Samsung - 1.7 Cu. Ft. Over-the-Range Microwave - Stainless Steel

I redid my kitchen a bit which allowed me to put in an over the range micro wave oven. Looking at the available offerings on Best Buy and other sites, this Samsung being sold by Best Buy had a great price compared to other brands. Since purchasing it, I did see that a major consumer magazine says they no longer recommend Samsung over the range microwaves due to reliability issues, but looking at online reviews it looks like there can be problems with any brand of microwave oven. I ordered this microwave online with curbside pickup and the process couldn't have gone any smoother. Best Buy notified me when the product was available for pickup and I was only at the store's curbside pickup spot for about five minutes when the Best Buy employee brought out the microwave. He was friendly and professional. My only concern at that point was that the cardboard box containing the microwave did have some damage to it, but when I got it home and unboxed it their was no apparent damage to the oven itself. The installation of the oven was pretty straight forward. It comes with a bracket for the back of the wall and two templates for that and for the holes required in the cabinet above the microwave. The microwave ships in the recirculating configuration, but I added a sidewall vent and ductwork so I had to rotate the twin blowers to the correct position. This procedure is pretty much the same for all over the range microwaves and it is easy to do. I mounted the oven by myself, but it is better to have a second person help as the oven weighs about fifty pounds and it would have been easier to install with a second set of hands. Overall I do like the microwave and it is a nice looking unit, but there are three things I wish were different. For some reason that I don't understand, Samsung has elected to have the colon between the digits of the clock blink continuously once it is set. I would have preferred the colon to blink while setting the time and to remain steady once the time is set, but they reversed this for some reason. Secondly, the touch keypad requires a very firm touch to activate anything. This is in stark contrast to the touch screen on the new Samsung range I just purchased from Best Buy which activates with the slightest touch (and also has a clock where the colon doesn't blink) much like a smart phone. Finally, the keypad is not backlit. This isn't unique to Samsung though, and appears to be the norm except on the most expensive models. None of these are deal killers, just minor annoyances. This is a nice looking microwave which so far is working well. It matches very well with the Samsung NE63T8311SS range I purchased from Best Buy (which has been great so far) and I am happy with it.

Microwave looks great and was easy to install myself. Not overly advanced so easy to operate.

The microwave oven is easy to use, straightforward to clean, and large. I like its easy-to-use functions; it does a great job of warming previously cooked food items.