Samsung - 24.6 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator with Thru-the-Door Ice and Water - Stainless steel

I bought this in 2014 from Best Buy. It worked great for a few years but started showing issues in late 2017. Around that time, I started to hear a loud grinding sound from the fridge. At first it was minimal, so I didn't think too much of it. However, within a day or two, the sound grew to that of a jackhammer. Constantly grinding and would only stop when the fridge would turn to 'defrost' mode. After another day, the sounds stopped completely. I chalked it up to an issue that the fridge must have been able to process on its own and moved on with my day. About two days after the grinding stopped, I noticed that my fridge was noticeably warmer. Milk not as cold. Meats not as cold. That caused me to search for potential issues online, and boy, was a shocked to see how common this problem is for people with this (and other) Samsung refrigerators. From my research, it looks like there are 2 main problems: 1) The small drain hole below the coils will fill with ice, causing the defrost cycle to send water all over the bottom of your fridge (underneath the slide out tray). Some have had this to such a point that water will run out of the fridge doors and onto the floor 2) The far upper right-hand corner of the fridge (where there are a few exposed condenser coils) will build up with ice. This is the issue that I have. After some time, this buildup will turn into a large iceberg and will run over into the evaporator fan, causing the annoying jackhammer sound of the fan grinding into the ice. Every 2 weeks, I am forced to unload the contents of my fridge and place them into a mini fridge I had to purchase. I then take off the back panel, expose the iceberg, and hit it with a hair dryer for about 20 - 30 min to melt all of the ice buildup. The fridge works 'good as new' for about 10 days, then the faint rumblings start again and build up to jackhammer volume and the process starts all over again. I've seen it said that issue one can cause issue two, but I'm not quite sure if that is accurate or not. A lot of theories out there, but no reliable fixes just yet. Samsung will even 'advise' that you raise/level the front of your fridge, but this does nothing to solve the issue at all. While Samsung packs in nice styling and features into their refrigerators, none of that matters when it can't accomplish the foundational goal of keeping your food at a nice, cool temperature. The worst part of all, Samsung does not admit that there is any known issue with these refrigerators! A quick search on their own user forums will show otherwise. Do yourself a favor and call your local appliance repair company prior to your purchase and ask for their thoughts on Samsung products. I guarantee that most will offer a quick laugh and say that they won’t even service Samsung appliances as Samsung will not stand behind their products and suffer from fundamentally flawed designs. Please, save yourself from this albatross. Stay far away from Samsung appliances!

