Ice makers are a modern convenience you can get in most Samsung refrigerators. With a press of a button, you can fill up your cup with crushed ice or cubed ice anytime you want.
Here, we’ll show you how a Samsung fridge ice maker works and how to use it for the first time.
How do Samsung fridge ice makers work?
Your Samsung fridge’s ice maker will start dispensing ice around 6 to 12 hours after connecting it to the water line.
Before drawing ice from the machine, choose between crushed and cubed ice. Align your cup with the dispenser, and gently press it against the top pad to dispense ice.
Even among Samsung fridges, ice makers can vary from model to model. However, they all follow the same principles.
| Ice maker requirements | Settings |
| Incoming Voltage | 120 V |
| Temperature | 0°F (-18°C) or lower |
| Water Supply | Water pressure of 120 psi |
For starters, an ice maker needs three things to run: incoming voltage, temperature, and water supply. Typically, your fridge needs 120 volts of alternating current to fill the ice tray with water and eject the cubes into the storage bin.
Your home’s water supply line should also be connected to the fridge’s water inlet valve. To ensure ice production, your water line should have a pressure of 120 pounds per square inch.
If the water pressure is too weak, your Samsung fridge ice maker won’t work(samsung refrigerator ice maker not working). You can contact a plumber to help improve the water pressure.
Ideally, your freezer temperature should be 0°F (-18°C) or lower for optimal ice production. Once the desired temperature is reached, the voltage opens the water inlet valve, allowing water to flow into the ice maker’s tray.
Water freezes in the tray and forms ice cubes. When your ice maker detects that the cubes are frozen enough, it ejects them into the ice bucket.
The cycle repeats until your bucket reaches maximum capacity.
| Quick Note: If you recently installed your Samsung fridge, throw out the first three batches of ice cubes it produces to make sure that it is using clean water. That’s roughly 30 cubes. |
How does my Samsung ice maker know when to stop working?
Samsung fridges use either a mechanical arm or an optical sensor to determine when to stop producing ice. When ice piles high enough in the bin, it triggers the sensor or arm, telling the ice maker to stop producing more ice.
If your ice maker isn’t stopping, it means it isn’t producing enough ice to fill up the bucket and trigger the sensor or arm. Most of the time, it happens when the ice bucket is inserted incorrectly.
On a Samsung Bespoke 4-Door Flex, both ice maker buckets are positioned on a shelf that goes on the top rail, right under the ice maker.
Placing the shelf on a lower rail can cause ice to overflow from the bucket. That’s because it has to make more ice before it can reach the sensor or mechanical arm, which halts ice production.
How to Turn On the Ice Maker on the Samsung Fridge
To turn on the Samsung fridge ice maker, press the dispenser pad for 5 seconds. You can also press the Ice Maker button on the control panel until the indicator light says “Ice On”.
If you own a Family Hub, swipe left on the display. Go to Fridge Settings and turn on the Ice Making function.
Family Hub
To turn on the ice maker on a Family Hub, follow these steps:
- Step 1: Swipe left on the Family Hub display.
- Step 2: Tap on Fridge Manager.
- Step 3: Go to Fridge Settings.
- Step 4: Slide the Ice Making button to On.
- Step 5: Click Proceed to confirm.
French Door Refrigerators
To turn on the ice maker on a Samsung French door fridge, follow these steps:
- Step 1: Press the Door Alarm button to unlock your control panel. If it is unlocked, you can skip to the next step.
- Step 2: Press the Ice Maker button until the indicator light says Ice Maker On.
Top Mount Refrigerators
To turn on the ice maker on a top-mount Samsung refrigerator, press and hold the Power Freeze button for three seconds. A small cup icon on the display should light up to indicate that the ice maker is enabled.
How often does my Samsung fridge make ice?
Samsung refrigerators produce about 120 ice cubes per day. If your ice maker is functioning properly, it can fill up a tray of ice cubes in 90 minutes.
However, if Power Freeze is on, it speeds up the ice production process. You’ll have a tray of ice cubes every 55 minutes.
In Power Freeze mode, both the compressor and freezer fan run non-stop for 10 hours, reducing the amount of time required to freeze items. It automatically turns off once your ice bucket fills up in under 10 hours.
An ice maker that isn’t functioning properly can also see changes in ice production. If you have a low water pressure or component failure, you can expect to see changes in the amount of ice produced.
You might also see changes in the quality of the ice. Instead of cubes, your ice maker might start producing small, cloudy, or slushy ice.
Will a Samsung fridge ice maker work without a water filter?
Most Samsung fridges with ice dispensers can work without a water filter. That’s because its housing is designed as a rotary valve, which allows water to skip the filtration step and go directly to the ice maker or dispenser.
If your water filter isn’t locked in properly, its housing will also allow water to bypass the filtration step to prevent potential leaks.
All Samsung fridge models that use AquaPure water filters come with a cap that covers the housing prior to the filter’s installation. If you intend to use the ice maker without the water filter, you don’t need to keep the cap in.
The cap also can’t be used to plug in water leakages caused by your Samsung ice maker.
