"I came home from work and the refrigerator had stopped. What do I do?"
Some Samsung Electronics refrigerators stopped working after a software update, prompting the company to launch an emergency recovery effort as users reported losing cooling and finding melted ice cream.
Refrigerators That Optimize Cooling With AI Go Dark After Update
Some Samsung Electronics Bespoke AI refrigerators pair an AI inverter compressor with the company's SmartThings smart home platform to learn usage patterns and optimize cooling, according to industry sources on the 23rd. SmartThings' AI energy-saving mode also adjusts power consumption to match how the refrigerator is used.
But starting on the 22nd, posts began appearing on Samsung Members, Samsung Electronics' online product community, reporting that refrigerators were not working properly after users updated the software through SmartThings.
"I got home around 7 p.m. and the light inside the refrigerator was off and it was losing cooling," one user wrote. "I have holiday food and even a gift of galbi, and I don't know what to do with everything in the freezer."
Another user said the ice cream had started to melt and that they had rushed food from the refrigerator into a kimchi refrigerator. "I got an update notification and went ahead with it, but it stopped working and the cooling is almost gone. I bought it less than a year ago," another post said.
Some users said repairs did not immediately fix the problem. "The refrigerator lost power completely on Saturday evening, and we scrambled to fill it with ice," one user wrote. "A technician didn't come until Tuesday and replaced the broken main board." Other posts said technicians could not complete repairs on site due to parts issues and other problems.
Some users said turning the power off and on, or flipping the circuit breaker, did not restore operation. With many households having stocked up on food ahead of the Chuseok holiday, users are also calling for clear standards for compensation for spoiled food.
Samsung Electronics Says Recovery by the 24th, Repairs Free of Charge
Samsung Electronics said the problem was not a mechanical defect in the refrigerators or an outage affecting all of SmartThings, but arose during a software update carried out on the afternoon of the 22nd. Software intended for internal testing was mistakenly distributed to some general customers, causing the refrigerators to malfunction, the company said.
Samsung Electronics halted further distribution of the update as soon as it identified the error. It then activated an emergency response team on the 23rd to begin restoring affected products, with the goal of completing the work by the 24th at the latest, when the holiday begins.
The company said it will cover all repair costs arising from the error. It also plans to contact customers who have not yet filed a service request individually so they can receive the necessary work. Customers whose refrigerators showed problems with power or the screen after the update can get support through Samsung Electronics service centers.
The remaining issue is damage to food that was inside the refrigerators. Users are calling for specific measures setting out how they can be compensated if meat, fruit and frozen food bought ahead of Chuseok has spoiled.
Samsung Electronics said it is reviewing specific compensation measures, including for spoiled food. "We are currently reviewing specific compensation measures, including free repairs," a company official told Newsis. "We will do our best to minimize inconvenience to customers."