Bought this at Best Buy without reading the reviews which was a mistake. The features on this stainless steel unit are nice, but many problems with it from my perspective. Biggest problem is that the ice maker leaks out water from shoot each time it is used. The geek squad guy came out and told me the ice maker which is located in the refrigerator area has its own coil to make the ice, but has to get cold air blown up along the back from the freezer area below to help the ice maker compartment stay colder since it is located in the refrigerator section. There was water condensing and freezing along top inside portion of the ice compartment. A teaspoon or more of water leaks out each time I dispense ice from the ice dispenser on the front of the fridge. Something tells me that having the ice make in the refrigerator section is a problem for Samsung with this model at least. The Geek Sq guy checked it out and called back to HQ in California or wherever he talked to the top technician and they decided nothing wrong with the ice maker to be fixed. They blamed it on high humidity in Colorado at this time of year!. The solution they said I had to use was to turn off the energy efficiency button selection which would help reduce humidity in the fridge. Also I must set the freezer temperature to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower according to them in order to make the air from the freezer that pumps up to the ice maker colder so that water would not form. Well, the Geek guy turned off my energy efficiency setting and turned the freezer down to 0 Fahrenheit and it did not fix the problem. I think it is a problem that the ice maker will not work properly in various temps the freezer gives you the choice of to choose from. Why make temps like +5 Fahrenheit a choice on the freezer if it will not allow the ice maker to work properly. I like plus 5 as my preference so freezes ice cream in freezer at the level I like to have it at so it is easier to dip from carton! Anyway, just tried out the ice maker; and the fix by the Geek Sq guy of turning off the efficiency setting and lowering the freezer temp to 0 Fahrenheit did not fix the water dripping out of the ice dispenser shoot on this next day! My previous Sears refrigerator ice dispenser never had this problem, so not sure why this expensive Samsung does have this problem. Other thing about this unit I am not very satisfied with is the wide drawer design that goes across the whole length of the bottom of the refrigerator area. My spouse insists on putting things in it, but to get anything out of it, you have to open both of the big refrigerator doors which lets much more cold air out. I would prefer that the drawer not go across the length of the refrigerator compartment or at least have some way of opening just one half of this drawer or just to make it a shelf so that it did not require opening both doors to open the drawer. Unable to convince my spouse not to put often used food in the wide drawer that we use on a daily basis, so have to open both sides of fridge at once on a daily basis. Biggest problem I have currently with this unit is that it is dripping water out of the ice maker shoot when dispensing ice and that there are condensation ice particles forming inside the ice maker. And I agree with those that say that the cubed ice comes out chipped up to some extent at times and the ice maker is pretty noisy compared to my old unit. Colorado not always this humid and typically very dry most of the year, but what about all those that buy this unit that live in a humid area? Can none of them use the freezer temperature range they want to and do their ice makers drip water out of them each time they dispense ice????? Not good. Supposedly too late to return it to Best Buy for something else. Guess their agreement states they will give me something else if I have them out for 3 house calls on this and not satisfied. May go that route. Other final comment. This unit had a tag on it for energy efficiency at Best Buy that looked very good with a cost of around $48 per year to use it. But the one delivered to me said it was more like $60 per year. Went back to Best Buy to ask what was with the discrepancy and they apologized and said the rating had been updated by the government but they had just not put the new rating on their floor model. Arggggg.

After much research, I decided to purchase this particular refrigerator. Like you, you may go through the next 100+ reviews and find that they are mixed -- so you wonder if this is the refrigerator for you. Let me state up front that most of these reviewers have NEVER READ THE MANUAL. Here, I will address the most common complaints: 1. Fingerprints on Stainless Steel: First and foremost almost everyone knows that this is going to happen with any make or model that has a Stainless Steel exterior - so this should come as an invalid complaint. Just clean with Stainless Steel cleaner and move on! 2. Water dripping - Read the manual where this is addressed: After installation, run 2 gallons of water through the system (about 3 cups at the time to minimize compressor heat) and this should eliminate dripping. If it continues, then the connection is not right. Also, manual clearly states to keep your cup under the dispenser for a full second. 3. The Ice Maker - Some have complained about a Crushed Ice/Cubed Ice mix -- again, addressed in the manual. One also needs to know that ice that is made in the first 24 hours should be discarded and that it takes a full 12 hours after installation for the first ice to appear. A couple of reviews complained that the ice is white and not clear (ridiculous - who cares?) -- again this is addressed in the manual. Lastly, about ice, it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to know to keep your cup under the dispenser until it's finished, or you will get ice on the floor. 4. Some claim their unit is quiet while others state noisy -- mine is very quiet. Noises that may come from inside (again, read your manual folks!#. To me, the only legitimate complaint would be scratches on the doors at the time of installation. Several suggestions: 1. Go ahead and buy a water filter replacement now. 2. Purchase a Belkin Cube Surge Protector #less than $10# for your refrigerator. 3. I know it's hard to know upfront, but if you can move your shelves upward or downward #a nice feature of this refrig) at the time you are loading it, you'll be glad you did. -- I am very pleased with Best Buy's installation and they made the entire process from sale to delivery a pleasure. LLJ

