Last week, just before South Korea’s Chuseok holiday break, thousands of Samsung smart refrigerator owners faced a sudden and critical failure as their appliances abruptly lost power and ceased functioning. Users reported blank screens or messages stating “Checking SmartThings app during update” or “offline,” with some fridges completely losing refrigeration capacity—exposing food to room temperature in affected units.
The malfunction primarily impacted Samsung’s Bespoke AI 4-Door refrigerators released in 2024 or later, devices marketed for their ability to monitor contents via internal cameras and suggest recipes using Google Gemini technology. One user praised the feature as “saving serious time and cutting down on forgotten, expired groceries.”
Samsung confirmed the incident occurred on September 22 during an internal software update test, stating it immediately suspended testing upon receiving reports of the issue and activated emergency protocols. The company clarified that the problem was limited to South Korea with no impact on overseas markets. However, consumer reports revealed users were repeatedly told by Samsung support that “employees have left for the day” when seeking repairs, and in some cases, no emergency response team was deployed despite claims of requiring immediate action.
The incident unfolded just prior to South Korea’s Chuseok holiday—a cultural celebration running from September 24–26—leaving households without refrigeration as they prepared for the holiday season.
