Samsung AI Refrigerators Fail After Software Update, Prompting Apology and Service Calls

Samsung has halted a SmartThings software update for its refrigerators after some units shut down entirely when the update was applied. The issue began on September 22 in South Korea, days before the Chuseok holiday, with numerous owners reporting their smart fridges becoming unresponsive after tapping an update notification in the SmartThings app. Affected users described finding their fridges with no interior lighting, unresponsive touch panels, and no cooling, with some displays stuck on ‘updating’ and unable to reset even after power cycling. The problem primarily impacted the Bespoke AI 4-Door series launched from 2024 onwards, with Samsung attributing the issue to a system error that accidentally deployed internal test software to customers. The company has apologized publicly, advised users to book engineer visits for in-person inspections, and recommended moving food to ice boxes. However, some users reported that the booking system was overwhelmed, and service centers indicated that visits might not be possible until after the Chuseok holiday. Samsung Electronics Service confirmed it would keep engineers and call center staff on duty during the holiday for urgent cooling failures, with specific dates cited as September 26 and 27. The company has not disclosed the number of affected units or offered compensation for spoiled food, leading some users to resort to using dry ice as a temporary solution. The incident has sparked significant discussion on Samsung Members, the company’s community forum, with multiple posts detailing the issue and its impact on holiday preparations. Samsung has stopped the distribution of the problematic update and is working to resolve the issue, though the lack of transparency regarding the scale of the problem and potential compensation has left many customers frustrated.