Ever since we've had this Samsung refrigerator (owned for 2 years), we heard strange popping and cracking sounds at various times of the day and night. While it was under warranty, I contacted Samsung and was told that the noises were normal and would subside over time. They never did. However, during the past couple of weeks, the loud popping sounds have gotten much worse, yet the frig cools fine and no other problems have been noted. I searched all over the internet for an explanation and I found that many people have the identical popping noise issue with different Samsung models. And many repair techs have thought that the problem lies with the ice dispenser - but my model doesn't have an ice dispenser. Since the very loud popping sound is recent, I believe something new is happening and would like to fix the problem before whatever is going wrong goes completely bad. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Since my previous post, nothing has changed at all. The popping sounds continue and I have absolutely no faith in Samsung in acknowledging nor fixing the problem. Seems that the popping sounds are inconsistent, that is, sometimes louder and more frequent than other times. But regardless, the sounds should not be and Samsung should repair the problem. Based upon my unhappy experience with our Samsung refrigerator, and others having the same issue, and the lackadaisical customer support, I would never purchase a Samsung product ever again. I like the appearance of Samsung products and their exterior functions, but not their customer support. Lastly, about 14 months after we had the refrigerator, and it being out-of-warranty, we noticed that the unit would stop working. Upon unplugging and re-plugging the power cord, we found that the unit would start again. Ultimately, we had the unit repaired and was advised that the two thermostats needed replacement. In the 40 years I've owned a refrigerator, this is the first time I've ever had to repair one; another reason I would never purchase a Samsung product again. I personally thing the company has become too large to support their products properly

Got fridge from Lowe's mid June. Noticed LOUD popping noises day and night. Called Samsung. They said it was "normal" ice maker noises that will 'get better' with time. NOT. Got huge runaround from Samsung "customer care". Finally after many calls to them, they assigned a work order number and said to call A&E to set an appointment for repair. A&E sent a local guy who couldn't figure out what was going on. He called someone who gave him a long technical explanation. Bottom line is, it's a design flaw. Something about the steel tubing with freon packed tightly inside, and when the condenser unit gets hot it quickly expands with the loud shotgun sound. It is NOT fixable, it is a design flaw that will never 'get better'. I called Lowe's and they told me to come pick out any other fridge and they'll take this one back even though it's over the 30 day return policy. Noticed the sticker inside said it's "Made in Mexico". Whatever happened to Made in America?

I had called Best Buy's Geeksquad service out three times about this. On the last time I recorded the sound. He called Samsung support and they said it was normal.
The work order stated "CALLED SAMSUNG AND DESCRIBED SOUND THAT CLIENT HAD RECORDED. SAMSUNG SAYS THIS IS DUE TO THE INCREASED PRESSURE OF NEW COOLANT AND LARGE CAVITY AND THIN INSULATION. UNIT CHECKS OK. INFORMED CLIENT."

This can't be normal! It often wakes me up at night and when we have guests over they look at us and say "what the heck was that?" We love our Samsung fridge .... If only it didn't make loud hammer sounds. Looking into what we can do to get something else. This is totally ridiculous for a brand new unit. And now after looking at the reviews, everyone is having the same problem.

UPDATE: After 6 months of dealing with this sound, BestBuy has agreed to come tomorrow and swap out the unit! :) Hopefully the new one won't do this sound too. I'll let you know.

Samsung fixed my popping sound. I just bought the fridge; it has a warranty. From what I read, it has to do with the physics of the heating element touching the cooling elements and they just invented a fix. The fix works. But hear the story. First I called Samsung. The customer service rep told me the obnoxious popping sound was "normal" and that I could write the president of the company if I was unhappy. She gave me the address of the president. I then called the store that sold me the appliance and asked for warranty service assuming from what I had read that some of the technicians know how to fix it. The tech came out and said that there was a "bulletin" out on the problem which is like a recall. But it is a secret recall. He brought a part that has been made to fix the proximity of the heat and the cold. And the problem is solved. But you see from this that Samsung won't own the problem or at least they make you go through hoops. The problem does NOT come from the icemaker although it certainly sounds like it does. It is NOT just a Samsung problem; it runs across the brands. The fridges are all similar.