I was excited to get this French door fridge, but I seriously regret this purchase. Previous to this, I had a side by side fridge with an enormous ice maker (in the door) and plenty of shelf space. But it was knocking and when the ice maker broke, we knew we needed a new fridge. I often entertain and the feature of this fridge I liked was the ability to store large trays across the fridge, something I couldn't do with a side by side. In the store, the fridge was well-lit on the inside, and it looked to have tons of storage space. Equally important, the freezer section had two drawers and looked like it could store a lot. Once I got it home, I realized several negative issues. Firstly, the doors. The manual says if they are more than half-way closed, they will close the rest of the way. This is not true. They require a rather forceful push to close. Anything less than a slam, results in the door being bounced right back at you. I called to have it repaired then went back to Best Buy, and sure enough, even the model on the floor did not close without considerable effort. If you have small children, this fridge will spend a lot of time with a carelessly left open door. The second issue is the lighting. Sure, when it's empty, like on the showroom floor, it looks bright. Put more than two things on the top shelf, and the entire cavity darkens. There are lights in the lower drawers but they don't keep it well lit. The third, and not an insignificant issue is the freezer. All of the items that I removed from my side by side, did not fit into this freezer. Not only that, but frozen weight watcher meals and other boxed items that I could clearly see in my old model, are now tossed into a bin in this thing. I added a plastic basket to the top shelf to store bagged vegetables, something the fridge should have come with, but still, to find anything, you have to bend over and dig deep. The ice maker takes a few seconds to dispense Ice and it can't be done with the right door open. The ice storage area is very small and with all the ice I make, I'm not sure this will handle my needs. The last issue is the storage of tall items. There is very little room in this fridge for door items and some of the shelves, particularly those on the left side door, can't fit anything at all. There's a narrow shelf across from the ice maker that could only store a juice packet or an envelope of apple sauce. Fitting my previous door items into these doors was like doing a jigsaw puzzle; things could only go in limited areas. Very frustrating. There are good features to this fridge, I love the long drawer at the bottom of the fridge. The drawers for veggies and fruit are clear and visible. The shelves are not as flexible as I'd like them to be either. Overall I would not recommend this model. Get a really good side by side, you'll see everything you have on hand.

We decided to go with the black stainless finish because it was advertised as smudge resistant and we loved the new color. We also liked having the freezer on the bottom and have always been happy with Samsung appliances (and we have bought quite a few of them over the past few years). The fact that we can use the fourth compartment as a freezer or fridge is a nice feature too. Reasons for only 3 stars: Reason #1 - The handles have shiny silver strips that show every fingerprint and smudge right where you touch it the most. Reason #2 - We purchased counter depth so that it would look more like a built-in and not stick out as far. However, the doors couldn't be opened unless we pulled it out far enough from the sidewall and cabinets on the other side to open the doors as they extend an additional 3.25" on each side when open. So be aware that in order to open the doors you need to add 6.5" to the width when doing the layout for your kitchen or pull the fridge out 7" beyond the cabinets/walls so that you will be able to open the doors without hitting anything. So how can it be considered counter depth? We kept the fridge as my husband had already discarded the box and didn't want to go through the process of trying to return and exchange it. I wish we would have just gotten the standard depth at the much lower price as it would have stuck out just as far and given us the extra storage space inside. We were only going by the overall dimensions for the space when planning our new kitchen remodel & switched to the counter depth model over the phone prior to delivery. Reason #3 - Apparently it is taller than most standard refrigerators (according to the designer at "Cabinets To Go") and our new over the fridge cabinet hit the hinges on the fridge. We had given the exact dimensions including height to "Cabinets To Go" and they still assumed it was what they considered standard height. There was no returning or exchanging the cabinet as we had signed off on the pickup slip. My husband was able to modify the cabinet to fit and you can't tell that he had to cut the cabinet. So, it was just annoying, took more time and expense. So be aware of this if you are trying to get it to fit into an existing space or are ordering new cabinets. FYI ... "Cabinets To Go" had the worst customer service EVER!!! We thought we were saving money on the cabinets and that was a huge mistake. Best Buy has always been great to work with which is why I gave it at least 3 stars, so no complaints there other than it would have been nice to know about the doors taking so much room to open that it can't be flush with the counters.

