Samsung released a firmware update on Tuesday, which caused some of its smart fridges to stop functioning. The update affects Samsung’s Bespoke AI line of fridges, with most of the affected devices being four-door models from 2024 or later.
The fridges suddenly lost power and stopped working after attempting to install the firmware update via SmartThings, Samsung’s smart home platform. The SmartThings app then showed the devices as offline, and some users reported that their fridge’s internal display was stuck showing the message 'Checking SmartThings app during update.'
Numerous reports on Samsung’s Korean community forum describe the problem, with some users claiming they have owned their affected fridge for less than a year. One user wrote, 'The refrigeration and refrigeration functions themselves did not work normally, so all the food in the refrigerator had to be disposed of.'
Samsung did not respond to Ars’ questions about the number of affected units or how many countries are impacted. SBS Korea reported that hundreds of cases have been filed, and the complaints seem to originate only from Korea, where the issue has worsened due to the timing of the update during the Chuseok holiday.
Samsung stopped issuing the update as of September 23 and aims to have some fridges fixed by September 24. A Samsung representative posted a response on the forum, stating that an error occurred during the testing process for a refrigerator software update and that emergency measures are being taken through Samsung Electronics Service Centers.
Source: arstechnica
