What happened
On 22 and 23 September 2026, Samsung Members forum posts claimed that Samsung refrigerators had stopped working after a firmware update from the company's SmartThings platform. Customers reported fridges going offline, internal lights failing and cooling and freezing no longer working. Fortune says the update appeared to affect the Bespoke AI 4-Door series released in 2024 or later.
The outage coincided with Chuseok, the major Korean harvest holiday that began on Thursday 24 September and is marked by preparing a large family meal. One owner wrote that Samsung had told them to update, that their meat was about to spoil and that a repair visit would not be possible until 1 October. Another said Samsung told them quick action was impossible because everyone had gone home.
A forum moderator acknowledged that on 22 September 'an error occurred during the testing process for a Samsung refrigerator software update' and that abnormal symptoms had been seen in the power and screen of some customers' fridges. Samsung said emergency measures were its top priority and that it would do its best to avoid customer losses during Chuseok. It had not responded to Fortune's request for comment.
What it cost
No total reported; owners say groceries spoiled over Chuseok and some repairs were quoted for 1 October
Why it happened
A firmware update pushed to connected fridges appears to have disabled power, lights and cooling on affected Bespoke AI 4-Door models, per user reports.
A Samsung forum moderator said an error had occurred in the testing process for the refrigerator software update.
The update landed just before Chuseok, when households stock up on food, so the failure caused the maximum disruption.
Repair capacity was thin over the holiday; one owner was told a technician could not come until 1 October.
The lesson
An over-the-air update turns every connected appliance into one failure point. Updates to products that keep food cold need staged rollouts and a rollback, and not just before a holiday.
Aftermath
As of Fortune's report on 25 September 2026, Samsung had not given a number of affected fridges or details of compensation. The company's forum moderator said it was taking emergency measures as a top priority and would try to prevent customer losses during the holiday. Fortune notes this is the latest in a string of smart-home frictions for Samsung, whose decision to display ads on its smart fridges' screens drew backlash earlier in 2026.
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