Bosch - 500 Series 26 Cu. Ft. French Door Smart Refrigerator with QuickIcePro - Stainless Steel

We went from a Side by Side model to a French Door version. We have had this fridge for a month now and really like it. Pros: - This fridge is very quiet - There is a lot of storage space both fridge and freezer - You can fit more items on the door shelves on the ice maker side than in other models. - The top freezer shelf pulls all the way out unlike some models. - it is much easier to organize food in the freezer section than it was in our side by side - My wife loves the water bottle fill feature (NOTE: you must watch it, if the bottle has water in it the fill feature will fill the bottle to the very top. We usually just tap the button to stop it) Things to consider - The 500 series isn't as well lit as the 800 series. With that said I have had no issues finding food in it - the water dispenser stream angles to the back and not straight down - the crisper drawer on the ice maker side cant open all the way if the other door is closed, however it opens far enough to where I can get what I need from it - a forth drawer separate from the main fridge for meat and cheeses would be nice to reduce opening both doors but that was only and option in the 800 series which is back ordered and too tall for our space. - When we first got it we stored our food in coolers to let it get to the correct temperature as per Bosch's recommendation. - read the manual there are a ton a refrigeration features for this model. We are definitely happy with our purchase

Overall, a great refrigerator. The good: Love the level of customization of most settings, including lighting, and ease of making adjustments. This is my first French door, though the appliance footprint is identical to the side by side it replaced, there is more usable space in both refrigerator and freezer. Love the variable shelf, which gives extra space for tall items. The bottle fill feature is great, though I have it set for typical recipe amount rather than water bottle; I don't have a water bottle that would fit in the height of the dispenser cavity. I have an 800 series dishwasher, the stainless finish on this refrigerator is definitely less fingerprint prone and easier to care for. The bad: Ice maker has condensation that drips into top door shelf behind dispenser bump, makes that shelf unusable. Freezer always has a small amount of frost buildup on top inner surface at door; opening and closing top freezer drawer scrapes ice crystals into drawer, inside of main freezer drawer also has small.amount of ice buildup at top edge. Would like to be able to adjust frequency tone for door ajar warnings; I have tinnitus and can't hear it, though everyone else in household can. As long as I have my phone with me I get notification, but I would like to be able to hear it on Occasionally, when changing from cubes to crushed ice will dispense a full glass or more of cubes before crushed starts to dispense. App shows temperature settings but doesn't appear to show actual current temperature. When door is left open for extended period temperature in app still shows set temperature rather than expected lower temperature with door open. Would like to check temperature drop after power restored in case of outage.

I just purchased the new Bosch 500 26 cubic foot refrigerator. I was excited to see they finally came out with a full size. Pros: Love the interior and the see through drawers and shelves, and the stainless steel back. The door shelves are large and fit more than my previous refrigerator. All the drawers roll smoothly and are quiet. The water dispenser is great as it angles back and doesn’t spray. The opening to the dispenser is much taller and will fit a bottle and has a hands free fill. The freezer has lots of storage. Cons: The water/ice dispenser is a little high for kiddos. If you have a home with teens it’s fine but the littles will struggle to reach. The biggest drawback for me is the lack of interior lighting, it looked perfect until I started filling it with groceries. The two side lights just aren't enough, and for the $3000 price tag I would expect more. The top shelves are dark because of this and could use a light above. The ice maker doesn't hold a ton and I was disappointed when it was removed to empty the first batch of ice. It definitely holds more than ice makers that are built into the door, but not as much as others with ice makers built into the refrigerator. It claims to be fingerprint resistant which is not the case. It has a door alarm but it doesn’t work if the door is touching but not closed all they way. It senses the mullion which is the strip that creates a seal when the two doors are closed. The air vents are positioned in inconvenient places and will freeze your food. You definitely need to be strategic when stocking the refrigerator or you’ll end up with frozen eggs. I never paid attention to air vents before and couldn’t tell you where they were placed as this was never an issue. We needed a repair man right after install because one of the doors would not stay open and kept swinging shut while stocking. It’s basically a design flaw according to the repair person. Most doors will stay open until you shut them. If your floor isn’t perfectly level these doors will close. Made in China. I have all Bosch appliances and this was the missing piece. It’s a beautiful appliance but has room for improvement in my opinion.