Customer Ratings & Reviews

Take the sound away, and this is a five star product. To be clear, this doesn't happen all the time. It's usually fairly quiet, and when it's actively making it ice it sounds a little like those old electric ice cream makers - maybe a little quieter. But every now and again, and I can't seem to find a consistent reason why, it starts with a whine and turns into a very loud grinding sound. I have video which is similar to others you'll find in other reviews. This goes on 10-15 minutes, and then it's back to normal. I'm glad I bought the extended warranty just in case. But, we do indeed love the ice.

Great ice maker. I drink way more water now and enjoy the crunchy texture of the ice. Only complaint is a design flaw; when you open the drawer that contains the ice, condensation that builds on the bottom of the drawer falls onto the drip pan (which is probably why they provide one).

The best ice maker, easy to use, fast, delicios, excellent

This was a Mother's Day gift for my wife. She loves this machine. At this point we've ran many gallons of water thought it without any problems. This was well worth the money. After my friends wife saw it he had to buy her one as well. If you love nugget ice you will not be disappointed.

Bought this for my wife as a Christmas gift she loves it easy to set and clean. Im not a ice eater but I often find myself eating her ice lol. Best purchase by far make that good sonic nugget ice

I’ve gone through three counter top I’ve makers over the last four years. Decided I would try this one, as I love nugget ice. This machine does not disappoint. Easy to set up, makes a good amount of ice, fairly quick, and is reasonably quiet when in operation. Very happy with my purchase

I bought the Opal 2.0 on February 17, 2024, and took meticulous care of it, including only using distilled water and cleaning it regularly. Exactly three weeks past the 1-year warranty period (in March 2025), it started making an extremely loud squealing noise. GE's customer support provided no useful advice. I watched numerous youtube videos and tried to fix it myself. I was able to narrow down the problem to an issue with either the motor or the auger element (as I can see the squealing happens as soon as ice is being produced and the auger stops moving at the same time as the noise. I tried numerous fixes from there (short of replacing the motor) and nothing worked. As a side point, after disassembling the Opal, I could see that all the interior elements were still very clean, e.g., there was no scale build-up or mold anywhere (unlike many of the videos I have seen). The ice itself is perfect (and I am a nugget ice junky). It's too bad the product is unreliable. If you do buy one, my strong suggestion is to buy an extended warranty for the maximum time available (Best Buy seems to offer 4-years). Haier purchased GE Appliances in 2016 along with the rights to continue to use the GE brand. My view is that they are not honoring the values GE is known for in terms of the quality of the products they are producing or how they stand behind them...a strict 1-year warranty is not suitable for this product.

Been using this ice maker for almost 2 months and it's better than expected. I makes great, chewable nugget ice in minutes. It does make a little noise but after a little time it's not even noticeable. Definitely worth the money.

I started off by purchasing a different brand/model from Best Buy that was about $130. Luckily for me, it was either defective or just a terrible machine. Had the first machine not been either defective or crappy- I would’ve never had the opportunity to purchase this machine. While I still believe this is a pricey machine, it’s a MILLION percent worth every single penny. The ice it produces is amazing! Seriously. Perfectly sized and soft enough for crunching. Every person who has tried the ice has loved it. My mom even brings a cup to fill up to take home with her on the days she comes to watch my daughter. My dad (a tough critic & man who cares only for the ‘finer’ things in life) has even mentioned that he wants to get one but space for it is limited in their home. My daughter (2) and niece (1) ask for “ice” all the time, as dessert! I’m not kidding. This machine has changed our lives. The only complaint I have is not finding it sooner!

My wife is an ice chewing "addict". I have mulled over the idea of purchasing a GE Opal Nugget Ice Maker for the better part of the last year. I was hesitant due to some negative comments about the first version of the machine. I decided to "pull the trigger" on the 2.0 version for her birthday, in November, 2020. The unit has worked flawlessly! It is in constant use. No obnoxious noises and perfect nugget ice every time. We do use only distilled water in it, and follow the cleaning instructions weekly, or bi weekly, on occasion. A little more expensive to go with distilled water, but no where near as expensive or inconvenient as going to Sonic or Chick-Fil-A 3 times a week to buy ice that isn't as good! We do not use the available water filter. The kids (College aged) love it too. We keep it in the small "Butler's Pantry", next to the coffee machine. I got myself all worked up writing about it......think I will get a glass full as soon as I complete this review. Stop hesitating. Buy......set up......ENJOY!!

Great ice maker, this is our second. The first worked/still works and I gave it to our daughter after buying the black one.

Makes ice very fast, easy setup and maintenance. I use Yeti cups and the ice stays solid very long, I go to sleep at night and wake up to ice on my water.

This is an amazing machine. The machine is fast and has made ice reliably. I wish the water tank was larger since we seem to have to fill it up every other day. I really like the WiFi control capabilities. We can schedule the ice maker to be quiet at night and produce ice early in the morning.

Absolutely love the nugget ice machine. It's perfect. The only issue I have is after I have had for about a month, it has started to make an odd noise like it is out of water, but the reservoir is full.

Makes a lot of noise and water drips out of the catchment tank when opening it to get ice. But it makes ice very fast and makes a lot.

This thing is the Bentley of ice makers I absolutely love it and it’s incredibly easy to use I have a large family and we never run out of ice finally

Great machine! Love the ice it produces. Cleaning and maintenance of the machine is a bit cumbersome but it's overall a good experience using this machine. The app needs some work and scheduling ice never works for me.

Great addition to the bar. Makes great ice for drinks. A little more dense than sonic ice, but good none the same. Love the fact it has an app that you can turn on the machine before you leave work and have Ice when you get home. Great purchase.

Great ice maker. I have been looking for an ice maker that makes Sonic ice and there are not many around. This one as close to Sonic ice I could find without spending several thousand dollars. The reviews said it made a lot of noise, but the model I have is not that loud.

Love this product. Perfect ice, made fast. Ability to control via app and set up schedules to turn on and off are very handy. Definitely recommend getting the one with the extra reservoir, otherwise you will be filling this constantly.