We have owned different brands of refridgerators over the years and can honestly say that this one, without question, is the worst ever! The features that sold us were the convenient shelf adjustments, soft LED lighting, crisper drawers, long fresh food drawer with 3 different temp settings and the french door design with bottom freezer. We were also told of the great quality of the Samsung brand when it comes to refridgerators. It does have ample room for larger items in the top portion and seemed to be a good upgrade from our old side-by-side. The delivery day came on Jan. 3, 2013 and the crew were kind and courteous. We noticed a plastic wheel was missing from the slide out drawer in the bottom freezer. We found the wheel in the street where the delivery crew was putting it together before bringing it inside. Anyone can make a mistake and we were not upset at all, especially since it hadn't been run over by any passing cars. The wheel went on with no problem. After a day, we noticed a loud noise coming from the left rear of the unit which seemed to be the compressor. The noise continued to get louder over the next couple of days, lasting up to 5 minutes at a time. We called service to have someone come out to look at it. That's where our next surprise came from. We live next to a large metropolitan area, but the closest service center is 92 miles away! That told us immediately that Samsung applianaces do not have any kind of maintenance support. The noise continues to get louder. We decided that any appliance that has a major issue a day or two into ownership is not worth keeping around. We've traveled that road before with other products. So the fridge is going back and the service appointment will be cancelled. The ice dispenser is very sluggish and won't give any ice until the lever has been activated for a few seconds. Like I said before, absolutely the worst fridge ever! Huge disappointment from Samsung. This was our first attempt at a Samsung appliance and will definitely be our last!

I was determined to buy a LG, because I wanted the dual ice makers and on the door there was a tab to push for the water and a tab for the ice, so you didn't have to push buttons to exchanged between them. I went to Best Buy in Ontario, Ohio where the sales lady went over all the features with me on all the manufacturers and I'm so glad she did. She knew her products and was patient. I decided on the Samsung for several reasons like, when you pull the middle drawer out, it can go under the doors, where on most the doors had to be totally open all the way to get drawer opened. The biggest reason too is in the freezer, when you open the freezer door the top shelve comes out first on top and you do not have to reach inside to pull the top drawer out, when all others you had too. The ice maker is bigger in the Samsung then most and that does help, since there wasn't 2. The ice makers now are alot smaller then on older models. It is built very nice, inside not flimsy. I also like the 2 gallon size holders on the door, I needed that space. I got the black stainless steel and really like it, was worried about finger prints, but that is not a problem. Some say the ice maker is loud, yes it is when only it is dropping ice into the holder. If you purchase one. I highly recommend doing what they suggest, like running a gallon of water thru the water dispenser at first, I ran at least that much to get all the air out of the lines, then it never dripped after that, and throw away the first couple days of ice. It took 2 days before the ice maker was fully full, but works great. I'm very happy with this purchase and would recommend it to any one.

We bought this Samsung product because we have always trusted Samsung. Three days after getting the fridge strange stains started showing in the finish that looked like rust. WIthin a week the entire freezer door was covered with this brown spots. I submitted a claim to Samsung and have been fighting with them for more than three months. I followed all Samsung's cleaning recommendations including using WD40 but the spots are part of the finish and nthing removes it. The service center Samsung sent said that the finish was a factory defect but Samsung refuses to replace the doors claiming this was a cosmetic issue only. I noticed posts online that show Samsung was replacing these doors at one point even replacing some people's doors two or three times. Samsung knows they have an issue but have decieded not to replace any more doors. I plan to return this fridge back to Best Buy. It is a factory defect and Samsung is not taking any responsibility. I have attached a couple of pictures of the defective finish. Is anyone else having this issue?