the same two colours.
Nearby values
How to read this
- Colours are digits: black 0, brown 1, red 2, orange 3, yellow 4, green 5, blue 6, violet 7, grey 8, white 9.
- The third band counts the zeros. Yellow, violet, red means 47 with two zeros — 4.7 kΩ.
- A five-band resistor reads three digits, so its multiplier band drops by one step.
- The tolerance band sits slightly apart, which is how you know which end is the back.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What are the colour bands for 1 MΩ?
Brown · Black · Green · Gold in four bands, or Brown · Black · Black · Yellow · Gold in five.
Q. How is 1 MΩ read?
The first two digits are 10, followed by 5 zeros, giving 1000000 Ω. In short form, 1M.
Q. What is the real value once tolerance is counted?
At ±5% it lies between 950000 Ω and 1050000 Ω.
Q. Is 1 MΩ a common value?
It belongs to E6. That is the coarsest series, so it turns up everywhere.