A Samsung Electronics refrigerator that stopped working after a SmartThings update [Samsung Members website capture/Yonhap]
A Samsung Electronics refrigerator that stopped working after a SmartThings update [Samsung Members website capture/Yonhap]

A wave of consumer complaints has emerged after some Samsung Electronics refrigerators suddenly stopped working following a software update, raising fears of spoiled food ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

Posts flooded Samsung's product community forum Samsung Members and several home appliance and IT online communities Wednesday, with users reporting that their refrigerators had gone unresponsive after receiving a software update Tuesday afternoon through the SmartThings smart home platform.

One user said they had proceeded with the update after receiving a SmartThings notification, only to find the refrigerator was not working and had lost nearly all its cooling. "It's a product I bought less than a year ago," the user said.

Another user said ice cream had begun to melt and that they had moved all the food from the refrigerator into a kimchi refrigerator.

Frustration was particularly acute among consumers who had stocked up on groceries ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

"I bought meat and fruit for Chuseok and put them in the fridge, and now it looks like everything is going to spoil," one user wrote, adding that a service appointment had been scheduled for Monday at the earliest.

Another user described receiving a SmartThings update notification around 2 p.m. Tuesday, only to come home from work to find the refrigerator had stopped running and had lost nearly all its cooling. "On a holiday like this, I can't believe what a disaster this is," the user wrote.

As complaints mounted over the difficulty of getting prompt repairs, Samsung Electronics announced it would provide emergency repair service throughout the Chuseok holiday period.

Service centers will be closed Thursday and on Chuseok day Friday, but contact center agents and field engineers will be on emergency standby duty, with on-site service available for urgent cases such as refrigerator cooling failures.

According to Samsung Electronics, the problem occurred Tuesday when a software update was mistakenly pushed to some customers during a testing process.

Samsung said it halted the update rollout as soon as it became aware of the error and has assembled an emergency response team, with a target of completing repairs by Thursday at the latest.

All repair costs will be covered free of charge, and the company said it is reviewing whether to compensate customers for spoiled food.

"We will do our best to minimize inconvenience to our customers," a Samsung Electronics official said.


bbo@heraldcorp.com