Some Samsung smart refrigerators stopped working on Tuesday due to a firmware update.
Korean media were the first to report on the issues, which affect Samsung’s line of Bespoke AI refrigerators. Star News Korea, according to a translation provided by Google, said most of the affected devices were four-door refrigerators from 2024 or later.
The affected refrigerators “suddenly lost power and stopped working immediately afterwards” when attempting to issue a firmware update through SmartThings, Samsung’s smart home platform, according to Star News Korea. The SmartThings app then showed the devices as offline. Some users said their refrigerator’s internal screen was stuck and showing the message “Checking the SmartThings app during update.”
There are numerous reports on Samsung’s Korean community forum detailing the issue. Some users claim that their refrigerator has been affected for only a year or less.
“[T]The cooling and refrigeration functions themselves were not working normally, so all the food in the refrigerator had to be thrown away,” one user wrote, according to a translation.
Samsung did not respond to Ars’ questions about what it will do to prevent this from happening in the future or how many units are affected and in which countries. SBS Korea reported that customers have filed hundreds of cases.
The complaints appear to come only from Korea, where the problem has worsened because it occurs during a major Korean holiday, Chuseok, which celebrates the fall harvest and begins on Thursday.
“Customers only trusted Samsung Electronics and made an official update, but it’s so absurd and embarrassing that they can’t even use cooling and cooling functions before Chuseok,” wrote one forum user, according to a translation provided by Google.
